The Impact of War on Children

The Impact of War onChildren and promoting RESILIENCE

FILM Just Peace – voices of children in Sudan (11 minutes)

The impact of war on children In the past decade, an estimated two million children have been killed in armed conflict. Three times as many have been seriously injured or permanently disabled, many of them maimed by landmines. Countless others have been forced to witness or even to take part in horrifying acts of violence.

Children: “damaged” or resilient? There are two dominate discourses re children of war, one that focuses on the “irreversibility” or “limited plasticity” of children who are “damaged” by war experiences, with the outcome being that most interventions will have only very limited, if any, impact. An alternative viewpoint is that children are extremely “resilient” and as such, are likely to bounce back from adversity quite easily. In fact, some suggest that children adapt far more easily to new circumstances than adults and that most children spontaneously recover from difficulty.

Resilience Some longitudinal studies, several of which follow individuals over the course of a lifespan, have consistently documented that between half to two-thirds of children growing up in families with “mentally ill”, alcoholic, abusive, or parents who have been imprisoned or in poverty-stricken or war-torn communities do overcome the odds and turn risk into "resilience”.

Resilience defined “resilience” is the term used to describe a set of qualities that promote successful adaptation despite risk and adversity.

Resilience From research on resilience, from the literature on school effectiveness (Comer, 1984; Edmonds, 1986; Rutter et al., 1979), and from a rich body of ethnographic studies in which we hear the voices of youth, families, and teachers explaining their successes and failures (Heath & McLaughlin, 1993; Weis & Fine, 1993)… …a clear picture emerges of those characteristics of the family, school, and community environments that may alter or even reverse expected negative outcomes and enable individuals to circumvent life stressors and manifest resilience despite risk.

CARING RELATIONSHIPS The presence of at least one caring person-provides support for healthy development and learning. Werner and Smith's (1989) study, covering more than 40 years, found that, among the most frequently encountered positive role models in the lives of resilient children, outside of the family circle, was a favorite teacher who was not just an instructor for academic skills for the youngsters but also a confidant and positive model for personal identification.

The role of protection factors There is likely to be a dynamic interplay between stressful experience and a child’s available coping resources. Protective factors can limit the impact of stress, so many intervention programmes strive to promote enhanced development of protective factors (examples: availability of social support, presence of family members, structure/ normative routine such as school, adherence to political or religious ideology, etc).

Re-establish routine Disruption of “civil society” (family, school routine, etc) has negative consequences on the intellectual, social, moral, and emotional development of children. The importance of re-establishing routine for children can not be overemphasized (ex: sports, school, family religious activities, etc) in order to re-establish social networks within communities disrupted by war as well as restoring community networks/ building community capacity.

The role of parents/ guardians In the case of children it is known that the presence of parents can have a very positive impact. Even having parents or at least one primary guardian is a protective factor that mitigates risk. Some suggest that it is not just the presence of the parents but the meanings that parents give to the war experiences that the children have endured which enables the children to integrate the experience successfully into their world view.

Role of parents/ family Thus, the involvement of the parents becomes important on multiple levels in the recovery and rehabilitation process of the child.

Family Reestablishing family networks reinstates a powerful agent of socialization for a child (ie-tracing and family reunification). Restorative programmes at the community level also have clear benefits (play groups, etc).

Assisting children to adapt The fundamental purpose of interventions must be to assist in the development of means to re-equip children to function adaptively within their own cultural world.

Adaptation is dependent upon…the process of socialization Families are the primary socialization agent for children. Socialization can be defined as the process by which an individual acquires the behaviors, attitudes, values, and customs which are regarded as desirable and appropriate by society.

Socialization Well-socialized children have developed is the capacity to inhibit or delay impulse gratification, and much of what we describe as good character or virtue reflects this ability to delay or inhibit impulse gratification. Well-socialized children have learned not to strike out at others to get what they want. Well-socialized children have learned to cooperate and share and listen to and obey the directions of legitimate authority figures.

