Theresa Betancourt
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 925404 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Theresa Betancourt |
| NOMBRES | Theresa |
| APELLIDO | Betancourt |
| FIRMA | BETANCOURT T |
| AFILIACIONES | Boston College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3683-4440 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 95 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 295 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 95 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2005 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 9 |
Assessing the Needs of Newcomer Afghan Children and Adolescents
While numerous studies have found that children affected by war and forced displacement are at increased risk for common mental health problems, research also indicates that experiences of emotional distress and the way it is expressed and understood vary by cultural group and context. In this study, we used previously developed rapid qualitative assessment methods to examine local perceptions of mental health and emotional distress among recentl…
Risk and protective factors of depression among caregivers of children with disabilities in rural Rwanda
BACKGROUND: Caregivers of children with disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing poor mental health due to the compound effects of financial and family stressors. This study aims to identify risk and protective factors for poor mental health, particularly depression, among caregivers of young children with disabilities. METHODS: This is a secondary data analysis, including a total of 1518 caregivers who were enrolled at baseline in a cl…
‘Sawa Aqwa’ (Stronger Together)
BACKGROUND: There are no evaluated family-based mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions for adolescents in Southwest Asia (known as the Middle East), and few whole-family interventions in low- and middle-income countries, despite consistent evidence for the impact of family support on mental health and well-being. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief family systemic mental health intervention, deliverable …
Sustained mental health outcomes from the youth readiness intervention
BACKGROUND: Strategies to expand access to care and sustain evidence-based mental health interventions (EBIs) must be tested within novel delivery platforms to extend the reach of services in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Integration into broader development programs may help maintain long-term effects. This study presents a four-year follow-up of a previously conducted Hybrid Type II implementation-effectiveness cluster-randomized tria…
Labour Market Impacts of a Mental Health and Entrepreneurship Intervention in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone
Nearly a billion youth globally are affected by fragility, conflict, or violence, which leads to psychological distress and hinders economic self-sufficiency. While employment training and cash transfers can help, evidence from fragile settings is limited, especially for women. Leveraging a randomised controlled trial, we study the integration of an evidence-based mental health intervention, the Youth Readiness Intervention, into a youth entrepre…
Mechanisms of Change Underlying Effects of an Early Parenting Intervention on Child Development Among Vulnerable Families in Rwanda
Intervention-related changes related to constructs captured on the HOME and dietary diversity were associated with changes in child development scores, but violent discipline and caregiver emotion regulation were not. Future research should examine whether these components of the intervention can be strengthened and may influence child development via other pathways, for example, via caregiver mental health
Factors Affecting Access to and Utilisation of HIV/Aids Preventive Services Among Young Single Mothers Working in Alcohol Serving Establishments in Rwanda
Visible wounds, invisible rights
In 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria targeted the Yazidi ethno-religious minority in Sinjar, northern Iraq, abducting Yazidi boys aged 8 to 14 who endured violence, family separation and significant trauma exposure. Upon return, these children needed mental health care. This study investigates the availability of mental health services for male Yazidi former CAAFAGs (children associated with armed forces and armed groups) and discusses th…
Delivering a family‐based child mental health promotion program among two resettled refugee communities during the Covid‐19 pandemic
BACKGROUND: Resettled refugee families face elevated mental health risks, compounded by structural and cultural barriers. The Family Strengthening Intervention for Resettlement (FSIR), co-developed with resettled refugee communities, aims to improve family functioning and child mental health. This study evaluated FSI-R in Somali Bantu and Bhutanese communities in New England during COVID-19 using a Hybrid Type II Implementation-Effectiveness Tria…
Four-year follow-up to a home-visiting intervention to promote early childhood development and prevent family violence in rural Rwanda
BACKGROUND: Sugira Muryango (SM) is a home-visiting intervention designed to promote early childhood development (ECD) and prevent violence in families with young children living in extreme poverty in rural Rwanda. METHODS: We present 4-year follow-up data collected in 2022 in n=1009 households (93%) from a cluster randomised trial. We compare outcomes in SM and usual care (UC) families using mixed-effect models. Results are reported as the avera…
Scaling up home‐visiting to promote early childhood development and prevent violence in Rwanda
BACKGROUND: Children in impoverished families-especially those affected by violence-face risks to healthy development. In the years of strong economic recovery since the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, the Rwandan Government has invested in early child development, social and child protection and violence prevention, but few strategies for scaling evidence-based interventions (EBIs) in these areas have been studied. METHODS: We present a Hybrid …
