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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma

Trauma-Focused Group-Based Psychological Program for Children and Adolescents Following a Terrorist Attack on a School in Afghanistan: An Uncontrolled Pre-Post Follow-Up Study

  • M. Ali Amiri1,2
  • Ian George Barron3
  • Gerhard Andersson1,4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, SE-58183 Sweden
  2. 2Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan
  3. 3Center for Youth Engagement, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts 01003 Amherst, USA
  4. 4Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
  5. 5Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Abstract

The current study assessed the effectiveness and acceptability of the Children and Grief (C&G) program in mitigating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents aged 10–17 years, following a terrorist attack on a school in Afghanistan. A total of 204 Afghan (Hazara) children and adolescents exposed to the Sayed al-Shuhada school terrorist attack participated in the C&G group-based intervention. Seven weekly sessions of 90 min were delivered at an established psychosocial center within the school building in Kabul. The sessions focused on teaching coping skills for PTSD. Outcomes were measured using the Children’s Revised Impact of Events Scale (CRIES-8) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) at post-intervention and one-month follow-up. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used on quantitative data. Both written and verbal feedback were collected from participants, and the subjective experience of program delivery was explored with 10 group facilitators. The results indicated a large effect size, suggesting a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms and an increase in psychological wellbeing. These findings suggest that the C&G program shows promise for treating PTSD in children and adolescents within emergency settings. Randomized controlled trials, exploration of participants’ response style, and longitudinal studies are warranted.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{amiri2026traumafocused,
  title = {{Trauma-Focused Group-Based Psychological Program for Children and Adolescents Following a Terrorist Attack on a School in Afghanistan: An Uncontrolled Pre-Post Follow-Up Study}},
  author = {M. Ali Amiri and Ian George Barron and Gerhard Andersson},
  journal = {Journal of Child \& Adolescent Trauma},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1007/s40653-026-00911-5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00911-5},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Trauma-Focused Group-Based Psychological Program for Children and Adolescents Following a Terrorist Attack on a School in Afghanistan: An Uncontrolled Pre-Post Follow-Up Study
AU  - M. Ali Amiri
AU  - Ian George Barron
AU  - Gerhard Andersson
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/22
JO  - Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
DO  - 10.1007/s40653-026-00911-5
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00911-5
AB  - The current study assessed the effectiveness and acceptability of the Children and Grief (C&G) program in mitigating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents aged 10–17 years, following a terrorist attack on a school in Afghanistan. A total of 204 Afghan (Hazara) children and adolescents exposed to the Sayed al-Shuhada school terrorist attack participated in the C&G group-based intervention. Seven weekly sessions of 90 min were delivered at an established psychosocial center within the school building in Kabul. The sessions focused on teaching coping skills for PTSD. Outcomes were measured using the Children’s Revised Impact of Events Scale (CRIES-8) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) at post-intervention and one-month follow-up. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used on quantitative data. Both written and verbal feedback were collected from participants, and the subjective experience of program delivery was explored with 10 group facilitators. The results indicated a large effect size, suggesting a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms and an increase in psychological wellbeing. These findings suggest that the C&G program shows promise for treating PTSD in children and adolescents within emergency settings. Randomized controlled trials, exploration of participants’ response style, and longitudinal studies are warranted.
SN  - 1936-1521
SN  - 1936-153X
ER  -