The Effect of Cognitive Therapy on Structural Social Capital: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial Among Sexual Violence Survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 104; no. 9; pp. 1680 - 1686
• Main Authors: HALL, Brian J, BOLTON, Paul A, ANNAN, Jeannie, KAYSEN, Debra, ROBINETTE, Katie, CETINOGLU, Talita, WACHTER, Karin, BASS, Judith K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Public Health Association 01.09.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical trials; Cognitive therapy; Cognitive Therapy - methods; Community; Community Health; Democratic Republic of the Congo - epidemiology; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Global Health; Human Rights; Humans; Intervention; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Participation; Post traumatic stress disorder; Poverty; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Questionnaires; Rape; Research and Practice; Sex crimes; Sex Offenses - psychology; Sex Offenses - statistics & numerical data; Social capital; Social networks; Social research; Social Support; Socioeconomic Factors; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Studies; Survivors - psychology; Survivors - statistics & numerical data; Towns; Trauma; Violence; Women; Women's Health; Congo (Democratic republic); Africa; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Congo-Democratic Republic of Congo; Randomization; Cognitive therapy; Treatment; Survivor; Violence; Authorized capital; Clinical trial; Sexual abuse; Victimology; Randomized controlled trial; Public health; Result
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301981

We evaluated changes in social capital following group-based cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for female survivors of sexual violence. We compared CPT with individual support in a cluster-randomized trial in villages in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local psychosocial assistants delivered the interventions from April through July 2011. We evaluated differences between CPT and individual support conditions for structural social capital (i.e., time spent with nonkin social network, group membership and participation, and the size of financial and instrumental support networks) and emotional support seeking. We analyzed intervention effects with longitudinal random effects models. We obtained small to medium effect size differences for 2 study outcomes. Women in the CPT villages increased group membership and participation at 6-month follow-up and emotional support seeking after the intervention compared with women in the individual support villages. Results support the efficacy of group CPT to increase dimensions of social capital among survivors of sexual violence in a low-income conflict-affected context.