Psychological Perspectives on Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Children Towards Building Cultures of Peace

Psychological Perspectives on Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Children argues that in order to achieve comprehensive responses to violence against children (VAC), scholars and practitioners must develop a robust understanding of how direct, structural, and cultural forms of violence interact across social systems. This understanding of VAC motivates a multi-sectoral response that seeks to promote intergenerational health and well-being through addressing violence in all its forms.

This volume is organized into three interconnected sections that explore violence across socioecological domains: violence against children in social macrosystems, violence against children in social microsystems, and ways to address VAC in practice and policy. With chapters highlighting diverse methodological approaches, context-specific case studies, and approaches to redress violence through practice and policy, this volume is designed to be a resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working to prevent VAC.

Dr. Scott Moeschberger is a Professor of Global Studies at Taylor University, where he launched an interdisciplinary problem-based major focused on vulnerable children. He has served as a President of Division 48 (Society for Peace Psychology) in the American Psychological Association. His early
research focused on contact, empathy and forgiveness in divided societies, and evolved to include the role of divisive symbols, culminating in an edited book Symbols that Unite; Symbols That Divide. He teaches a wide variety of courses, including "Working with Orphaned and Vulnerable Children",
"Peace Psychology", and "Violence Against Children".

Dr. Laura Miller-Graff is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She is a clinical psychologist, with experience in both research and practice with children and families exposed to violence. Her research examines the developmental and
intergenerational effects of exposure to violence. Working within an ecological framework, Dr. Miller-Graff's research seeks to understand how various systems (i.e., individual, family, and community) interact to promote or inhibit healthful development following violence exposure. Dr.
Miller-Graff's program of research also focuses on the development and evaluation of psychological supports for violence-exposed children and families.

Preface

Chapter 1 Introduction: Psychological Perspectives on Violence Against Children - Pressing Global Questions for Research and Policy
Laura Miller-Graff, Catherine Maloney, Scott Moeschberger

Section I: Violence against Children in Social Macrosystems

Chapter 2 Sociopolitical Violence and Child Development: New Directions Informed by Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Research in Northern Ireland
Mark Cummings, Bethany Wentz, Michelle Lee

Chapter 3 The Psychosocial and Political Dynamics of Children and Youth Entering and Exiting Armed Groups
Gabriel Velez, Fabio Idrobo, Programa Educapaz, La Fundacion para la Reconciliacion

Chapter 4 Peace Across Cultures: Understanding Children's Traumatic Migration Experience and Pathways of Healing
Amy Marks, Regina Roberg, Rose Luhers, Cynthia Garcia Coll

Chapter 5 Resilience to Structural Violence: Learning from African Adolescents
Linda Theron, Sadiyya Haffeejee, Michael Ungar

Chapter 6 The Impact of Racism on Violence Exposure Among Black Children in the United States
Donte Bernard, Henry Willis, Effua Sosoo

Section II: Violence against Children in Social Microsystems

Chapter 7 Child Sex and Labor Trafficking: Psychological Perspectives on Risk Factors, Impacts, and Interventions
Kelly Kinnish, Shannon Self-Brown, Katherine Reuben, Kathryn O'Hara, Elizabeth Perry

Chapter 8 Global Perspectives on Family Violence: Prevalence and Effects on Children across Cultural Contexts
Kathryn Howell, Taylor Napier, Kari Thomsen, Cecilia Martinez Torteya, Asa Kallstrom

Chapter 9 Navigating Violent Spaces: Violence Against Children in Alternative Care
Scott Moeschberger, BreeAnna Bailey

Chapter 10 Understanding Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Girls: Structural and Episodic Violence in the Urban Slums of Mombasa
Michael Wessels, Kathleen Kostelny, Ken Ondoro

Section III: Practice and Policy to Redress Violence against Children

Chapter 11 Teacher Violence - A Global Perspective on Prevalence, Consequences, and Prevention
Tobias Hecker, Faustine Bwire Masath, Joseph Ssenyonga, Mabula Nkuba, Katharin Hermenau

Chapter 12 Education in Crisis: Exploring the Effectiveness of Accelerated Education Programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania
Neil Boothby, Abigail Mills, Ygal Sharon, Shukran Salvatory

Chapter 13 Addressing Violence Against Children in Low-Resource and Humanitarian Settings: Potential of Family-Based Approaches
Eve Puffer, Savannah Johnson, Amanda Sim

Chapter 14 Formal and Informal Social Control of Family Violence: A Comparison of Protective and Punitive Approaches with Respect to Family Heterogeneity
Clifton Emery, Alhassan Abdullah

Chapter 15 Building Resilience among Refugee Youth in Lebanon: Comparing Delivery Modes of a Digital Mental Health Game
Dana Townsend, Solfrid Raknes, Mahmoud Hammoud

Conclusions

Chapter 16 Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Children: Implications for Researchers, Practitioners and Policymakers
Laura Miller-Graff, Catherine Maloney, Scott Moeschberger