Oversocialization Taking on societal expectations to an extreme degree. A child may appear to be “older than their years”, have taken on adult-like traits (or is mimicking traits and assumed expected behaviors of adults) and has not been given the opportunity to “act like a child”. This can be damaging because the child may not have the capacity/coping skills (given their stage of cognitive and emotional development) to handle associated adult responsibilities.

Oversocialization A child who is “oversocialized” in a particular value system (such as most child soldiers) may be perceived as extremely aggressive outside of that system …adaptive behaviors in one situation are maladaptive in another. Research suggests that children in war time are more frequently “undersocialized” than oversocialized. The communal values can not be transmitted because the primarily socializing elements are not functioning.

Undersocialization Lacking the age appropriate skill set necessary for social functioning. “Stuck” in an earlier developmental stage…appearing to have an emotional or behavioral age much younger than one’s actual age.

Children and War/ Child Soldiers Children during war time may be conscripted into military service. Ex: the LRA in N Uganda taking children in the middle of the night and forcing them to participate in violent acts (often while drugged) in order to minimize the harm to adult members of LRA. Children may be “initiated” into the group by being forced to kill and if they refuse they may be killed themselves. Many children sleep in the trees or leave the villages at night to sleep in the towns to try to avoid being kidnapped.

Children and War/ Child Soldiers There are cases of children being forced into (para)military service and then being used to de-mine areas (ie- walk through the area to explode the mines). 8% of Mozambican children fleeing in one study (in the late 80’s) had been forced to participate in military activity.

Children and War… (Ager) “over socialized” and “under socialized” children demand different intervention approaches. “Boy soldiers” at times assimilate the virtues of annihilation of the enemy. There may be a contradiction between the values and behaviors of the past and present, what is adaptive in one circumstance, becomes maladaptive in another.

Reintegration The process of reintegration must help children establish new foundations in life. Re-establishing contact with the family and the community is important for former child soldiers who have grown up away from their families and who have been deprived of many of the normal opportunities for physical, emotional and intellectual development.

Reintegration of child soldiers Providing educational and vocational opportunities for former child combatants may prevent them from rejoining military units, and at the same time improve the economic security of their families. For a former child soldier, an education is more than a route to employment. It can also help to normalize life and to develop an identity separate from that of the soldier.

Traumatic experience and sleep disturbance in children from the Middle East (Montgomery) Risk factors (for sleep disturbances) included: family history of violence and stressful present family situation. The family environment is the natural healing environment of the child. The mere presence of both parents in this study was a protective factor.

Traumatic exposure and psychological reactions to genocide among Rwandan children High war trauma exposure constitutes a risk for children’s concentration, attention and memory performance and is associated with deficits in learning capacity. A majority of the 3,030 children interviewed (ages 8-19 yrs) believed that they would die (90%), and some had to hide (15% under dead bodied) to survive. Many exhibited post-traumatic reactions.

Fostering healing in children… A number of activities have been identified as supporting healing by fostering in children a sense of purpose, self-esteem and identity. These include establishing daily routines such as going to school, preparing food, washing clothes and working in the fields; providing children with the intellectual and emotional stimulation through structured group activities such as play, sports, drawing, drama and story-telling; and providing the opportunity for expression, attachment and trust that comes from a stable, caring and nurturing relationship with adults.

Healing in children Through training and raising awareness of central caregivers, including parents, teachers and community health workers, a diversity of programmes can enhance the community's ability to provide for children and vulnerable groups. Rather than focusing on a child's emotional wounds, programmes should aim to support healing processes and re-establish a sense of normalcy.

Empowering families and communities in the healing process The family is essential to children's care and protection and is an important social, economic and cultural factor in child development. But often, families are worn down by conflicts, both physically and emotionally, and face increased impoverishment. The most effective and sustainable approach to recovery is to mobilize the existing social care system. This could involve mobilizing a refugee community to support suitable foster families or extended family systems for the care of unaccompanied children. Another alternative is to provide care through peer-group living arrangements that are strongly integrated into communities.

The Impact of War on Children