Youths Making Sense of Political Conflict: Considering Protective and Maladaptive Possibilities

Recchia, Holly; Wainryb, Cecilia

doi:10.1159/000325371

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…In many respects, the propositions we have outlined are consistent with recent scholarship that challenges the one-sided view of war-affected youths as helpless victims, replacing it with a view of young people as continuously engaged in making sense of the sociopolitical realities in which they participate (e.g., Barber, 2009;Boothby, Strang, & Wessells, 2006;Daiute, 2010;Franks, 2011;Hammack, 2011;Wessells, 2006). Critically, we also underscore that youths' capacity to make sense of their own experiences is not necessarily associated, exclusively and in an uncomplicated fashion, with optimal identity growth (Recchia & Wainryb, 2011;Wainryb, 2010;. Rather, the analyses outlined in this chapter suggest that, in grappling with their war-related experiences, youths may initiate identity pathways that, although protective in the short term, can ultimately constrain and even undermine development in the long run (see also Hammack, 2011;…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…For example, consider the following two narratives. The first is told by a former Colombian child soldier who was asked to describe an experience in which his actions caused harm to another person (Wainryb, 2011; see also Recchia & Wainryb, 2011); the second is told by a Sudanese adolescent describing his experience in a refugee camp (Lustig, Weine, Saxe, & Beardslee, 2004):…”

Section: Diffused Identities: Political Violence and The Disruption Omentioning

confidence: 99%

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Youths’ Constructions of Meanings About Experiences with Political Conflict

Wainryb

Recchia

2015

The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development

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This chapter outlines distinct ways in which political conflict may become associated with identity construction. In the context of politically framed events involving violence and injustice, youth must grapple with the meanings of these experiences while protecting themselves from some of their devastating implications. Their varied attempts at meaning-making can thus be viewed as understandable responses to the threats associated with these experiences and as being adaptive in light of the unique circumstances afforded by the specific sociopolitical features. Also important, youths' ways of grappling with war experiences implicate identity work, with unique consequences for their enduring understandings of themselves. The authors' analysis suggests that, in grappling with these experiences, youths may initiate identity pathways that, while protective in the short-term, can undermine identity development in the long run. Thus, thinking about identity processes in relation to how youths make sense of their war experiences can illuminate the developmental sequelae of political conflict.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Diffused Identities: Political Violence and The Disruption Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Youths’ Constructions of Meanings About Experiences with Political Conflict

Wainryb

Recchia

2015

The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research on group violence provides general support for the view that ordinary psychological processes function under the most extraordinary circumstances in people of all ages, and that children usually remain ordinary children, not simply perpetrators or victims, and continue to think, act, and develop, albeit in ways profoundly influenced by their experiences [Barber, 2009;Daiute, 2010;Franks, 2011;Hammack, 2011;Recchia & Wainryb, 2011]. With respect to perpetrators in particular, this research supplements the thesis of 'ordinary men' with a thesis of 'ordinary children.…”

Section: Ordinary Children (And Adolescents)mentioning

confidence: 99%