A Social Ecological Perspective on Risk and Resilience for Children and Political Violence

Political Violence, Armed Conflict, and Youth Adjustment: A Worldwide Perspective

“…For adolescents, these future roles are quickly approaching. If traumatized youth are not given opportunities to adequately process their experiences, or to engage in peacebuilding efforts (Cummings, Taylor, & Merrilees, 2012c), there is greater risk they will be victimized by or involved in later violent conflicts. Thus, given the unfortunate fact that political violence commonly re-occurs or persists (Darby, 2006), youth represent a critical target for lasting peacebuilding.…”

“…Moreover, although resilience merits careful consideration, it is also vital to recognize the great threats that these contexts pose to the well-being of many youth (Betancourt & Khan, 2008). Thus, a goal of this book is to affirm the urgency of developing and disseminating adequately supported prevention and intervention programs that will help youth adaptively process their traumatic experiences, avoid the development of psychopathology, and use their individual, family, and community strengths to grow from their experiences, allowing them to participate constructively in the rebuilding of their communities (Betancourt et al, 2013a;Cummings et al, 2012c;Jordans, Tol, Komproe, & de Jong, 2009). …”

A Social–Ecological, Process‐Oriented Perspective on Political Violence and Child Development

“…Thus, the strength of identification with a group in conflict is likely to alter the psychological experience of group‐based conflicts such as that in Northern Ireland. Studies support the relevance of social identity to youth's adjustment in contexts of political violence, although the findings are complex, involving both positive and negative effects (Cummings, Taylor, & Merrilees, ). The strength of mothers' social identity moderated pathways between the impact of the political violence and her mental health, with social identity serving as a protective factor for Catholic mothers and a risk factor for Protestant mothers (Merrilees et al., ).…”

Associations of orientation to promote good in challenging situations with distress and well‐being: Multi‐study evidence from three non‐Western Longitudinal samples

“…In the extant literature, psychological diagnoses (primarily post‐traumatic stress disorder; e.g., Al Shawi & Hassen, 2022) and the experiences of children and refugees (e.g., Newnham et al., 2018; Quosh et al., 2013) are often explored. More limited attention has been paid to factors that may increase the resilience of adults who live in a culture whose recent history is characterised by a climate of conflict (for exceptions, see, e.g., Alfadhli & Drury, 2016; Cowden et al., 2023; Cummings et al., 2012; Dushimirimana et al., 2014; Zraly & Kagoyire, 2021).…”