UC Berkeley Press Release
Researchers report northern Uganda PTSD, preference for violence findings
BERKELEY – MEMO TO REPORTERS
ATTENTION: Reporters covering international affairs, human rights
In an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's Human Rights Center and Tulane University's Payson Center for International Development report high rates of symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression in residents of conflict-ridden northern Uganda. They also find that those with such symptoms favor violent -- rather than peaceful -- means to resolve their country's conflict.
Since armed unrest began in the region in 1980s, about 1.5 million Ugandans have been displaced in camps and tens of thousands have been forced into conscription as soldiers, servants or sex slaves.
The upcoming JAMA article is embargoed until noon PST Tuesday, July 31, but can be reviewed before that at: http://www.jamamedia.org.
The researchers and their contact information are listed below:
- Eric Stover, faculty director of UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center, (510) 642-0965 or (415) 663-1548 (available Friday, July 27, through Sunday, July 29)
- Harvey Weinstein, a senior research fellow at the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, (510) 642-0965
- Patrick Vinck, director of the UC Berkeley-Tulane Initiative for Vulnerable Populations, 011- 243-819-45-85-56 (Vinck is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Phuong Pham, an adjunct assistant professor at Tulane and a senior research fellow at the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, 011-41-79-520-0534 (Pham is in Geneva)
The UC Berkeley Human Rights Center conducts research on issues in international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes, justice and reconstruction, health and human rights and globalization. The Payson Center for International Development at Tulane University studies the impact of information technology on education and development processes at all levels.