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What children can tell us about living in danger
J Garbarino1, K Kostelny, N Dubrow
1Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development, Chicago, IL 60610.
Insights
Children in dangerous environments face developmental challenges due to chronic trauma. Adult processing of experiences is crucial for psychological coping and moral development, despite ideological complexities.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Trauma Studies
- Sociology of Conflict
Background:
- Children in communities with chronic violence and conflict experience significant developmental challenges.
- Existing concepts of post-traumatic stress disorder are insufficient for understanding chronic exposure to danger in environments like war zones or high-crime urban areas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the developmental impacts of chronic danger on children.
- To explore the effects of chronic stress on children's worldview, social understanding, and moral development.
- To highlight the role of adult guidance in mitigating trauma's effects.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative review of developmental challenges in children exposed to chronic danger.
- Analysis of existing literature on post-traumatic stress disorder in contexts of ongoing violence.
- Fieldwork conducted in five distinct war zones to observe and analyze children's experiences.
Main Results:
- Chronic exposure to violence and conflict profoundly impacts children's psychological and moral development.
- Adult-led processing of traumatic experiences is vital for children's coping mechanisms and moral growth.
- Ideological factors, while potentially offering short-term support, can exacerbate long-term conflict and vulnerability.
Conclusions:
- Interventions must focus on facilitating the processing of traumatic experiences for children in dangerous environments.
- Understanding the complex interplay of ideology, conflict, and child development is essential for effective support.
- Long-term psychological well-being and moral development in children require addressing the root causes of chronic danger and providing structured support.
Abstract:
Developmental challenges faced by children growing up in situations of chronic danger linked to community violence and communal conflict are reviewed. The concept of post-traumatic stress disorder is expanded to include situations of chronic and on-going traumatic stress associated with dangerous environments--war zones and inner city neighborhoods plagued by violence and crime. Of particular importance is the impact of chronic stress and danger on the child's world view, the child's social map, and the child's moral development. On the basis of field work in 5 war zones, the article points to the importance of adult-led "processing" of the young child's experience to his or her psychological coping and moral development. Some of the contradictions operating in such environments are explored--for example, that "fanatical" ideology may provide short-term support for adults and children but also may serve to prolong communal conflict, impede the necessary processing of experience, and increase vulnerability in the long run.