The Cost of Conflict Children and Northern Irish Troubles

This book explores the effects of political violence on children and young people in Northern Ireland. The issues begins with a brief historical account of the Northern Irish conflict and the recently negotiated Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The issue reviews the extent of young peoples' experience of conflict in Northern Ireland as well as the likely impact of these experiences on young people's lives. These include the effects of the conflict on everyday aspects of life, such as school life and availability and use and misuse of drugs. The issue also considers the role that social and national identity has played in maintaining the Northern Irish conflict, by exploring the enduring and polarised nature of children's political socialisation. Finally, in looking to the future young people's willingness to forgive and their engagement with the current political processes in Northern Ireland is considered.

Dr. Orla Muldoon, RGN, BSSc, PhD, PGCUT, CPsychol, is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast. Her PhD on the subject of childhood stress in Northern Ireland was awarded in 1996 in which year she was also awarded a John F. Kennedy Scholarship. She has subsequently undertaken a number of projects relating to the impact of political violence on mental health, social identity and attitudes of children and adults in Northern Ireland. She is currently involved in two large scale funded projects relating to the legacy of the troubles on mental health and social attitudes in adults and, inter-generational transmission of identity in Ireland, North and South.