Tobias Hecker
Biographic Data
| ID | 1494244 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tobias Hecker |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tobias |
| FAMILY NAME | Hecker |
| SIGNATURE | HECKER T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bielefeld University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9272-0512 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Prevalence and correlates of sexual violence against adolescents
Despite the recognized need to address the prevention of sexual violence against adolescents in Nigeria, significant research gaps persist in understanding the patterns, determinants, and impacts of such violence, particularly regarding regional variations and the specific developmental needs of adolescents across different stages. This study provides Nigerian regional prevalence estimates disaggregated by gender, rural/urban, and in/out-of-schoo…
Gender as moderator of the relations between interpersonal and noninterpersonal trauma exposure and mental health problems in conflict-affected children and adolescents
The findings suggest that female vulnerability to traumatic stress after IPT exposure occurs in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Preventing physical and emotional violence by teachers in public schools in Pakistan
The clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06001554 (Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Teachers in Public Schools in Pakistan (ICC-T_Pak), 2023) on August 21 st , 2023
Post-migration stress mediates associations between potentially traumatic peri-migration experiences and mental health among Middle Eastern refugees in Germany
On their way to host countries, refugees are often exposed to severe adversity, including cumulative experiences of fraud, extortion, robbery, detention, and shipwrecks, as well as prolonged, life-threatening small boat crossings. However, little research has examined the long-term impact of such peri-migration stressors on subsequent stress and mental health after arrival. This study explored how cumulative exposure to potentially traumatic even…
Primary School Children’s Self-Reported Experience of Parental Emotional Maltreatment and Peer Violence
Exposure to child maltreatment is associated with various negative outcomes across the life-span. Even though emotional maltreatment is highly prevalent, it is underrepresented in research. Most studies on emotional maltreatment to date focused only on adults and adolescents in retrospective surveys. However, it is important to include the current experiences of children. Methods: The present study included self- reports of German children aged 8…
Mobile applications in adolescent psychotherapy during the Covid-19 pandemic
Close relationships with caregivers as protective factor for the mental health and functioning of war-affected Congolese youth
The findings suggest that interventions that focus on strengthening relationships with caregivers are crucial for supporting the mental health and functioning of youth who experienced and perpetrated war-related violence
School-based prevention of teacher and parental violence against children
The clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06369025 (Hecker, Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Parents and Teachers in Public Schools in Tanzania (ICC-T/ICC-P_Tanz) (PreVio), 2024) on April 17, 2024
Improving Parent-Child Interaction and Reducing Parental Violent Discipline – a Multi-Informant Multi-Method Pilot Feasibility Study of a School-Based Intervention
Purpose Globally, many children are exposed to violent discipline in multiple settings. Interventions to prevent violent discipline are therefore highly needed. In the present study, the feasibility of the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Parents (ICC-P), an additional module of a school-based intervention for teachers, was tested. The intervention aims to prevent violent discipline by changing attitudes towards such meth…
The unique contribution of childhood maltreatment types to risk-taking behavior and self-esteem
A Systematic Review of the Prevalence and Correlates of Emotional Violence by Teachers
There is increasing evidence for the deleterious impact of emotional violence on children`s well-being and development. This systematic review focused on a) the prevalence and (b) correlates of emotional violence by teachers. A literature search of quantitative and peer-reviewed studies published in English between 1980 and April 2021 was conducted. Eighty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies represented all geographical regions of th…
Preventing Violence by Teachers in Primary Schools
CONTEXT: Although teacher violence at schools is a serious problem in Haiti, there is a lack of systematic evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions in reducing teacher violence in this low-income country. OBJECTIVE: aiming to reduce teachers' use of violent disciplinary strategies and to improve their interaction competences with children in the Haitian context. DESIGN SETTING PARTICIPANTS: The study is designed as a two-arm ma…
Sustainability of effects and secondary long-term outcomes
Background Many orphans in East Africa are living in institutional care facilities where they experience poor quality of care and ongoing maltreatment. We report on the extension of a cluster-randomized controlled trial aiming to replicate and show sustainability of previous found effects and to discover long-term effects of the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children–for Caregivers ( ICC-C) 12-months after the intervention’s conclusi…
