An increasing number of researchers and policymakers have been moved to study and intervene in the lives of children affected by violent conflicts (Masten, 2014). According to a United Nations Children's Fund (2009) report, over 1 billion children under the age of 18 are growing up in regions where acts of political violence and armed conflict are, as Ladds and Cairns (1996, p. 15) put it, “a common occurrence—a fact of life.” In recent years, the United Nations Children's Fund, advocacy and human rights groups, journalists, and researchers have drawn public attention to the high rates of child casualties in these regions, and to the plights of those children still caught in the crossfire. It has thus become clear that both the challenges and the stakes are higher than ever to promote the safety and well-being of affected children around the world (Masten & Narayan, 2012; Tol, Jordans, Kohrt, Betancourt, & Komproe, 2012).

Background: The emergence of the coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) resulted in a global pandemic. The psychological impact of an epidemic is multifaceted and acute, with long-term consequences. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey-based design was employed, assessing the psychological impact of COVID-19 on members of the Irish public during the quarantine period of COVID-19 in Ireland. Participants were invited to complete the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) retrospectively (prior to quarantine) and during the quarantine period, as well as measures of illness perceptions, well-being, and a bespoke measure (the Effects of COVID Questionnaire, ECQ), which assessed perceptions of COVID-related stresses associated with personal concerns, caring for children, caring for aging parents, as well as gratitude. Results: A total of n = 1620 entered the survey platform, with a total of n = 847 surveys completed by members of the Irish public. Entry into COVID-19 quarantine was associated with significant increases in clinically significant symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety. The ECQ reliably assessed a range of COVID-19-related stresses and had large and significant correlations with the DASS-21. Conclusions: The COVID-19 quarantine was associated with stresses and significant increases in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in a national Irish cohort. The public require increased access to mental health services to meet this increase in COVID-19-related psychological distress.

The persistence of intergroup conflicts around the world creates urgency for research on child development in such settings. Complementing what we know about internalizing and externalizing developmental outcomes, in this article, I shift the focus to children's prosocial behaviors and more specifically, the Developmental Peacebuilding Model (DPM). The DPM makes three main contributions: It (a) integrates a developmental intergroup framework and socioecological perspective with a peace-building paradigm to examine the target and type of children's prosocial behavior in settings of intergroup conflict; (b) outlines how children's outgroup prosocial behaviors, which promote constructive change at different levels of social ecology, can be understood as peace building and fostering social cohesion; and (c) has implications for research and global policy. KEYWORDS-prosocial behavior; intergroup conflict; children; adolescents; youth; Developmental Peacebuilding Model; helping; civic engagement; social ecology; social cohesion Globally, armed intergroup conflicts have both increased and intensified since the end of World War II, exposing more children to political violence. More than 60% of such conflicts reoccur (Gates, Mokleiv, & Trappeniers, 2016), illustrating that the seed of future violence is sown even as a peace accord is signed. Moreover, political intergroup conflicts-those based in ethnic, religious, and racial differences (Tropp, 2012)-are particularly difficult to address. This startling reality calls for research into the cyclical nature of war and conflict and in particular, the role of children. Complementing the growing body of research on the negative impact of political violence on children (Cummings, Merrilees, Taylor, & Mondi, 2017), in this article, I shift the focus to the potential constructive impact children can have on the conflict around them (