Children of the Troubles: The Impact of Political Violence in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article explores the effects of political violence on children and young people in Northern Ireland. The article begins with a brief historical account of the Northern Irish conflict and the recently negotiated Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998. This account illustrates, as is the case with many conflicts, its basis is religious, national, economic, and political, despite its frequent construction as a battle between Protestant and Roman Catholic. The article goes on to review young peoples' experience of conflict in Northern Ireland and the impact of conflict experiences on three related areas of young people's lives. These include the effects of the conflict on everyday aspects of life, social identity, and mental health.Ethno-political conflict is now considered one of the most important threats to global security (Large, 1997;Mccgwire, 2002). Violent inter-group conflict represents a difficult and intractable problem in many regions of the world. Over the final decades of the 20th Century intra-state conflict (rather than inter-state conflict or war) became an increasingly common problem. The United Nations Development Programme recorded only three wars between states in the period between 1989 and 1992, while documenting 79 instances of intra-state conflicts over the same period, many of which had been underway for a decade or more (Large, 1997).These types of conflicts differ from traditional warfare in a number of ways. The costs of such conflicts tend to be borne by civilians, rather than military personnel. In World War I, 10% of all fatalities were civilians. In World War II, civilians were estimated to comprise 50% of casualties. During subsequent conflict civilian casualties have represented upwards of 80% of all casualties, many of whom are

Adolescents Exposed to 7 Years of Political Violence: Differential Relations Between Exposure and Its Impact for Jewish and Arab Israelis

“…In addition, in cases of evident pathology, symptomatology has been inconsistent across studies ranging from symptoms such as anger and other externalizing behaviors (Barber 2001;Muldoon 2004), depression (Barber 2001) to PTSD (Masinda and Muhesi 2004). This corpus of research questions earlier assumptions of automatic severe impairment and indicates the complexity of determining effects of political violence on youth.…”

“…On the side demonstrating damaging consequences, studies have indicated that exposure to war and political violence frequently leads to developmental impairment and psychiatric symptomatology, ranging from isolated symptoms to profiles of disorder (Allwood et al 2002;Dyregrov et al 2000;Muldoon 2004;Thabet et al 2002). On the opposite side of the continuum is evidence suggesting that children who grow up in politically violent environments may exhibit surprising resilience and successful adjustment (Barber 2009).…”

Cautions on the overgeneralized application of the NICE and CREST recommendations for the treatment of PTSD in the UK: a reflection from practice in Belfast, Northern Ireland

“…In summarizing the protracted period since the eruption of violence, Muldoon (2004) notes '[f]or close to three decades, violence between and within paramilitary groups has proliferated and heavily armed police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Northern Ireland. Though the violence has varied in form and intensity over this time, it can generally be characterized as low intensity urban guerrilla warfare.…”

“…For example, violence has been unevenly distributed across Northern Ireland (Muldoon, 2004;Smyth & Hamilton, 2003;Trew, 2004), with working class neighbourhoods, especially in urban areas, being disproportionately affected (Fay et al, 1999). Those living in high violence areas have been shown to experience greater levels of psychiatric distress than those in low violence areas, especially if they perceive their area as violent and dangerous (Cairns & Wilson, 1984).…”

Spacing commemorative-related violence in Northern Ireland: assessing the implications for a society in transition

“…In a post-conflict society of such dualities, the violent outworking of continued division is not unprecedented. Peacetime violence in all its forms: sectarian, political, racist, informal, domestic and 'everyday' in Northern Ireland remains a formidable challenge (McAlister et al, 2013;Feldman 1991;Muldoon 2004). …”