Testing the psychometric quality of screening tools for the well-being of children and caregivers in alternative care-settings
Given the lack of validated screening tools for the well-being of children and caregivers in family-based care in low-income settings, the present study aimed to test the psychometric quality of two newly developed tools: Scorecard A as a screener for children’s emotional and behavioral problems and Scorecard B as a screener for caregivers’ well-being and resources. The study was conducted within the framework of an ongoing caregiver training pro…
Reducing teachers’ use of violence toward students
A systematic review of socio-ecological factors contributing to risk and protection of the mental health of refugee children and adolescents
Patterns of conflict-related trauma exposure and their relation to psychopathology
Populations in war-torn regions are exposed to a wide array of traumatic events that can cause an enormous psychological burden. Individual characteristics influence the likelihood of being exposed to certain events, pointing to systematic interindividual differences in trauma exposure. However, there is a dearth of studies examining potential patterns of trauma exposure in war regions. In this cross-sectional epidemiological study, we applied a …
Job Perceptions Contribute to Stress among Secondary School Teachers in Southwestern Uganda
(1) Background: Teachers' personal and strenuous working conditions reflect the realities of the teaching vocation that may result in increased stress levels and associated negative consequences, such as negative emotions. It is also well-known that teacher stress contributes to more violence against students. However, little is known about personal and school context factors that contribute to teachers' stress. The current study examined whether…
Reducing physical and emotional violence by teachers using the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T)
The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.org under the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04948580 on July 2, 2021
Violence
Recruiting Refugees for Militarization
International concern over refugee militarization has grown greatly in recent years. Despite the growing prominence attached to this issue by scholars and international organizations alike, few have examined refugee recruitment from the perspective of the recruiter. Drawing on the signalling theory, we argue that recruiters will only approach those refugees who show willingness to get involved in militancy. Empirically, we focus on four attribute…
Fostering Child Development by Improving Care Quality
Quality of child care has been shown to have a crucial impact on children’s development and psychological adjustment, particularly for orphans with a history of maltreatment and trauma. However, adequate care for orphans is often impacted by unfavorable caregiver–child ratios and poorly trained, overburdened personnel, especially in institutional care in countries with limited resources and large numbers of orphans. This systematic review investi…
The role of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in committing violence during combat
It has been postulated that the violent behavior that characterizes armed conflict is reinforced by the possibility of receiving rewards. The present study examined the potential influence of two types of rewards in an ongoing setting of conflict: extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Former combatants active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (N = 198) were interviewed and questioned about the way they were recruited, the offenses they committed…
Pathological spirit possession as a cultural interpretation of trauma-related symptoms
The results of this study indicate that pathological spirit possession is a broad explanatory framework for various subjectively unexplainable mental and physical health problems, including but not limited to trauma-related disorders. Understanding pathological spirit possession as a subjective disease model for various mental and physical health problems may help researchers and clinicians to develop culturally sensitive treatment approaches for…
Drugs Boosting Conflict? A Micro-Level Test of the Linkage Between Substance Use and Violence
Many studies have emphasized the role of natural resources in the onset and duration of armed conflict. Due to its characteristics, narcotics are considered to be one of the most influential resources. However, the dynamics of how this particular commodity is linked to conflict is still not well understood. Most scholars have focused on the revenue aspects of narcotics and only a few have mentioned the micro-level aspect, i.e., the effect of drug…
Recruiting Refugees for Militarization
International concern over refugee militarization has grown greatly in recent years. Despite the growing prominence attached to this issue by scholars and international organizations alike, few have examined refugee recruitment from the perspective of the recruiter. Drawing on the signalling theory, we argue that recruiters will only approach those refugees who show willingness to get involved in militancy. Empirically, we focus on four attribute…
