Psychological aspects of using children in war

Nishalie FERNANDOPULLE

DANGERS: Childhood is a time for investing in learning and for acquiring new skills, but it is also a time of vulnerability. Children meet challenges, problems and dangers in their life, often learning to cope with them.

Yet at times these challenges, problems and dangers are so atrocious that they exceed a child's capacity to cope. Child soldiers caught in the midst of conflict face one of the worst of these atrocities.

Brainwashed and manipulated by adults, these children are drawn into a violence they are too young to resist with consequences beyond their imagination.

They experience acts of violence, combat and shelling as a way of life; and grow up in an atmosphere of constant fear, violence, uncertainty and hatred.

They live in a world of conflict, trauma and stress, where stereotypy and militancy prevail. Worst of all they take an active part in fighting - attending violent demonstrations, throwing stones at troops, or enlisting as fighters.

Often coming from impoverished or marginalized backgrounds, possibly as a result of being separated from their families; these children may have been exposed to the vulnerability of their parents, witnessing their torture, murder or rape. It is also very likely that they have been threatened with death themselves, either in being coerced to enlist or in combat.

Although the impact of warfare on child combatants is often discussed in terms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it is not the only possible psychological consequence.

A whole spectrum of concurrent psychological symptoms have been identified, including general anxiety, nervousness, worry, fear of recurrence, guilt, psychosomatic complaints, sleep difficulties, depression, behavioral problems and grief (Klingman 2000, Paardekooper 1999, Somasundaram 1998).

Child soldiers who have been captured or who run away are particularly vulnerable to further psychological stress and trauma on top of what they have already experienced (Government of Sri Lanka- UNICEF 2002).

They may display the key emotions of Childhood Psychic Trauma - terror, rage, denial and numbing, unresolved grief, shame and guilt (Terr 1999).

Further, being actively involved in war entails living under constant and prolonged threat exposure that may continue for months or years. Such long duration is a factor associated with psychological trauma.

Furthermore, because war may present constantly changing conditions, fluidity of circumstances is typical and may require constant adaptation of existing, or development of new, coping strategies - exacerbating the above-mentioned consequences.

The greatest impact on the child soldier is possibly the loss of 'normality' - the everyday experience of childhood, necessary for 'ideal' and secure development.

The child soldier is denied his right to grow up with family, friends and community, be nurtured and protected, receive an education, play... all essential elements of normal development.

Most alarmingly the child is faced with the constant threat of death and injury and denied the right to life. Further, most child soldiers are adolescents on the threshold of developing their own unique identity. Being involved in armed conflict can interfere with this identity development.

The adolescent can become negative, pessimistic and depressed. Death, displacement and disappearance can leave him/her without guidance, role models or sustenance. Often the child or adolescent looses his/her trust in people and does not wish to seek help or support from adults.

Coupled with the denial of education and the severely distressing experiences, the adolescent may loose his/her ability to plan, dream, aspire and foresee a future for himself/herself. Finally, constant exposure to violence can also lead to the perpetuation of violence.

Modelling is one method in which children learn, and the child combatant may learn to model the violence s/he experiences. It is of little wonder then that child soldiers grow into adult soldiers, and wars continue into decades.

The writer has a MSc in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (London).