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

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.