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Children of War
The atrocities of armed conflict have been and remain a major contributor to the prevalence of traumatic stress among those living in war zones. The risk factors for children of war are well documented by the World Health Organization. According to UNICEF, 2 million children have been killed by armed conflict, 6 million children have been physically injured, and 20 million children have been left without homes or communities and are displaced or separated from their families. The International Committee of the
Red Cross reported that 18 million children are in refugee camps or are internally displaced persons left to fend for themselves. Children who remain in countries with armed conflict are at risk of being imprisoned, raped, murdered, forced into labor or slavery, detained in refugee or internment camps, forced into prostitution, adopted illegally, forced into marriages, captured as child soldiers, left with the responsibility of care for their families and siblings, and forced into illegal activities such as selling or smuggling drugs or weapons. Another major impact of armed conflict is the increase in the abduction of child soldiers. There are a reported 250,000 child soldiers worldwide who engage in armed conflict and are forced to act as porters, sexual companions, drug carriers, torturers, and executioners. Child soldiering is one of the most horrific human rights violations and is a serious global problem.
This entry provides the current prevalence rates for children exposed to war who meet criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, reviews the complexity of factors that influence children's responses to the trauma of war, and provides an overview of evidence-based interventions that have been used with children traumatized by armed conflict.
Prevalence Rates and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress
The majority of research on children in war-torn countries focuses on medical interventions or medical treatments in the aftermath of war. Approximately 25% of children exposed to severe collective trauma develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to children traumatized by interpersonal violence where the rate of PTSD is between 40% and 58%. There are a few studies that have researched the prevalence rates of PTSD among children living in war zones. From studies in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the former Yugoslavia, and Latin America, estimates on the prevalence of PTSD among war-affected children range from 10% to 95% and depend on several risk factors such as
- violent acts perpetrated on them or their families and friends,
- death of family members,
- degree of life threat,
- torture,
- separation from parents or care providers,
- lack of economic means,
- breakdown of social networks and community relations,
- forced evacuation or displacement,
- lack of necessities in life (e.g., food, clean water, electricity and medical supplies),
- parental response to war trauma and political or religious prosecution,
- parental coping abilities,
- educational opportunities,
- repeated witnessing of atrocities either in person or in the media, and
- the child's coping skills.
Other reactions such as depression, anxiety, grief, lack of concentration, anger and irritability, nightmares, disturbed sleep, and addictions are reported in these studies. Risk factors impacting the level of PTSD have included both the type of exposure and the amount of exposure to war trauma. Caution is warranted, however, regarding the measures used to obtain the prevalence rates in these studies given that cut-off scores on certain measures may vary in different cultures, and the items in these measures may be misinterpreted. The most commonly used measures to report levels of posttraumatic stress among children of war are the clinician-administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS), the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC), and the Children's Impact of Traumatic Events Scale (CITES).
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- Anthropology and Archaeology
- Anthropology and Trauma
- Anthropology and War
- Racial and Ethnic Factors
- Racial Variations in the Psychobiology of Trauma
- Resource Loss Among Adults, Groups, and Communities
- Resource Loss Among Children and Families
- Rituals and Ceremonies, Therapeutic Use of
- Role of Trauma in Ethnic and Cultural Identity
- War, Origins in Animals and Early Societies
- Wars for Symbols
- Wars in Civilized Societies
- Arts and Humanities
- Business and Economics
- Children and Families
- Abduction/Kidnapping
- African Women and Girls' Trauma
- Campus Violence
- Childhood and Adolescent Trauma: An Overview
- Childhood and Adolescent Trauma: Assessment and Treatment
- Childhood Trauma and the Juvenile Justice System
- Childhood Traumatic Stress
- Children of War
- Critical Illness in Children
- Dissociative Identity Disorder and Trauma
- Family and Couples Trauma and Treatment