“As you know, parents' love differs from others.” Understanding needs and strengths shaping mental health among unaccompanied Afghan minors in resettlement in the U.S
Globally, unaccompanied minors face more significant risks for poorer mental health and other psychosocial issues while also grappling with mental health, language, and acculturation challenges. The United States admitted 1,550 unaccompanied Afghan minors (UAMs) as humanitarian parolees among some 76,000 Afghans evacuated following the US withdrawal and Taliban takeover in 2021. Most UAMs had lived all their lives in Afghanistan's protracted conf…
Mental Health Assessments for Resettled Afghan Children and Adolescents
Integrating a culturally adapted mental health intervention within entrepreneurship training for displaced youth in Colombia
NCT05857722
Can an Evidence-Based Mental Health Intervention Indirectly Benefit Caregivers and Peers of Intervention Participants in Rural Sierra Leone
This study explored potential indirect mental health benefits of the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI) among peers and caregivers of YRI participants and control participants via a networks psychometrics approach. We recruited and enrolled index participants who participated in an implementation trial in Sierra Leone (N = 165 control index participants; N = 165 YRI index participants). Index participants nominated three of their closest peers (N…
Exploring outcomes between single and dual caregiver households participating in a parenting and family strengthening intervention in Rwanda
The Sugira Muryango intervention yielded similar outcomes across caregiver household types. Given its inclusive design and potential to deliver equitable benefits across diverse households settings in low-resource contexts, it offers a promising model for community-based interventions with important implications for scaling up similar programs
Return-on-investment of a mental health intervention for war-affected youth in Sierra Leone
Mental health interventions, such as Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI), offer an opportunity for improving the mental health of war-affected youth in fragile and conflict-affected regions. The YRI has demonstrated effectiveness in improving mental health outcomes, yet prior analyses have not examined the economic impact of the YRI integrated within with an entrepreneurship (ENTR) program. A costing analysis was conducted using standard activity-…
Ebola Virus Disease Sensitization
Cultural adaptation of an evidence-based intervention to address mental health among youth affected by armed conflict in Colombia
The YRI was successfully adapted for conflict-affected Colombian youth. Future studies using randomized designs are needed to test the effectiveness of the YRI for improving mental health among larger samples of Colombian conflict-affected youth
Advancing sustainable implementation of an evidence-based mental health intervention in Sierra Leone’s schools
Clinical Trial Network: NCT05737667
Honoring their stories
Purpose This paper aims to explore the barriers and facilitators to psychosocial well-being among ethnic Nepali Bhutanese American older adults from the perspective of health care and service providers working with this population. Specifically, the authors aimed to understand health-care and service providers’ perceptions of the psychosocial well-being in this community and appropriate interventions. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative resea…
The adaptation of a youth mental health intervention to a peer-delivery model utilizing CBPR methods and the Adapt-ITT framework in Sierra Leone
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) carry a significant proportion of the global burden of untreated mental health disorders. Peer-delivered programs offer LMICs with limited mental health professionals an opportunity to increase mental health service access. This study describes the process of adapting a lay-worker-delivered evidence-based youth mental health intervention to a peer-delivery model in Sierra Leone using participatory methods.…
Navigating the tension between fatherhood ideals and realities of a post-conflict setting
The concept of "fatherhood" in many African countries has traditionally been understood in terms of instrumental support to one's family, most notably, financial provision. However, in Sierra Leone and elsewhere, this narrow understanding of fatherhood is changing as a result of shifting demographic trends and responses to recent crises such as the Ebola pandemic and the aftermath of a civil war. Very little is understood about how male former ch…
Measuring the cost-effectiveness of a home-visiting intervention to promote early child development among rural families linked to the Rwandan social protection system
Early childhood development (ECD) programmes are heralded as a way to improve children’s health and educational outcomes. However, few studies in developing countries calculate the effectiveness of quality early childhood interventions. This study estimates the cost and cost-effectiveness of the Sugira Muryango (SM) trial, a home-visiting intervention to improve ECD outcomes through positive parent-child relationships. Cost-effectiveness analysis…
A Tale of Two Programs for Parents of Young Children
Two case studies of parenting programs, aiming to improve parenting practices and child development outcomes, and implemented by Save the Children/Ministry of Health/Khesar Gyalpo University in Bhutan and Boston College/University of Rwanda/FXB in Rwanda, respectively called Prescription to Play and Sugira Muryango, were conducted by an independent research and learning group. Implementation research focused on the workforce, a crucial but little…
We left one war and came to another
