Political Psychology

1
Political Psychology

• The Impact of Exposure to Trauma in Children

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The Impact of Trauma

• Natural

• Manmade

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Childrens Physical Psychological Reactions

• Physical well-being
• Stunting of physical growth, palpitations,
  stomach aches, migraines
• Psychological well-being
• Insomnia, truncation of emotional development,
  Social withdrawal, self-esteem, trust
• Resilience
• Dependent on several factors
• Children are not as resilient as adults

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The Impact on Children

• Lubit (2006)
• Trauma can propel a child off the normal
  developmental curve
• Children tend to be most affected by post-trauma
  crisis states
• Traumatic experiences can impair self-confidence
• Identification with the aggressor may be a result
  of exposure to trauma

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The Impact of Trauma

• Conditioned Fear Response
• Developmental Disturbance
• Regulation of Affect and Behaviour
• Threats to Core Identity
• Implications for Skill Development

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The Case of the Former Yugoslavia

• Exposed large numbers of children to traumatic
  events
• Resulted in anxiety, depression and PTSD
• 78 of Bosnian children witnessed at least 6
  traumatic events
• Children and adolescents react differently to war
  events

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Langua (2005)

• Following the 9/11 terror attacks, children as
  far away as Seattle reported PTS symptoms
• Increases in worry, anxiety, upset and fears of
  future attacks
• Countries need to respond to childrens mental
  health needs following national and regional
  disasters

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PTSD following Trauma

• May only begin to develop years after the event
• Can persist for years
• e.g. Oklahoma City bombing Forced labour camps
• The number of children suffering significant
  emotional effects may be underestimated

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Children and Political Violence in Northern
Ireland

• Murray (1982) - 8 of all victims have been
  children
• Smith Hamilton (2004) - 1 in 6 victims are aged
  19 or under
• 20 had been near a bomb explosion, 20 had a
  friend or relative killed,
• 12 feel they do not live in a safe place

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Children and Political Violence in Northern
Ireland

• Not all children are exposed to the same level of
  violence
• Qualitative differences in the violence
• Age mediates the reactions to violence
• Children aged between 8yrs and adolescence are
  worst affected

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PTSD and Exposure to Trauma

• Exposure to organised violence is related to PTSD
  diagnoses in children under 5
• Children exposed to certain traumatic stressors
  are significantly more likely to develop PTSD
• Religion and gender related to exposure to
  violence

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Political Violence and Child Mental Health

• Cairns Wilson (1993) - 10 of children suffer
  serious psychological consequences
• Liddell, Kemp Moema (1993) - 50 of children
  are psychologically affected while 50 appear
  resilient

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Political Violence and Child Mental Health

• Fee (1980 1983) - Political violence in NI does
  not have an increasingly detrimental effect on
  childrens behaviour
• McGrath Wilson (1985) - higher levels of
  depression not related to the Troubles

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PTSD in Northern Irish Children

• Joseph et al. (1993) - no significant difference
  between children from high and low violence areas
• Perrin et al. (2000) - the majority of children
  that are exposed to violent stressors do not go
  on to develop PTSD
• Ziv Isreali (1973) - the meaning of the
  violence is more important than the level of
  exposure

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Exposure to Trauma in Northern Ireland

• Cairns (1996) - questions whether a lack of
  psychological symptomatology is an indicator of
  well-being or severe traumatisation
• Cairns (1996) parents act as a protective factor

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Summary

• The impact of exposure to trauma on children
• Physical and psychological reactions
• Need for national responses to childrens mental
  health needs
• PTSD following exposure to trauma

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Summary

• Children and political violence in Northern
  Ireland
• PTSD development in Northern Ireland
• Implications for mental health in the region

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Next Week

• Coping with exposure to traumatic events
• Coping strategies
• Defense mechanisms

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Recommended Reading

• Binks, E. Ferguson, N. (2006) Legacies of
  Conflict Children in Northern Ireland. In A.
  Hosin (Ed) Responding to Traumatised Children.
  UK Palgrave
• Rousseau, C., Drapeau, A. Rahimi, S. (2003) The
  complexity of trauma response a 4-year follow-up
  of adolescent Cambodian refugees  Child Abuse
  Neglect, 27, 11, 1277-1290
• Thabet, A.A.M., Abed, Y. Vostanis, P. (2002)
  Emotional problems in Palestinian children living
  in a war zone a cross-sectional study  The
  Lancet, 359, 9320, 1801-1804
• Veale, A. Donà, G. (2003) Street children and
  political violence a socio-demographic analysis
  of street children in Rwanda Child Abuse
  Neglect, 27, 3, 253-269