商品詳細

The post cold-war world has become characterized by fierce new assertions of nationalism and sovereignty. Many regions - such as Bosnia, Somalia and Northern Ireland - are threatened by violent ethnic, religious and cultural strife. Almost daily, television screens show the faces of frightened children caught up in war, yet research into the effects of war on children is patchy and not well known. If these children manage to survive, are they scarred psychologically? This book looks at the evidence from many parts of the world in an attempt to answer this question. It brings together information from disparate sources, and provides a critical evaluation of attempts to answer questions about the impact of political violence on such topics as children's aggression, moral development and interpersonal relations. Much of the material is concerned with children who witness, experience or participate in violent acts, and with children's stress and coping in violent circumstances. Other chapters deal with the effects on the social fabric of children's lives, including the loss of families, destruction of social networks, homelessness and the challenge of ensuring that the next generation grows up to reject violence as a way of settling political disputes. Using many real-life examples, the book should be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners in child psychology and psychiatry, education, conflict studies and peace studies.