Refugee families often encounter a number of acculturative and resettlement stressors as they make lives for themselves in host countries. These difficulties may be compounded by past trauma and violence exposure, posing increased risk for mental health problems. Greater knowledge is needed about protective processes contributing to positive development and adjustment in refugee families despite risk (e.g., resilience). The aims of this research …
Past horrors, present struggles
Promises and pitfalls of data sharing in qualitative research
The psychological toll of slum living in Mumbai, India
Addressing Health Disparities in the Mental Health of Refugee Children and Adolescents Through Community-Based Participatory Research
Objectives. We sought to understand the problems, strengths, and help-seeking behaviors of Somali Bantu and Bhutanese refugees and determine local expressions of mental health problems among youths in both communities. Methods. We used qualitative research methods to develop community needs assessments and identify local terms for child mental health problems among Somali Bantu and Bhutanese refugees in Greater Boston and Springfield, Massachuset…
A Qualitative Study of Mental Health Problems among Children Displaced by War in Northern Uganda
While multiple studies have found that children affected by war are at increased risk for a range of mental health problems, little research has investigated how mental health problems are perceived locally. In this study we used a previously developed rapid ethnographic assessment method to explore local perceptions of mental health problems among children and adults from the Acholi ethnic group displaced by the war in northern Uganda. We conduc…
Nothing can defeat combined hands (Abashize hamwe ntakibananira)
Adolescent Resilience in Northern Uganda
We investigated relations between prosocial behavior, perceived social support, and improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms over 6 months among 102 Acholi adolescent (14–17 years, 58% female adolescents) survivors of war and displacement in Northern Uganda. Adolescents were assessed using a locally developed screener. Regression analyses measured the association between resilience factors and mental health outcomes. Findings indicated that…
Stronger together
We discuss the importance of identifying culturally informed components of community resilience that can be used to develop services for refugee populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
I wouldn't even know where to start
How rurality relates to women's abortion decision-making in the United States remains largely unexplored in existing literature. The present study relies on qualitative methods to analyze rural women's experiences related to pregnancy decision-making and pathways to abortion services in Central Appalachia. This analysis examines narratives from 31 participants who disclosed experiencing an unwanted pregnancy, including those who continued and ter…
Garnering an In-depth Understanding of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Chennai, India
We are all under the same roof
We discuss study implications for psychosocial services for older refugees and contribution to theory on meaning making among diverse, vulnerable populations who experience multiple traumas and loss
Living through war
Children in armed conflict are frequently deprived of basic needs, psychologically supportive environments, educational and vocational opportunities, and other resources that promote positive psychosocial development and mental health. This article describes the mental health challenges faced by conflict-affected children and youth, the interventions designed to prevent or ameliorate the psychosocial impact of conflict-related experiences, and a …
Mental health problems among children in Sierra Leone
Globally, over 13% of children and adolescents are affected by mental disorders, yet relatively little scholarship addresses how risk factors, symptoms, and nosology vary by culture and context, especially in young children living in post-conflict and low-resource settings. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study to identify and describe the most salient mental health problems facing children aged 6 to 10 years in Sierra Leone, as w…
Interrelatedness of child health, protection and well-being
Understanding mechanisms of change in a family-based preventive mental health intervention for refugees by refugees in New England
Transnational migration of refugees is associated with poor mental health, particularly among children. We conducted a pilot trial of the Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees (FSI-R), using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to deliver a home-based intervention 'for refugees by refugees' to improve family functioning and child mental health. N = 80 refugee families in the Greater Boston area participated in the stu…
The Future of Parenting Programs
This article examines the role that implementation science can play in evidence-based parenting programs. Although parenting programs can support parents in their caregiving roles, adapting and taking an evidence-based approach from one place to another without attending to implementation factors may contribute to poor impact in a new setting. Implementation science enables researchers to move beyond monitoring and evaluation of outcomes of a par…
Implementing Community‐Based Participatory Research with Communities Affected by Humanitarian Crises
Worldwide, over 70.8 million people are forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violation. In humanitarian crises, protection and the provision of basic needs are often prioritized. Research may be seen as opportunistic. However, without documenting and researching humanitarian responses, knowledge is not shared and does not accumulate, limiting the application of evidence‐based interven…
The adaptation of a youth mental health intervention to a peer-delivery model utilizing CBPR methods and the Adapt-ITT framework in Sierra Leone
