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Data for the article : War trauma and psychomotor Developmental Disorders in Children Aged 6 to 12 in Lubumbashi: A comparative Study Abstract Introduction Ongoing armed conflicts in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have caused massive population displacement, exposing many children to direct or indirect traumatic experiences. While the psychological consequences of such exposures are well-documented, their impact on psychomotor development remains underexplored, particularly in African contexts characterized by chronic and prolonged violence. Objective This study aimed to compared the psychomotor development of displaced children living in Lubumbashi according to their type of war trauma exposure (direct, indirect, or no exposure) and to examine the potential moderating role of factors such as schooling and parental support. Method The sample included 300 children aged 6 to 12 years (M=9.55;SD=2.06), divided into three equally sized groups (n=100) based their level of trauma exposure. Exposure to war-related events was assessed using a life events scale, allowing categorization into direct exposure, indirect exposure, or no trauma. Psychomotor development was measured using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (M-ABC-2). Initial group comparisons were conducted using chi-square tests for categorical variables (sex, school attendance, parental support) statistical analyses included a robust analysis of variance based on 20% trimmed means, robust post hoc comparisons (Yuen’s test), and multivariate linear regression with robust standards errors, controlling for age, school attendance, and parental support. All analyses were conducted using R software (version4.2.3). Results Psychomotor development scores differed significantly according to type of trauma exposure (F(2,111.89)=458.9;p<0.001), with a very large effect size (η² = 0.93). Children exposed to direct or indirect trauma showed significantly lower psychomotor scores than non-exposed children (p<0.001). no significant difference was observed between direct and indirect exposure (p = 0.11). Multivariate analysis confirmed that trauma exposure was the main predictor of psychomotor difficulties, independent of age (p = 0.13), schooling ( p = 0.95), and parental support (p = 0.74), none of which showed a significant moderating effect.
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Methodological instruments 1. Life Events Scale (PTSS) 2. Coding of traumatic Events 3.Movement assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC-2) Data collection Procedures Data were collected by the principal investigator, who administered all instruments to children exposed to traumatic situations. Assessments were conducted in secure, age-appropriate conditions, ensuring confidentiality and psychological comfort. The collected information was entered into Microsoft excel and subsequently exported to R software (version 4.2.3) for statistical analyses. Statistical Analyses Initial comparability between the trauma groups was assessed using the chi-square test for the categorical variables. Scores obtained from the PTSS and the M-ABC-2 were analyzed using R software. A one way robust analysis of variance (ANOVA), based on 20% trimmed means, was used to compare psychomotor scores across the three exposure groups. This method was chosen due to violations of normality and homoscedasticity assumptions, as well as the presence of outliers. Pairwise post hoc comparisons were the conducted using Yuen’s test for independent samples, bases on trimmed means, to examine specific differences between groups. Finally, a multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the influence of trauma exposure type on psychomotor development, controlling for age, school attendance and parental support. Robust standard errors were employed to account for heteroscedasticity in the residuals.
Institutions
- Université Libre de BruxellesBrussels Capital, Brussels
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Funders
- Académie de recherche et d'enseignement supérieurBrussels Capital, Brussels