Maltreatment and Mental Health in Institutional Care—comparing Early and Late Institutionalized Children in Tanzania
Research has shown the harmful potential of institutional care on young children; however, little is known about the consequences of institutional care on infants in Sub‐Saharan Africa. We compared 35 Tanzanian children who were institutionalized at birth to 4 years of age with a matched group of 35 children who were institutionalized at 5 to 14 years of age. We examined adverse childhood experiences over the course of their entire lives, in thei…
Maltreatment and Mental Health in Institutional Care—comparing Early and Late Institutionalized Children in Tanzania
Research has shown the harmful potential of institutional care on young children; however, little is known about the consequences of institutional care on infants in Sub‐Saharan Africa. We compared 35 Tanzanian children who were institutionalized at birth to 4 years of age with a matched group of 35 children who were institutionalized at 5 to 14 years of age. We examined adverse childhood experiences over the course of their entire lives, in thei…
Drugs Boosting Conflict? A Micro-Level Test of the Linkage Between Substance Use and Violence
Many studies have emphasized the role of natural resources in the onset and duration of armed conflict. Due to its characteristics, narcotics are considered to be one of the most influential resources. However, the dynamics of how this particular commodity is linked to conflict is still not well understood. Most scholars have focused on the revenue aspects of narcotics and only a few have mentioned the micro-level aspect, i.e., the effect of drug…
Pathological spirit possession as a cultural interpretation of trauma-related symptoms
The results of this study indicate that pathological spirit possession is a broad explanatory framework for various subjectively unexplainable mental and physical health problems, including but not limited to trauma-related disorders. Understanding pathological spirit possession as a subjective disease model for various mental and physical health problems may help researchers and clinicians to develop culturally sensitive treatment approaches for…
Fostering Child Development by Improving Care Quality
Quality of child care has been shown to have a crucial impact on children’s development and psychological adjustment, particularly for orphans with a history of maltreatment and trauma. However, adequate care for orphans is often impacted by unfavorable caregiver–child ratios and poorly trained, overburdened personnel, especially in institutional care in countries with limited resources and large numbers of orphans. This systematic review investi…
The role of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in committing violence during combat
It has been postulated that the violent behavior that characterizes armed conflict is reinforced by the possibility of receiving rewards. The present study examined the potential influence of two types of rewards in an ongoing setting of conflict: extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Former combatants active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (N = 198) were interviewed and questioned about the way they were recruited, the offenses they committed…
Violence
Recruiting Refugees for Militarization
International concern over refugee militarization has grown greatly in recent years. Despite the growing prominence attached to this issue by scholars and international organizations alike, few have examined refugee recruitment from the perspective of the recruiter. Drawing on the signalling theory, we argue that recruiters will only approach those refugees who show willingness to get involved in militancy. Empirically, we focus on four attribute…
A systematic review of socio-ecological factors contributing to risk and protection of the mental health of refugee children and adolescents
Patterns of conflict-related trauma exposure and their relation to psychopathology
Populations in war-torn regions are exposed to a wide array of traumatic events that can cause an enormous psychological burden. Individual characteristics influence the likelihood of being exposed to certain events, pointing to systematic interindividual differences in trauma exposure. However, there is a dearth of studies examining potential patterns of trauma exposure in war regions. In this cross-sectional epidemiological study, we applied a …
Job Perceptions Contribute to Stress among Secondary School Teachers in Southwestern Uganda
(1) Background: Teachers' personal and strenuous working conditions reflect the realities of the teaching vocation that may result in increased stress levels and associated negative consequences, such as negative emotions. It is also well-known that teacher stress contributes to more violence against students. However, little is known about personal and school context factors that contribute to teachers' stress. The current study examined whether…
Reducing physical and emotional violence by teachers using the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T)
The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.org under the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04948580 on July 2, 2021
Preventing Violence by Teachers in Primary Schools
