Mental Health Dimensions of Ethnic Conflict

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ethnopolitical conflict is a global tragedy in which intergroup and communal violence devastate the lives of millions. With NIMH support, the University of Pennsylvania's Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict introduced in 1999 a Summer Institute for postdoctoral Summer Fellows interested in understanding and ameliorating ethnopolitical conflict. A second Institute is being offered in 2001 with funding from other sources. This application is a revision of a competitive renewal submitted June 2000; it seeks support for two additional Summer Institutes in 2003 and 2005. The long-term objectives of these educational programs are (1) to encourage and prepare psychologists and other social scientists to pursue research careers that will advance understanding of the causes and dynamics of ethnic group violence and the mental health consequences for individuals and communities, and (2) to contribute thereby to designing effective interventions for reducing ethnic conflicts and for promoting the psychosocial recovery and well-being of victims and their communities after these conflicts. Specific aims include (1) educating Fellows in a broad curriculum of social science theories, research methods, and findings relevant to studying ethnopolitical conflict and its mental health effects, (2) fostering the development of research collaborations among the Fellows, and (3) further developing and refining the Institute format and curriculum, including the development of internet based and other distance-learning educational products for broader dissemination. The 2003 and 2005 Summer Institutes will each bring together approximately 15 Fellows from psychology and related disciplines for an intensive ten-week program; each week will include four days of morning presentations and afternoon discussion sessions with leading experts in ethnopolitical conflict and mental health, and one day devoted to review, integration, and the development of research-focused working groups. At the conclusion of each Summer Institute, the Asch Center expects to provide four or five of the Summer Fellows with one-year Research Fellowships at the Center's international network sites, and to provide modest start-up funds for the post-Institute development of collaborative research projects among the Summer Fellows. These Summer Institutes, in combination with the Asch Center's other initiatives, will significantly increase the number of investigators with interest and expertise in the mental health dimensions of ethnic conflict.