- Family-Based Treatment for Child Traumatic Stress
- Genetic Epidemiology
- Incest
- Marital Rape
- Marriage and the Marital Relationship
- Military Families, Effects of Combat and Deployment on
- Parenting During and After Traumatic Events
- Perinatal Trauma
- Perinatal Trauma, Long-Term Consequences of
- Protective Factors in Childhood Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Resilient Posttraumatic Adjustment in Childhood and Beyond
- Resource Loss Among Adults, Groups, and Communities
- Resource Loss Among Children and Families
- School Shootings
- Systemic Trauma Research
- Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma
- Crime and Law
- Abduction/Kidnapping
- Battered Women
- Blaming the Victim
- Campus Violence
- Childhood Trauma and the Juvenile Justice System
- Clergy, Sexual Abuse by
- Community Violence
- Comstock Act
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- Crime Scene Investigation
- Criminal Behavior Consequent to War
- Date Rape/Acquaintance Rape
- Genocide
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- Genocide, Cambodia's Mass Casualty Trauma
- Hate Crimes
- Homicide and Trauma
- Human Trafficking
- Incarceration and Trauma
- Incest
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- Male Rape
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- Perpetrators of Trauma
- Psychological Injury and Law
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- Secondary Trauma Among First Responders
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- Sexual Assault and Trauma
- Sexual Assault, Drug Facilitated
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- Sexual Harassment of Women
- Sexual Predators
- Sexual Trauma, Causes of
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- Social Learning Theory and Sexual Aggression
- Survival and Coping After Rape
- Terrorism, History of
- Trauma and Domestic Violence
- Wartime Rape
- Workplace Violence
- Crisis and Disaster
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- Genocide
- Genocide in Non-Western Nations
- Genocide, Cambodia's Mass Casualty Trauma
- Nongovernmental Organizations, Governments, and Humanitarian Aid
- Race-Based Traumatic Stress
- Racial and Ethnic Factors
- Racial Variations in the Psychobiology of Trauma
- Racism-Induced Trauma
- Refugees
- Rituals and Ceremonies, Therapeutic Use of
- Role of Trauma in Ethnic and Cultural Identity
- Slavery and Forced Servitude
- Traumatization in the Name of Religion
- Death and Dying
- Ethics and Philosophy
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- Boundaries and Boundary Violations
- Boundary Issues for Traumatologists
- Counterbalancing Stress
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- Ethical Dilemmas in Treatment of Trauma
- Ethics
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- Secondary Trauma Among Behavioral Health Professionals
- Secondary Trauma Among Chaplains
- Secondary Trauma Among First Responders
- Secondary Trauma Among Judges, Jurors, Attorneys, and Courtroom Personnel
- Secondary Trauma Among Medical Professionals
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- Secondary Traumatic Stress
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- Brain and Memory
- Brain and Trauma
- Encoding Trauma, Neurobiology of
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- Hippocampus
- Limbic System
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- Compassion Fatigue
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- Conservation of Resources Theory
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- Counterbalancing Stress
- Countertransference
- Dissociation
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- Evidence-Based Practice
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Theory and Research
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- Family and Couples Trauma and Treatment
- Family-Based Treatment for Child Traumatic Stress
- Fragility, Posttraumatic
- Iatrogenic Effects
- Lawsuits Against Behavioral Health Professionals
- Limbic System
- Marriage and the Marital Relationship
- Meditation
- Memory Work
- Military Psychology and Combat Stress Injuries
- Mowrer's Two-Factor Theory
- Pain
- Personality Disorders
- Pharmacotherapy
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Assessment and Systemic Treatment
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Comorbidity
- Primary Care
- Promoting Resilience in the Traumatized
- Protective Factors in Childhood Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Psychological Injury and Law
- Psychological Responses to Trauma
- Psychological Trauma
- Psychological Trauma Research
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- Psychopharmacology, Psychiatry, and Trauma
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- Secondary Traumatic Stress
- Shame
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- Suicide
- Survival and Coping After Rape
- Systemic Trauma Research
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- Traumatic Stress and Resilience
