Children and Political Violence in Northern Ireland

描述(由申请人提供)：在世界上受政治暴力困扰的地区，儿童的发展日益受到关注，包括政治、社区和家庭暴力之间可能存在的联系。可以预计，当所有这些因素汇聚在一起时，负面后遗症对儿童的影响最大，就像在有着长期种族冲突历史的文化中一样。然而，关于政治暴力和相关的社会生态对儿童适应的影响的系统研究很少，更不了解与儿童结果的潜在关系的机制。这项研究调查了北爱尔兰政治暴力对儿童影响的生态框架。3提出了与程序相关的研究阶段。试点阶段涉及这种文化的工具改进，包括重点小组和定性分析。根据对母亲的调查(n=2000)，下一阶段将测试单亲和双亲家庭中政治和社区暴力与儿童适应(5-15岁)之间的关系。最后，一项更深入的调查(n=600)对2个父母家庭和最有可能发生种族冲突的儿童(10-15岁)进行了跟踪调查，以检验政治暴力对儿童心理影响的生态、理论驱动模式。儿童和家庭(婚姻冲突、父母教养、父母适应)功能的多个维度根据母亲和儿童报告进行评估，包括儿童的情感安全、社会认同和心理适应。有待检验的假设有：(A)政治暴力将对儿童适应产生直接影响，并通过社区暴力产生间接影响；(B)北爱尔兰各地的儿童结果不会是一致的，但将因北爱尔兰不同地区种族冲突的历史强度而产生积极差异；以及(C)家庭功能和儿童监管功能将调解政治和社区暴力对儿童适应结果的影响。这项研究将创新性地有助于理解种族冲突对北爱尔兰儿童潜在的生态、心理和家庭过程，并对世界上其他有种族冲突历史的地区产生影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is increasing concern about children's development in areas of the world plagued by political violence, including possible links between political, community and domestic violence. It might be expected that the negative sequelae would be greatest for children when all these factors converge, as in cultures with long-standing histories of ethnic conflict. However, little systematic study has been accomplished on the impact of political violence and related social ecologies on the adjustment of children, and even less is known about the mechanisms underlying relations with child outcomes. This study investigates an ecological framework for the effects of political violence on children in Northern Ireland. 3 programmatically-related phases of research are proposed. A pilot phase is concerned with instrument refinement for this culture, including focus groups and qualitative analyses. Based on a survey of mothers (n=2000), a next phase tests relations between political and community violence and children's adjustment (5-15 years) in single and 2-parent families. Finally, a more intensive survey (n=600) following-up with 2 parent families and children (10-15 years) at ages most at risk for exposure to ethnic conflict tests an ecological, theory-driven model for the psychological impact of political violence on children. Multiple dimensions of child and family (marital conflict, parenting, parental adjustment) functioning are assessed based on mother and child reports, including children's emotional security, social identity, and psychological adjustment. Among the hypotheses to be tested are: (a) political violence will have direct effects, and indirect effects through community violence, on child adjustment; (b) child outcomes will not be uniform across Northern Ireland, but will vary positively by the historical intensity of ethnic conflict in different regions of Northern Ireland; and (c) family functioning and child regulatory functioning will mediate the effects of political and community violence on child adjustment outcomes. The research will innovatively contribute to understanding of the ecological, psychological, and familial processes underlying effects of ethnic conflict on children in Northern Ireland, with implications for other regions of the world with histories of ethnic conflict.