From childhood abduction to adulthood: Enduring consequences for women in Uganda

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.