War has plagued Iraq for quite some time. Starting back in the 1980’s with the Iran and Iraq war, moving into the first Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait, moving on to Operation Desert Fox, in which the US and the UK enacted a “bombing campaign” to eradicate the chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons programs in Iraq, and the ongoing civil unrest, as well as the reoccurring conflict with the U.S., the people of Iraq have been exposed to a great deal of war and conflict over the last forty years (BBC, 2015).
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and remained there until they withdrew their troops in 2011. Throughout that eight years of conflict, there were 119,897 civilian deaths (Iraq Body Count, 2012). Those deaths were caused by a combination …show more content…
They seek different things from their government, and the government’s perception of its responsibilities is altered. This causes political unrest throughout the country. Groups are split into those that are for war and opposed to war, as well as other groups advocating for nationalists groups, etc. All of these groups begin to get violent with one another.
Policy begins to be focusing less on development and more towards war. When lawmakers and all of those in power are focused on war, it is difficult to reel them back in and have them focus on other issues. Additionally, politics play a large role in conflict in many ways, not only with current issues, but for the future as well. Children growing up during times of war and conflict, have a world-view that fuels their political beliefs as adults. According to Gordana Kuterovac Jagodić, “rare longitudinal studies indicate that the attitudes a child forms between the ages of 6 and 10 reliably predict his/her subsequent political behaviour in adolescence and partially in adulthood as well (Punama Èki, 1987; Sears,1975). In that period children acquire basic affective attitudes toward social questions and their parents are the main socializing agents. Cognitive aspects of attitudes are acquired later and are based on knowledge and beliefs learned at school, through the media and in interaction with peers” (Jagodić, …show more content…
It is important to realize that psychological effects can result from many aspects of war. A group of psychologists examined theses effects and the causes of them in an article, specifically looking at children, entitled, “Psychological Effects Of War and Terrorism on Children.” In that article they stated, “The impact of war-related stressors may occur as the direct result of physical and visual impact, media exposure, or through the various forms of interpersonal experiences — the wounding and killing of loved ones, the brutal rape and torturing of innocent victims, malnutrition, starvation, disease and emotional contagion, and social disruption and the loss of peer related experiences, routinized family, school and community life. In some instances children may be kidnapped and forced to participate as child warriors in violent acts under the threat of losing their own lives.” The article went on to address why the psychological effects of war are so much greater on children versus adults, and they argue that it is all about development. A child’s brain is not fully developed yet, and when faced with trauma of this nature, there are detrimental repercussions (Purwar, et al.). While the effects on adults are substantial, it is important to note that the effects on children appear to be much
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and remained there until they withdrew their troops in 2011. Throughout that eight years of conflict, there were 119,897 civilian deaths (Iraq Body Count, 2012). Those deaths were caused by a combination …show more content…
They seek different things from their government, and the government’s perception of its responsibilities is altered. This causes political unrest throughout the country. Groups are split into those that are for war and opposed to war, as well as other groups advocating for nationalists groups, etc. All of these groups begin to get violent with one another.
Policy begins to be focusing less on development and more towards war. When lawmakers and all of those in power are focused on war, it is difficult to reel them back in and have them focus on other issues. Additionally, politics play a large role in conflict in many ways, not only with current issues, but for the future as well. Children growing up during times of war and conflict, have a world-view that fuels their political beliefs as adults. According to Gordana Kuterovac Jagodić, “rare longitudinal studies indicate that the attitudes a child forms between the ages of 6 and 10 reliably predict his/her subsequent political behaviour in adolescence and partially in adulthood as well (Punama Èki, 1987; Sears,1975). In that period children acquire basic affective attitudes toward social questions and their parents are the main socializing agents. Cognitive aspects of attitudes are acquired later and are based on knowledge and beliefs learned at school, through the media and in interaction with peers” (Jagodić, …show more content…
It is important to realize that psychological effects can result from many aspects of war. A group of psychologists examined theses effects and the causes of them in an article, specifically looking at children, entitled, “Psychological Effects Of War and Terrorism on Children.” In that article they stated, “The impact of war-related stressors may occur as the direct result of physical and visual impact, media exposure, or through the various forms of interpersonal experiences — the wounding and killing of loved ones, the brutal rape and torturing of innocent victims, malnutrition, starvation, disease and emotional contagion, and social disruption and the loss of peer related experiences, routinized family, school and community life. In some instances children may be kidnapped and forced to participate as child warriors in violent acts under the threat of losing their own lives.” The article went on to address why the psychological effects of war are so much greater on children versus adults, and they argue that it is all about development. A child’s brain is not fully developed yet, and when faced with trauma of this nature, there are detrimental repercussions (Purwar, et al.). While the effects on adults are substantial, it is important to note that the effects on children appear to be much