Children and Political Violence in Northern Ireland

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The effects on children of political violence, and links with community and domestic conflict, are matters of international concern. The mechanisms by which political (i.e., ethnic) conflict and community violence (criminal, sectarian) relate to the family, and, in turn, children's well-being and development are little understood. Children are at risk regardless of formal accords, which may or may not last, as long as sectarianism and segregation between ethnic groups remain. This proposal is to continue investigation of a social ecological model for the effects of political violence on children. The longitudinal sample consists of 700 working class families in Catholic and Protestant areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland. In Phase 1 both mothers and children were interviewed in their home on all aspects of this model (i.e., political, community, family, child regulation and adjustment). Preliminary analyses support the social ecological perspective. A second wave of data will be collected in 2007-2008. Given the unique sample, and the promise of initial model testing, this application requests support to continue to follow this sample for three more waves, spaced one year apart, towards better elucidating the mechanisms, pathways, and conditions underlying associations between political tension and child maladjustment over time. This is a unique opportunity for studying dynamic change processes in these multiple and interrelated contexts over time, with implications for understanding change processes affecting children. Phase 2 is needed to more adequately test and examine the explanatory and predictive value of this perspective, and provides a unique opportunity to study continuity and change in contexts of political violence affecting children and adolescents. This research thus will contribute to understanding of ecological, psychological, and familial processes underlying effects of ethnic conflict in Northern Ireland on children and adolescents, with implications for other regions of the world with histories of ethnic conflict and political violence. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This study will contribute to understanding of ecological, psychological, and familial processes underlying effects of ethnic conflict in Northern Ireland on children, providing a template for study of the impact of children's exposure to sectarian violence worldwide. More generally, understanding of relations between community violence, family functioning, adolescents' regulatory processes, and adolescent adjustment will be uniquely advanced.