2 A Qualitative view of Growing up During War Problem Statement The question of what it feels like for someone to be born and raised during a decade of war is the focus of the research. War, as an event, is traumatic in nature and affects all aspects of an individual’s life. Factors such as education, health, financial and social status, and parental access are all affected by the presence of war (Ghodsee, 2009). In order to determine the specificity of what it is like to be a child or adolescent either born or raised during a decade of war, a look at various regions and time periods is helpful and will provide a larger pool of qualitative data. By looking at Goldson’s (1996) conclusions on the effects of war on children throughout the 20th century, it is found that children suffer in extreme ways, but that their futures are often compromised, as they begin life at a disadvantage. Additionally, the work done by Akbulut-Yuksel (2009) finds multiple layers of effects of war on the generation of German children living during the decade of World War II. Adverse effects on educational attainment as well as health are the result, with kids in German cities hit the hardest by bombings suffering the most. Finally, Jensen and Shaw (1993) look at how children may become acclimated to wartime conditions as a self-protective means. However, this article shows that more research is necessary in order to focus on social awareness, values, and attitudes, as well as how factors such as age, family background, and community strength, may affect children in wartime settings. Overall, the effects of war are far-reaching and convoluted. More qualitative work is required to see how war affects children and adolescents and their development. Key Findings Summary One of the key findings made clear in the articles is the fact that children are now, more than ever, becoming part of the victims of war in a more direct manner. War is now waged against civilians, unlike in the past. The war that has taken place since World War II has become more personal and more focused on disabling entire cities and regions. Children, therefore, become unwitting victims of war. Coping strategies are also used by children in wartime, yet more work is needed to see “how similar events with similar psychological and geographic proximity exact dissimilar effects in some persons and some communities, compared to others” (Jensen and Shaw, 1993, pg. 707). Finally, some of the clearest findings show that factors such as earnings and education are negatively affected by war (Akbulut-Yuksel, 2009). Gap The gap that may be seen when considering the research is the current lack of methodological research into the effects of war on children in various eras and regions. It will be necessary going forward for sociologists and other researchers to develop a means of tracking the effects of war in subsequent generations. The work of Akbulut-Yuksel (2009 ...

1. 2
A Qualitative view of Growing up During War
Problem Statement
The question of what it feels like for someone to be born and
raised during a decade of war is the focus of the research. War,
as an event, is traumatic in nature and affects all aspects of an
individual’s life. Factors such as education, health, financial
and social status, and parental access are all affected by the
presence of war (Ghodsee, 2009). In order to determine the
specificity of what it is like to be a child or adolescent either
born or raised during a decade of war, a look at various regions
and time periods is helpful and will provide a larger pool of
qualitative data. By looking at Goldson’s (1996) conclusions
on the effects of war on children throughout the 20th century, it
is found that children suffer in extreme ways, but that their
futures are often compromised, as they begin life at a

2. disadvantage. Additionally, the work done by Akbulut-Yuksel
(2009) finds multiple layers of effects of war on the generation
of German children living during the decade of World War II.
Adverse effects on educational attainment as well as health are
the result, with kids in German cities hit the hardest by
bombings suffering the most. Finally, Jensen and Shaw (1993)
look at how children may become acclimated to wartime
conditions as a self-protective means. However, this article
shows that more research is necessary in order to focus on
social awareness, values, and attitudes, as well as how factors
such as age, family background, and community strength, may
affect children in wartime settings. Overall, the effects of war
are far-reaching and convoluted. More qualitative work is
required to see how war affects children and adolescents and
their development.
Key Findings Summary
One of the key findings made clear in the articles is the
fact that children are now, more than ever, becoming part of the
victims of war in a more direct manner. War is now waged
against civilians, unlike in the past. The war that has taken
place since World War II has become more personal and more
focused on disabling entire cities and regions. Children,
therefore, become unwitting victims of war. Coping strategies
are also used by children in wartime, yet more work is needed
to see “how similar events with similar psychological and
geographic proximity exact dissimilar effects in some persons
and some communities, compared to others” (Jensen and Shaw,
1993, pg. 707). Finally, some of the clearest findings show that
factors such as earnings and education are negatively affected
by war (Akbulut-Yuksel, 2009).
Gap
The gap that may be seen when considering the research is
the current lack of methodological research into the effects of
war on children in various eras and regions. It will be
necessary going forward for sociologists and other researchers
to develop a means of tracking the effects of war in subsequent

3. generations. The work of Akbulut-Yuksel (2009) was
conducted decades after the occurrence of World War II and
attempted to explain the specific effects of war as they relate to
wages, access to schools and hospitals, etc. The need for more
interviews and other means of measuring the effects of war on
children and adolescents is desperately needed. A next step
would perhaps be a focus on creating a uniform means of
evaluating the psychological and social state of mind of
children in wartime countries.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of the research is to understand better the
experience of what it is like for a child and adolescent to be
born and raised during a time of war.
Justification
War has many effects on those who live in its presence.
Children may be most vulnerable to the consequences of war, as
they are the weakest members of society and require many
protections that parents may be unable to provide at wartime.
Children may either adapt to wartime situations, or display
behavioral issues. Factors affecting this include age at wartime,
exposure to violence, a presence of parents, and more that is
TBD.
Phenomena
The research will look for phenomena such as significant
behavioral issues among children, educational access, and/or
achievement, availability of hospitals and/or lack thereof, the
presence of parents and/or lack thereof. Most importantly, the
personal thoughts of subjects will be recorded and compared.
Relevance
This research issue is relevant due to the ongoing presence
of war in various regions of the world and its apparent
detrimental qualities not only on children but countries and
societies as a whole. By determining how war shapes the lives
of young children and adolescents, it may be possible to prevent
further damage and attempt to lessen the negative issues.
Bias

