Journal of Development Economics · 2026 · Alessandra Cassar、Eeshani Kandpal、Miranda Lambert、Christine Mbabazi Mpyangu、Danila Serra
中文摘要
在武装冲突期间，女童和妇女面临被迫流离失所、身体暴力和性暴力的风险尤其高。20世纪80年代中期至21世纪头十年中期，上帝抵抗军（LRA）在乌干达北部绑架了超过5万人，其中包括超过2.5万名儿童。我们研究了乌干达北部约550名女性，其中一半在青春期之前或青春期期间遭到绑架。基于有理由认为LRA的绑架行为具有外生性这一点，我们将设有激励的行为博弈与详细的调查数据相结合，评估童年被绑架对一系列社会经济和心理健康结果，以及行为特征和偏好的长期影响。童年被绑架显著降低了受教育程度，但对经济活动、婚姻结果或风险承受能力几乎没有持久影响。相比之下，在冲突结束近二十年后，曾被绑架的女性出现抑郁症状和感知压力的比例仍大幅高于其他女性，应激反应更强，社会支持和亲社会性更低，但同时也更为坚毅。这些发现凸显了开展冲突后干预的必要性：在对教育和生计进行常规投资的同时，应优先关注长期心理健康和重新融入社会。
Abstract
Girls and women are disproportionately exposed to forced displacement and physical and sexual violence during armed conflicts. Between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted over 50,000 people in Northern Uganda, including more than 25,000 children. We study approximately 550 women in Northern Uganda, half of whom were abducted before or during adolescence. Leveraging the plausibly exogenous nature of LRA abductions and combining incentivized behavioral games with detailed survey data, we assess the long-term effects of childhood abduction on a range of socioeconomic and mental health outcomes, as well as on behavioral traits and preferences. Childhood abduction significantly reduces educational attainment but has little persistent effect on economic activity, marriage outcomes, or risk tolerance. In contrast, nearly two decades after the conflict ended, formerly abducted women still exhibit substantially higher rates of depressive symptoms and perceived stress, heightened stress responses, reduced social support and prosociality, but also greater grit. These findings highlight the need for post-conflict interventions that prioritize long-term mental health and social reintegration, alongside standard investments in education and livelihoods.