CONTEXT: Although teacher violence at schools is a serious problem in Haiti, there is a lack of systematic evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions in reducing teacher violence in this low-income country. OBJECTIVE: aiming to reduce teachers' use of violent disciplinary strategies and to improve their interaction competences with children in the Haitian context. DESIGN SETTING PARTICIPANTS: The study is designed as a two-arm ma…
Sustainability of effects and secondary long-term outcomes
Background Many orphans in East Africa are living in institutional care facilities where they experience poor quality of care and ongoing maltreatment. We report on the extension of a cluster-randomized controlled trial aiming to replicate and show sustainability of previous found effects and to discover long-term effects of the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children–for Caregivers ( ICC-C) 12-months after the intervention’s conclusi…
Testing the psychometric quality of screening tools for the well-being of children and caregivers in alternative care-settings
Given the lack of validated screening tools for the well-being of children and caregivers in family-based care in low-income settings, the present study aimed to test the psychometric quality of two newly developed tools: Scorecard A as a screener for children’s emotional and behavioral problems and Scorecard B as a screener for caregivers’ well-being and resources. The study was conducted within the framework of an ongoing caregiver training pro…
Reducing teachers’ use of violence toward students
The unique contribution of childhood maltreatment types to risk-taking behavior and self-esteem
A Systematic Review of the Prevalence and Correlates of Emotional Violence by Teachers
There is increasing evidence for the deleterious impact of emotional violence on children`s well-being and development. This systematic review focused on a) the prevalence and (b) correlates of emotional violence by teachers. A literature search of quantitative and peer-reviewed studies published in English between 1980 and April 2021 was conducted. Eighty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies represented all geographical regions of th…
Mobile applications in adolescent psychotherapy during the Covid-19 pandemic
Close relationships with caregivers as protective factor for the mental health and functioning of war-affected Congolese youth
The findings suggest that interventions that focus on strengthening relationships with caregivers are crucial for supporting the mental health and functioning of youth who experienced and perpetrated war-related violence
School-based prevention of teacher and parental violence against children
The clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06369025 (Hecker, Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Parents and Teachers in Public Schools in Tanzania (ICC-T/ICC-P_Tanz) (PreVio), 2024) on April 17, 2024
Improving Parent-Child Interaction and Reducing Parental Violent Discipline – a Multi-Informant Multi-Method Pilot Feasibility Study of a School-Based Intervention
Purpose Globally, many children are exposed to violent discipline in multiple settings. Interventions to prevent violent discipline are therefore highly needed. In the present study, the feasibility of the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Parents (ICC-P), an additional module of a school-based intervention for teachers, was tested. The intervention aims to prevent violent discipline by changing attitudes towards such meth…
Prevalence and correlates of sexual violence against adolescents
Despite the recognized need to address the prevention of sexual violence against adolescents in Nigeria, significant research gaps persist in understanding the patterns, determinants, and impacts of such violence, particularly regarding regional variations and the specific developmental needs of adolescents across different stages. This study provides Nigerian regional prevalence estimates disaggregated by gender, rural/urban, and in/out-of-schoo…
Gender as moderator of the relations between interpersonal and noninterpersonal trauma exposure and mental health problems in conflict-affected children and adolescents
The findings suggest that female vulnerability to traumatic stress after IPT exposure occurs in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Preventing physical and emotional violence by teachers in public schools in Pakistan
The clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06001554 (Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Teachers in Public Schools in Pakistan (ICC-T_Pak), 2023) on August 21 st , 2023
Post-migration stress mediates associations between potentially traumatic peri-migration experiences and mental health among Middle Eastern refugees in Germany
On their way to host countries, refugees are often exposed to severe adversity, including cumulative experiences of fraud, extortion, robbery, detention, and shipwrecks, as well as prolonged, life-threatening small boat crossings. However, little research has examined the long-term impact of such peri-migration stressors on subsequent stress and mental health after arrival. This study explored how cumulative exposure to potentially traumatic even…
Psychology (16 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (11 works) · Clinical Psychology (10 works) · Psychiatry (9 works) · Intimate Partner and Family Violence (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (7 works) · Environmental health (7 works) · Mental health (7 works) · Nursing (7 works)