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) carry a significant proportion of the global burden of untreated mental health disorders. Peer-delivered programs offer LMICs with limited mental health professionals an opportunity to increase mental health service access. This study describes the process of adapting a lay-worker-delivered evidence-based youth mental health intervention to a peer-delivery model in Sierra Leone using participatory methods.…
Alternative Delivery Platforms for Expanding Evidence-based Mental Health Interventions for Youth in Sierra Leone
Given the high rates of mental health problems and poor service access among youth in war-affected countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, incorporating evidence-based mental health interventions into alternative delivery platforms could improve service access in these settings. We conducted a randomized controlled pilot study with high-risk Sierra Leonean youth to investigate the feasibility of implementing the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI…
Access to Abortion in Central Appalachian States
County of residence is relevant to gestational age at the time of abortion for women in these three states. Evidence that county-level attributes are related to access adds insight to the consequences for women when the landscape of abortion service delivery shifts. Integrating county of residence into research on access to abortion services may be critical to capturing disparities in access
Youth do all such things to survive here”
Stressors, Supports and the Social Ecology of Displacement
Interventions for Depression Symptoms Among Adolescent Survivors of War and Displacement in Northern Uganda
CONTEXT: Prior qualitative work with internally displaced persons in war-affected northern Uganda showed significant mental health and psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVE: To assess effect of locally feasible interventions on depression, anxiety, and conduct problem symptoms among adolescent survivors of war and displacement in northern Uganda. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A randomized controlled trial from May 2005 through December 2005 of 31…
The mental health of children affected by armed conflict
This paper examines the concept of resilience in the context of children affected by armed conflict. Resilience has been frequently viewed as a unique quality of certain 'invulnerable' children. In contrast, this paper argues that a number of protective processes contribute to resilient mental health outcomes in children when considered through the lens of the child's social ecology. While available research has made important contributions to un…
Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among Haitian immigrant students
A significant level of depression and PTSD was observed. Stressors subsequent to immigration, such as living in an unsafe neighborhood and concern for physical safety, were associated with an increased risk of PTSD and should be considered when developing programs to assist this population. Reducing exposure to these stressors and enhancing access to social support and appropriate school-based and mental health services may improve educational at…
A Qualitative Study of Mental Health Problems among Children Displaced by War in Northern Uganda
While multiple studies have found that children affected by war are at increased risk for a range of mental health problems, little research has investigated how mental health problems are perceived locally. In this study we used a previously developed rapid ethnographic assessment method to explore local perceptions of mental health problems among children and adults from the Acholi ethnic group displaced by the war in northern Uganda. We conduc…
Sierra Leone’s Former Child Soldiers
This is the first prospective study to investigate psychosocial adjustment in male and female former child soldiers (ages 10–18; n = 156, 12% female). The study began in Sierra Leone in 2002 and was designed to examine both risk and protective factors in psychosocial adjustment. Over the 2-year period of follow-up, youth who had wounded or killed others during the war demonstrated increases in hostility. Youth who survived rape not only had highe…
Primary mental health care for survivors of collective sexual violence in Rwanda
This paper draws attention to the obligation and opportunity to respond to the mental health impacts of collective sexual violence (CSV) among genocide-rape survivors in post-genocide Rwanda. Qualitative data gathered from CSV survivors who were members of Rwandan women's genocide survivor associations are presented to illustrate how they strive to overcome adversity while seeking access to quality mental health care and using informal community …
Costs and care
While it does not cost a great deal to make a difference in the life of a child living in poverty, that does not mean that they are cheap to care for. To avoid confusion there is a need to distinguish between expenditures on care, marginal costs of care and total cost of care. Expenditures on children are the amounts of money spent on their care. The marginal cost of care is the cost of achieving a specific increase in the level of care. The tota…
Past horrors, present struggles
Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings
Understanding locally, culturally, and contextually relevant mental health problems among Rwandan children and adolescents affected by HIV/Aids
In assessing the mental health of HIV/AIDS-affected children and adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa, researchers often employ mental health measures developed in other settings. However, measures derived from standard Western psychiatric criteria are frequently based on conceptual models of illness or terminology that may or may not be an appropriate for diverse populations. Understanding local perceptions of mental health problems can aid in the …
Developmental Perspectives on Moral Agency in Former Child Soldiers
