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The Kenyan Political Conflict and Children’s Adjustment
Author(s) -
Kithakye Mumbe,
Morris Amanda Sheffield,
Terranova Andrew M.,
Myers Sonya S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01457.x
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , aggression , psychology , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , harm , poison control , kenya , perspective (graphical) , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , political violence , injury prevention , politics , social psychology , political science , medical emergency , medicine , paleontology , artificial intelligence , computer science , law , biology
This study examined pre‐ and postconflict data from 84 children, ages 3–7 years, living in Kibera, Kenya, during the December 2007 political conflict. Results indicate that children’s disaster experiences (home destruction, death of a parent, parent and child harm) are associated with adjustment difficulties and that emotion regulation is an important protective factor postdisaster. Specifically, severity of the disaster experience was associated with increased aggression and decreased prosocial behavior. Emotion regulation was associated with less aggression and more prosocial behavior postconflict. Findings are discussed in the context of a developmental, systems‐oriented perspective of the impact of disasters on child adjustment.