Political Violence, Armed Conflict, and Youth Adjustment


Book Description

This book reviews and critiques the growing literature on youth development under conditions of political violence and armed conflict. It presents a robust framework, based in developmental psychopathology, for evaluating current research on this topic for strength of design, methodology, and documentation. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies from diverse regions and conflicts as well as across disciplines examine risks and challenges as well as resilience and coping as youth develop in unstable and threatening environments. In addition, this book provides strategies for designing and implementing prevention and intervention programs as well as further opportunities for expanding applied research for youth exposed to political violence and armed conflict. Topics featured in this book include: Analysis of major research on youths’ normative and pathological development during political violence and war. Guidelines for assessing research studies on the impact of political violence and armed conflict on youth. The effects of social ecology factors (e.g., family, school, and community) on youth functioning. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Political Violence, Armed Conflict, and Youth Adjustment is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians/professionals, and graduate students in the fields of child and school psychology, family studies, and public health as well as developmental psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, political science, anthropology, social and peace psychology, sociology, and ethnic studies.




Years of Conflict


Book Description

Recent years have witnessed a significant growth of interest in the consequences of political violence and displacement for the young. However, when speaking of "children" commentators have often taken the situation of those in early and middle childhood as representative of all young people under eighteen years of age. As a consequence, the specific situation of adolescents negotiating the processes of transition towards social adulthood amidst conditions of violence and displacement is commonly overlooked. Years of Conflict provides a much-needed corrective. Drawing upon perspectives from anthropology, psychology, and media studies as well as the insights of those involved in programmatic interventions, it describes and analyses the experiences of older children facing the challenges of daily life in settings of conflict, post-conflict and refuge. Several authors also reflect upon methodological issues in pursuing research with young people in such settings. The accounts span the globe, taking in Liberia, Afghanistan, South Africa, Peru, Jordan, UK/Western Europe, Eastern Africa, Iran, USA, and Colombia. This book will be invaluable to those seeking a fuller understanding of conflict and displacement and its effects upon adolescents. It will also be welcomed by practitioners concerned to develop more effective ways of providing support to this group.




Handbook of Political Violence and Children


Book Description

Political violence has disrupted the lives of millions of children around the world. Responding to the gravity and scale of this phenomenon, this volume is intended to stimulate discussion and research on children's exposure to political violence and its psycho-social effects. It brings together for the first time in a single volume three areas of scientific activity in different disciplines: research on effects, programs for intervention, and laws and policy for prevention of political violence to children. Section I presents reviews of research on children exposed to political violence, including child soldiers and refugee children, as well as an examination of methodology and ethics. Section II contains research on interventions with children exposed to political violence, including individual therapy and school, family, and community interventions. Section III covers legal and social issues in deterring the recruitment of children to violent causes and protecting children in armed conflict. Pulling together the work of leading scholars and practitioners in the social sciences and international law, this volume argues that the prevention of political violence to children is possible, and it provides a crucial basis for ideas for prevention.




Children and Youth in Armed Conflict


Book Description

This is a book that students and professionals from different disciplines and backgrounds, including from academia, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, the medical community, governments, etc., will find to be a valuable resource in their quest to learn more about an area of study that has long been neglected. 2 Volume set.




Children and Political Violence


Book Description

The post-war world has become characterized by fierce new assertions of nationalism and sovereignty. Many regions - such as Bosnia, Somalia and Northern Ireland - are threatened by violent ethnic, religious and cultural strife. Almost daily on our television screens we see the faces of frightened children caught up in war, yet research into the effects of war on children is patchy and not well known. Children and Political Violence provides a critical evaluation of attempts to answer questions about the impact of political violence on such topics as children's aggression, moral development, and interpersonal relations. Much of the material is concerned with children who witness, experience or participate in violent acts, and with the children's stress and coping in violent circumstances. Other chapters deal with the effects on the social fabric of children's lives of the loss of families, destruction of social networks, homelessness, and the challenge of ensuring that the next generation grows up to reject violence as a way of settling political disputes. Written in a highly accessible style with many real-life examples, Children and Political Violence will be of broad interest to students, researchers and practitioners in child psychology and psychiatry, education, conflict studies and peace studies.




Psychological Perspectives on Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Children


Book Description

"Violence against children (VAC) is one of the most significant, widespread, and preventable threats to human development in our world today. VAC not only has direct consequences for children in a myriad of domains, including physical health, mental health, educational outcomes, and social relationships (e.g., Fry et al., 2018; Hughes, et al., 2017; Noonan & Pilkington, 2020; Norman et al., 2012), but emerging research also suggests that the incredible stress induced by VAC may result in the intergenerational transmission of negative outcomes, conferred through a variety of pathways. For example, children impacted by VAC may view violence as an acceptable method of conflict resolution and be more likely to engage in violent behaviors as they grow into adulthood, thus modeling violence for future generations (Affolter & Valente, 2019; Britto et al., 2014; Donaldson et al., 2017; Yale University & AÇEV Partnership, 2012)"--




Children and Youth on the Front Line


Book Description

This series reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the field and includes within its scope international law, anthropology, medicine, geopolitics, social psychology and economics.




Children Affected by Armed Conflict


Book Description

Societal turbulence, state collapse, religious and ethnic conflict, poverty, hunger, and social exclusion all underlie children's involvement in armed conflict. Drawing from empirical studies in eleven conflict-ridden countries, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Colombia, Uganda, Palestine, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and South Sudan, Children Affected by Armed Conflict crosses cultures and contexts to capture a range of perspectives on the realities of armed conflict and its aftermath for children. Children Affected by Armed Conflict upends traditional views by emphasizing the experience of girls as well as boys, the unique social and contextual backgrounds of war-affected children, and the resilience and agency such children often display. Including children who are victims of, participants in, and witnesses to armed conflict in their analyses, the contributors to this volume highlight innovative methodologies that directly involve war-affected children in the research process. This validates the perspectives of children and ensures more effective outcomes in postwar reintegration and recovery. Deficits-based models do not account for the realities many war-affected children face. The alternative approaches presented in this edited collection—which acknowledge the realities of both trauma and resilience—aim to generate more effective policies and intervention strategies in the face of a growing global public health crisis.




Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence


Book Description

This handbook provides a detailed overview of the emotional, physical, and social implications of anger, aggression, and violence. The book covers the recognition, diagnosis, and evaluation of these areas, aiming to understand the aetiology of these behavioral features to assist with prevention and cure. The book is divided into eight sections: Placing Aggression, Anger, Aggression and Violence In Context Causes and Precipitation of Anger, Aggression and Violence Features of Anger, Aggression and Violence Anger, Aggression and Violence in Defined Disorders and Conditions Physical Measures of Pathology and Insights: Genetics Physical Measures of Pathology and Insights: Non-Genetic Treatments and Therapies Methods and Techniques Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence will be of use for behavioral scientists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses and doctors, neurologists, health scientists, general practitioners, research scientists and all those interested in altered behavior.




Mental Health of Refugee and Conflict-Affected Populations


Book Description

This book provides an overview of theoretical, empirical, and clinical conceptualizations of mental health following exposure to human rights violations (HRV). There are currently hundreds of millions of individuals affected by war and conflict across the globe, and over 68 million people who are forcibly displaced. The field of refugee and post-conflict mental health is growing exponentially, as researchers investigate the factors that impact on psychological disorders in these populations, and design and evaluate new treatments to reduce psychological distress. This volume will be a substantial contribution to the literature on mental health in refugee and post-conflict populations, as it details the state of the evidence regarding the mental health of war survivors living in areas of former conflict as well as refugees and asylum-seekers.