Attending to the Mental Health of War-Affected Children: The Need for Longitudinal and Developmental Research Perspectives

Abstract

The article by Panter-Brick, Goodman, Tol, and Eggerman in this issue of the Journal presents the findings from a rare follow-up study on childhood adversities and mental health in Afghan schoolchildren. 1 This article excels in addressing three critical issues in research on war-affected children and families: the measurement of mental health problems from a developmental and longitudinal perspective, ethical conduct while working in challenging field conditions, and careful attention to the cross-cultural assessment of mental health and related constructs in family and community context