# Pathways to improved adolescent mental health via an economic and gender equality intervention with conflict affected families

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $679,721

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, families have experienced more than two decades of violence,
displacement and political instability resulting in extreme poverty with limited educational and economic
opportunities. Child poverty and exposure to trauma is widespread and particularly concentrated in conflict-
affected and rural areas. Childhood exposure to multiple adversities can lead to a lifetime of poor mental
health. In rural DRC, we found parent’s self-report of poor mental health and victimization or perpetration of
intimate partner violence (IPV) had a significant negative impact on their young adolescents’ mental health,
with different impacts for boys and girls. The underlying ideologies of male authority and women’s place being
in the home has led to gender norms that restrict opportunities with limited attention to effects on mental
health. The study provides a unique opportunity with a proven Congolese partner to examine the combined
and synergistic effects of two proven structural interventions; 1) Rabbits for Resilience (RFR), youth-led
economic empowerment program; and 2) Indashyikirwa (IK), a couples/parents-based gender equality
program on adolescent mental health. Using a clustered randomized controlled trial with three groups (RFR
only, IK only, RFR + IK), we examine the combined and synergistic effects of the interventions and the
pathways through which RFR and IK improves adolescent mental health. We will test two hypotheses: 1)
Adolescents in the RFR + IK and RFR only households will report greater improvement in mental health via
pathway of improved self-efficacy, school attendance, food security and peer relationships compared to
adolescents in IK only households; and 2) Adolescents in RFR + IK and IK only households will report greater
improvement in mental health via the pathway of improved parent relationship quality and power sharing,
reduced exposure to IPV, improved parental mental health and support of gender equitable norms compared
to adolescents in RFR only households. Differences in pathways of the intervention effect will be examine by
sex of adolescent. The significance cannot be underestimated given nearly 1 in 5 children live in conflict-
affected areas, worldwide - and are facing a lifetime of poor mental health with inequitable access to education
and economic opportunities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10374385
- **Project number:** 1R01MH128913-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** NANCY E GLASS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $679,721
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-02-15 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10374385

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10374385, Pathways to improved adolescent mental health via an economic and gender equality intervention with conflict affected families (1R01MH128913-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10374385. Licensed CC0.

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