Experiences of female survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rape results not only in physical and psychological trauma, but can destroy family and community structures. Women face significant obstacles in seeking services after rape. Interventions offering long-term solutions for hyper-vulnerable women are vital, but lacking; reintegration programs on SGBV for women, men, and communities are also needed
Nothing can defeat combined hands (Abashize hamwe ntakibananira)
Trauma History and Psychopathology in War‐Affected Refugee Children Referred for Trauma‐Related Mental Health Services in the United States
There is an increasing need to deliver effective mental health services to refugee children and adolescents across the United States; however, the evidence base needed to guide the design and delivery of services is nascent. We investigated the trauma history profiles, psychopathology, and associated behavioral and functional indicators among war‐affected refugee children presenting for psychological treatment. From the National Child Traumatic S…
Decision maker priorities for providing antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected South Africans
In resource-limited settings, successful HIV treatment scale-up has been tempered by reports of funding shortfalls. We aimed to determine the priorities, including ethical considerations, of decision makers for HIV antiretroviral programs. We conducted qualitative interviews with 12 decision makers, identified using purposive sampling. Respondents engaged in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. We developed an interview guide to direct questio…
Interrelatedness of child health, protection and well-being
The living environment and children's fears following the Indonesian tsunami
The tsunami that struck South-east Asia on 26 December 2004 left more than 500,000 people in Aceh, Indonesia, homeless and displaced to temporary barracks and other communities. This study examines the associations between prolonged habitation in barracks and the nature of fears reported by school-age children and adolescents. In mid-2007, 30 months after the tsunami, the authors interviewed 155 child and parent dyads. Logistic regression analysi…
Annual Research Review
Background: To date, research on mental health in HIV‐ affected children (children who have an HIV‐positive caregiver or live with the virus themselves) has focused on risk factors associated with the disease. However, simultaneous identification of factors that contribute to resilience in the face of risks is also needed. A greater understanding of modifiable protective processes that contribute to resilience in the mental health of children aff…
Interventions for Children Affected by War
BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents exposed to armed conflict are at high risk of developing mental health problems. To date, a range of psychosocial approaches and clinical/psychiatric interventions has been used to address mental health needs in these groups. AIMS: To provide an overview of peer-reviewed psychosocial and mental health interventions designed to address mental health needs of conflict-affected children, and to highlight areas in…
A qualitative case study of child protection issues in the Indian construction industry
By exploring the risks faced by migrant workers and their children in the urban construction industry in India, we illustrate the alarming implications for their health, safety, livelihoods, and development. Our findings, illuminated through the SAFE model, call attention to the need for enhanced systems of corporate and government accountability as well as the implementation of holistic child-focused and child-friendly policies and programs in o…
Experiences and acceptance of intimate partner violence
Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) may be at elevated risk for poor sexual health outcomes, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This association, however, has not been consistently demonstrated in low-income or post-conflict countries. Furthermore, the role that attitudes towards IPV play in sexual-health outcomes and behaviour has rarely been examined. We examined associations between IPV experiences, accepting at…
Adolescent Resilience in Northern Uganda
We investigated relations between prosocial behavior, perceived social support, and improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms over 6 months among 102 Acholi adolescent (14–17 years, 58% female adolescents) survivors of war and displacement in Northern Uganda. Adolescents were assessed using a locally developed screener. Regression analyses measured the association between resilience factors and mental health outcomes. Findings indicated that…
After abduction
Over 40% of female abductees in this sample had accessed a reintegration program, however significant differences in mental health were not observed between those who accessed a reintegration program and those who self-reintegrated. The successful reintegration of combatants and abductees into their recipient community is a complex process and these results support the need for gender-specific services and ongoing evaluation of reintegration prog…
We left one war and came to another
Refugee families often encounter a number of acculturative and resettlement stressors as they make lives for themselves in host countries. These difficulties may be compounded by past trauma and violence exposure, posing increased risk for mental health problems. Greater knowledge is needed about protective processes contributing to positive development and adjustment in refugee families despite risk (e.g., resilience). The aims of this research …
Psychology (65 obras) · Medicine (58 obras) · Psychiatry (53 obras) · Mental health (52 obras) · Migration, Health and Trauma (50 obras) · Sociology (41 obras) · Psychological intervention (38 obras) · Political science (33 obras) · Clinical Psychology (27 obras) · Environmental health (24 obras)