4. Biases may be found in the research of this issue by
personal assumptions regarding certain wars and conflicts and
those groups affect by said wars and conflicts. For example, the
effects of war on children living in Iraq and Afghanistan will
vary considerably from the consequences of war on children
residing in the U.S. who have parents deployed to Iraq or
Afghanistan. Researchers will have to treat all groups studied
in an equal manner, especially in ethnographic research.
Author bias may be present due to his military service and
deployments in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and
Operation Enduring Freedom. Special care will be made to
minimize any bias based on personal opinions and experiences.
If one is made, then balancing opinions may be inserted to level
the issues and statements.
Setting
The setting of the research should involve various locales
that have been affected by the war in different decades. This
includes Europe, during the periods of World War I and World
War II, the Middle East, which has been deeply affected by war
for centuries, but for the purpose of this research project, we
will look at Afghanistan and Iraq as well as Africa. We will
also measure the impact of war on children of American soldiers
who are deployed to various conflicts throughout the world to
look for patterns.
Research Question
How does it feel to be born and raised during a decade of war?
Potential for Social Change
It has been stated many times that to learn about the future; one
must study the past. War has several effects on individuals; the
primary effects are felt by those who are fighting on the
battlefield and endure the hardships of soldiering through
conflict. Secondary effects are those that change the course of
one’s life by direct or indirect outcomes of incursions. Because
not all effects are physical and cannot be seen visually,
emotional effects may lay dormant for some time before they

5. surface. If mental health professionals knew more about the
feelings that children bear in order to cope with a life exposed
to war via the news, social media, web searches, and direct
knowledge of family or friends in combat. Then early
recognition and early intervention might prove to build
emotionally stronger children and in turn stable adults.
Annotated Bibliography
Akbulut-Yuksel, M. (2009). Children of War: The long-run
effects of large-scale physical destruction and warfare on
children. Institute for the Study of Labor, 4407, 1 – 47.
This is a research article that specifically looks at the
effects of World War II on a generation of German children. It
offers a very accurate view of the effects of war on a group of
individuals and the long-term consequences of war and physical
destruction on particular outcomes, such as educational
attainment, health status, and labor market outcomes. The
author uses a dataset to show city-level destruction by
bombings, as well as individual survey data collected by the
German Socioeconomic Panel. Severe and long-lasting effects
are found on three fronts – human capital formation, health, and
labor market outcomes. All of these detrimental outcomes for
children who lived through World War II show exactly how war
has the potential to stunt the growth of individuals in many
different ways.
Goldson, E. (1996). The effects of war on children. Child
Abuse & Neglect, 20, 809 – 819.
This article serves as a theory article attempting to explain
the physical effects of war on children, specifically during the
20th century and during the course of various wars and
conflicts. Goldson specifically looks at the physical effects of
war on children, including injury and death caused by weapons,
but also the effects of suspended or damaged infrastructure in
war-torn countries. Areas such as health, medicine, education,
and social services are affected, leading to disruption in the
lives of children, who may be orphaned and forced to live as
refugees in their countries. Goldson also notes that the means

6. by which war waged has changed over the years and now
focuses on the battle taking place between soldiers and civilians
rather than soldiers against other soldiers. Therefore, the nature
of war has changed and so have the effects of war on
individuals, and children especially.
Jensen, P.S. and Shaw, J. (1993). Children as victims of war:
Current knowledge and future research needs. Journal of the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 697
– 708.
This article is a literature review that offers a look at the
“existence, frequency, and social, emotional, and behavioral
problems” found in children exposed to war, and also a history
of methodological problems in attempts to research such issues
in the past. Jensen and Shaw conclude that a shift from looking
at psychopathology and more toward social awareness, values,
and attitudes is helpful in order to understand how war-related
stressors affect children. Specifically, this article looks at the
effects of war-related parental loss and separation, and how this
affects children. Additionally, the authors indicate that there
needs to be more research conducted concerning parental
bereavement in the event of a parent killed at wartime.
Behavioral problems may be a result of such loss, but more
studies are needed.
References:
Akbulut-Yuksel, M. (2009). Children of War: The long-run
effects of large-scale physical destruction and warfare on
children. Institute for the Study of Labor, 4407, 1 – 47.
Ghodsee, K. (2009). The body of War: Media, ethnicity, and
gender in the break-up of Yugoslavia. Canadian Slavonic
Papers, 53(2).
Goldson, E. (1996). The effects of war on children. Child

7. Abuse & Neglect, 20, 809 – 819.
Jensen, P.S. and Shaw, J. (1993). Children as victims of war:
Current knowledge and future research needs. Journal of the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 697
– 708.
Simic, O. (2013). Winning the war on war: The decline of
armed conflict worldwide/Worlds Apart: Bosnian Lessons for
Global Security. International Journal on World Peace, 30 (2).