Learning how (not) to fire a gun: combatant training and civilian victimization

What is the relationship between the type of training combatants receive upon recruitment into an armed group and their propensity to abuse civilians in civil war? Does military training or political training prevent or exacerbate the victimization of civilians by armed non-state actors? While the literature on civilian victimization has expanded rapidly, few studies have examined the correlation between abuse of civilians and the modes of training that illegal armed actors receive. Using a simple formal model, we develop hypotheses regarding this connection and argue that while military training should not decrease the probability that a combatant engages in civilian abuse, political training should. We test these hypotheses using a new survey consisting of a representative sample of approximately 1,500 demobilized combatants from the Colombian conflict, which we match with department-level data on civilian casualties. The empirical analysis confirms our hypotheses about the connection between training and civilian abuse and the results are robust to adding a full set of controls both at the department and at the individual level

Validity and reliability of the international fItness scale (IFIS) in a population-based sample of schoolchildren in Bogota, Colombia: The FUPRECOL study

The International FItness Scale (IFIS) is a self-reported measure of physical fitness that could easily. This scale has been validated in children, adolescents, and young adults; however, it is unknown whether the IFIS represents a valid and reliable estimate of physical fitness in Latino-American youth population. In the present study we aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the IFIS on a population-based sample of schoolchildren in Bogota, Colombia. Participants were 1,875 Colombian youth (56.2% girls) aged 9 to 17.9 years old. We measured adiposity markers (body fat, waist-to-height ratio, skinfold thicknesses and BMI), blood pressure, lipids profile, fasting glucose, and physical fitness level (self reported and measured). Also, a validated cardiometabolic risk index was used. An age- and sex-matched sample of 229 Schoolchildren originally not included in the study sample fulfilled IFIS twice for reliability purposes. Our data suggest that both measured and self-reported overall fitness were associated inversely with adiposity indicators and a cardiometabolic risk score. Overall, schoolchildren who self-reported “good” and “very good” fitness had better measured fitness than those who reported “very poor” and “poor” fitness (all p<0.001). Test–retest reliability of IFIS items was also good, with an average weighted Kappa of 0.811. Therefore, our findings suggest that self-reported fitness, as assessed by IFIS, is a valid, reliable, and health-related measure, and it can be a good alternative for future use in large studies with Latin-schoolchildren from Colombia.