Abstract
The use of parent-child report is a common occurrence within clinical research as they both provide unique perspectives that could possibly help to shed light on aspects of the child that are relatively difficult to directly observe or just to provide corroborative support to the child report. This study attempted to examine convergence between caregiver and war-affected youth reports of their experience with stigma and acceptance post war. It also sought to expand on current research by examining the capability of corroborative reports as better predictors of mental health outcomes of war-affected youths post conflict. The analysis showed that (1) there was little convergence between caregiver and war-affected youths’ report of acceptance and stigma; (2) acceptance is a strong protective factor in this population especially after a traumatic experience such as war; (3) Stigma, even in at low levels can have a detrimental effect to the mental health of the youth. The outcomes of this study point to the need for further evaluation on how related caregiver and child reports are and what role the information gained plays in the mental health field especially for former child soldiers.