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- Combat Chaplains
- Cults and Sects
- Growth, Posttraumatic
- Meditation
- Posttraumatic Growth Among Asylum Seekers and Other Immigrants
- Psychospiritual Impact of Disaster
- Religious and Pastoral Responses to Trauma
- Religious Fundamentalism
- Secondary Trauma Among Chaplains
- Spiritual and Religious Growth
- Spiritual Intelligence and Posttraumatic Growth
- Traumatization in the Name of Religion
- Social Work
- Battered Women
- Bereavement
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Comstock Act
- Ethics
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Military Social Work and Combat Stress Management
- Social Support and Trauma
- Social Work With the Traumatized Homeless
- Theories of Psychological Stress
- Trauma and Domestic Violence
- Trauma and Homelessness
- Trauma and Social Work Practice
- Trauma Research, Social Work Contributions to
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- Sociology
- Traumatology and Trauma Recovery
- Acute Stress Disorder
- Additive Trauma
- Alcohol and Trauma
- Bearing Witness to Trauma
- Biology and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Clergy, Counseling by
- Clinical Trauma Psychology
- Cognitive Restructuring and Trauma
- Compassion Fatigue
- Complex Trauma
- Conspiracy of Silence
- Counseling and Education About Trauma
- Cultural Aspects of Trauma
- Cultural Diversity in Trauma Response
- Culture and Trauma
- Cumulative Trauma
- Dance and Trauma
- Despair, Posttraumatic
- Disaster-Related Trauma
- Early Interventions
- Encoding Trauma, Neurobiology of
- Ethical Dilemmas in Treatment of Trauma
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Theory and Research
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Treatment
- Fear, Posttraumatic
- Fragility, Posttraumatic
- Grief and Mourning
- Grief, Complicated
- Growth, Posttraumatic
- Hippocampus
- Homicide and Trauma
- Humor and Trauma
- Hypnosis in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Iatrogenic Effects
- Incarceration and Trauma
- Literary Expressions of Trauma
- Managing Trauma Symptoms
- Medical Marijuana and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Medical Trauma Research
- Military Trauma
- Neurobiological Effects of Trauma
- Neurobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Suicide
- Perpetrators of Trauma
- Philosophy and Ethics of Trauma Treatments
- Philosophy of Trauma
- Poetry and Trauma
- Posttraumatic Growth Among Asylum Seekers and Other Immigrants
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Assessment and Systemic Treatment
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Comorbidity
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, History of
- Prolonged Exposure
- Promoting Resilience in the Traumatized
- Psychological Responses to Trauma
- Psychological Trauma
- Psychological Trauma Research
- Psychoneuroimmunology and Trauma
- Psychosensory Therapy
- Rape Counseling
- Rape Crisis Centers
- Rape Trauma Syndrome
- Rapist Profiles
- Recovery From Trauma
- Relapse Prevention and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Resilience
- Resilience and Hurricane Katrina
- Resilience Bolstering
- Resilience, Growth, and Thriving
- Sanctuary Model
- Self-Regulation
- Sexual Compulsion and Trauma
- Sexual Harassment of Women
- Sexual Predators
- Sexual Trauma, Causes of
- Shared Trauma
- Silencing Response
- Stigma
- Suicide
- Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma
- Trauma and Autobiography
- Trauma and Homelessness
- Trauma and Metabolic Syndrome
- Trauma and Metaphor
- Trauma and Selfhood
- Trauma and Sexuality
- Trauma and Social Work Practice
- Trauma as Entertainment
- Trauma Assessment
- Trauma Caregivers
- Trauma Education
- Trauma Memories: Research and Ethics
- Trauma Prevention
- Trauma Psychology Research
- Trauma Survival Strategies
- Trauma Triggers
- Trauma-Organized Systems
- Trauma-Related Happiness and Pleasure
- Trauma, Causes of
- Trauma, Definitions of
- Traumatic Bereavement
- Traumatic Stress and Resilience
- Traumatic Stress Responses
- Traumatized Scientists
- Traumatology
- Vicarious Trauma
- Victim, Survivor, Thriver
- Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
- Vulnerability, Posttraumatic
- War Crimes
- War and Combat
- Anthropology and War
- Children of War
- Combat Chaplains
- Combat Medics and Corpsmen
- Combat Mortuary Services
- Combat Stress Control
- Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Combat-Related Stress Injury: Theory, Research, and Management
- Criminal Behavior Consequent to War
- Death Notification in War
- Military Families, Effects of Combat and Deployment on
- Military Psychology and Combat Stress Injuries
- Military Sexual Abuse
- Military Social Work and Combat Stress Management
- Military Trauma
- Secondary Trauma Among Medics and Corpsmen
- War Crimes
- War, Origins in Animals and Early Societies
- Wars for Symbols
- Wars in Civilized Societies
- Wartime Rape
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