Intergenerational Study of War-Affected Youth (ISWAY)
ISWAY investigates how parental war experiences shape parenting practices and early childhood development in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and explores the intergenerational influences of trauma, adversity, and resilience. In 2002, the study recruited war-affected youth, many of whom were former child soldiers, aged 10 to 17 years. In 2004, the study conducted further recruitment of former child soldiers. In total, the cohort includes over 500 war-affected youth, as well as their caregivers, partners, and offspring, recruited from six districts located throughout Sierra Leone: Bo, Kenema, Kono, Bombali, Moyamba, and Pujehun. Assessments have been conducted at five time points: 2002, 2004, 2008, 2016 to 2017 and 2025.
Study design
Cohort, Cohort - primary caregiver and child, Cohort - intergenerational
Number of participants at first data collection
529 (war-affected participants)
No information available (caregivers)
No information available (partners)
410 (offspring)
Age at first data collection
10 - 17 years (war-affected participants)
Varied (caregivers)
Varied (partners)
Varied (offspring)
Participant year of birth
Varied (war-affected participants)
Varied (caregivers)
Varied (partners)
Varied (offspring)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2002
Primary Institutions
Boston College (BC)
Harvard University
Links
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Audio or visual recordings (e.g. of child behaviour, facial expressions)
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Interviews or focus groups
- None
- None
Engagement
Keywords
