Navigating Risk: Understanding the Impact of the Conflict on Children and Young People in Northern Ireland

Abstract

20 years on from the 1994 ceasefires, Northern Ireland is a markedly safer place for children and young people to grow up. However, for a significant number, growing up in post-conflict Northern Ireland has brought with it continued risks and high levels of marginalization. Many young people growing up on the sharp edge of the transition have continued to experience troubling levels of poverty, lower educational attainment, poor standards of childhood health and sustained exposure to risk laden environments. Reflecting upon interdisciplinary research carried out since the start of the 'transition' to peace, this paper emphasizes the impact that embedded structural inequalities continue to have on the social, physical, mental and emotional well-being of many children and young people. In shining a light on the enduring legacy of the conflict, this paper moves to argue that greater attention needs to be given to the ongoing socioeconomic factors which result in limited lifetime opportunities, marginalization and sustained poverty for many young people growing up in 'peacetime' Northern Ireland.

The Prevalence, Patterns and Correlates of Childhood Trauma Exposure in a Nationally Representative Sample of Young People in Northern Ireland

“…There are a myriad of potential explanations for this finding, most prominent being the impact of the “Troubles”. The continued effects of the “Troubles” which include marginalisation, socio-economic adversity, social deprivation as well as intermittent instances of inter-community violence (Browne & Dywer, 2014 ), may cultivate a developmental environment in which CT exposure is more probable. NI is also one of the most socio-economically deprived areas within the UK (Abel et al, 2016 ), with socio-economic deprivation known to increase vulnerability to experiencing a broad range of stressors across multiple levels of a young person’s ecology (Evans & Kim 2013 ).…”

Youth in Northern Ireland: Linking Violence Exposure, Emotional Insecurity, and the Political Macrosystem

“…Youth from underserved communities and those with unstable family backgrounds have the highest risk of exposure (Byrne, Conway, & Ostermeyer, 2005; Cummings et al, 2012; Muldoon & Trew, 2000). Life in these communities often implies low levels of education, high levels of poverty, substance abuse, and a “sustained ‘ghettoization,’ social, and material deprivation” (Browne & Dwyer, 2014, p. 800) that restricts their access to opportunities and advancement.…”

Hidden barriers and divisive architecture: The role of “everyday space” in conflict and peacebuilding in Belfast

“…A growing body of work additionally substantiates contemporary evidence of considerable socio-economic disadvantage in the residential areas near peace wall locations. These indicators include deficient health outcomes (Catney, 2014), low educational attainment (Byrne et al, 2017), and persistent poverty and restricted lifetime opportunities for children and young people (Browne & Dwyer, 2014;Cummings et al, 2016;McAlister et al, 2009McAlister et al, , 2014. Of particular relevance to this article, however, is also the fact that many of these areas were subjected to sweeping architectural change during the Troubles.…”