Background to the Research

• This report draws on the findings of the project CCIC. In NI there has been a long-standing concern about the impact of prolonged violent conflict on children and young people. These concerns included the lack of support available to those who were bereaved or injured in the conflict.
• As the Peace Process unfolded in the 1990s, it was recognised that the process of peace building would need to include ways of addressing the needs of those who had been most affected by the violence of the past. Research in 1996 (the Cost of the Troubles Study) found that the impact of the conflict on communities was disproportionately borne by young people: those aged 24 and under accounted for around 40% of the total number of deaths during the Troubles. The Good Friday Agreement, signed in April 1998, recognised the special position of those injured in the Troubles, including young people. The CCIC project was established in 1999 to address the issue of children and young people's experience of the Troubles.
  

Research Approach

• The study aimed to collect evidence on the effects of the Troubles on children and young people throughout NI from urban and rural areas, and from both sides of the sectarian divide. A series of in-depth focus groups and individual interviews were carried out throughout NI in which young people were specifically asked to talk about how the Troubles had affected them.
  

Main Findings

Experience of the Troubles

• Children and young people's exposure to political violence in NI has often been direct and personal. Of those interviewed, many had been exposed to violence and sectarianism for a sustained period of time and some talked about having witnessed bomb explosions or shootings in their area.
• One feature of the young people's accounts of learning about the Troubles was their description of what they learned of their parents' experience of the Troubles. Many young people described how their parents had talked about the Troubles and told stories of their experiences to their children. For many children, their introduction to the Troubles was through their parents who provided them with an interpretation at an early stage in their lives.
• The impact of the Troubles on young people's relationships with their school-friends and other children in their community was evident in many of the interviews. These effects included the segregated nature of schooling in NI which meant that few young people mixed with others from the 'other' community. In addition, the nature of young people's relationships with other young people from their 'own side' is also affected by the Troubles, e.g. being put under pressure by peers to engage in sectarian activities.
• Interviewees also described their experiences within the school environment and aspects of their relationships with teachers and other pupils. For a substantial number of children, their first conscious exposure to sectarianism or issues related to the Troubles had taken place in the school environment. The combination of educational segregation and the compulsory wearing of school uniforms ensures that most young people's religious background is easily identified. For some children this makes for a dangerous journey to and from school.
• The description of response from teachers and the schooling system in general would suggest there is a lack of training to enable teachers to deal with children suffering from the effects of witnessing and experiencing traumatic events caused by the Troubles.

Impact of the Troubles

• Many interviewees had given little thought to the consequences of the Troubles on their lives, and for some, consideration of the impact of the Troubles was a painful process.
• The variety of reported impacts was wide ranging both in their nature and their intensity.
• Some patterns of responses emerged, such as withdrawal from friends and family after exposure to particularly severe experiences.
• Interviews conducted with more than one member of the same family demonstrate that there is considerable individual variation in response even to the same event.
• Overall, the data shows that growing up during the Troubles had a severe emotional and psychological impact on some young people, whilst others were apparently less affected.
• It is possible from the evidence of earlier studies that those that were apparently unaffected by exposure to severe events for many years are at risk of a delayed reaction to the event when faced with other life changes later in life.
• Overall, more than 25 interviewees reported having known someone killed in Troubles-related violence, and many more had known or witnessed someone they knew being attacked. Where the person had been a close friend, particular distress was evident. Difficulties experienced included withdrawal, anger, feelings of guilt, a sense of isolation, flashbacks, sleeping problems and nightmares, severe depression, aggressive behaviour and difficulties concentrating.
• The most severe form of impact was the death of a family member. In addition to the painful reactions young people went through having lost a family member, they also had to deal with the impact on their family. Some talked about changes in their parents behaviour, others talked about how grief affected their family with members sometimes venting frustration and anger on each other. Some talked about the lack of communication in their family and the 'silence'. For families who had lost a member, talking as a family unit was sometimes too painful.
• In some cases, the lost family member was a parent and there was also the adjustment to having only one parent.
• Some interviewees became responsible and took on adult roles which often concealed their own underlying grief and need for support. Others reacted differently and took their anger out on other family members.
• Other interviewees described how they constantly worried about the safety of their family members after an incident or loss.

Consequences and Effects of the Troubles

• The young people interviewed were also asked about their plans or goals for the future. In spite of their pessimism about some aspects of their lives in NI, their youthful expectations of the future were often optimistic and enthusiastic. They had diverse ambitions in the employment field from teaching to decorating.
• Several young people felt their local communities offered them limited opportunities particularly in terms of employment and this was often given as a reason for wanting to leave the area or to emigrate.
• Some rural young people believed they had no choice but to leave their local community if they wanted to get employment and some young people wanted to leave home and also leave NI as soon as possible to get away from the Troubles.
• Moving to a safer, more secure, country was a reason to leave although some young people did think about perhaps staying to try and bring about change.
• Living in other countries was seen as a way to live somewhere else without the sectarianism and some saw it as a way of starting over again where their lives had been affected by the Troubles e.g. experiences of paramilitary beatings etc.
• Homesickness and being away from the family, however, was a worry for young people and were the reasons giving by some young people for not wanting to move away.
• In many communities that have been badly affected by the Troubles, familial bonds and community ties are strong. Perhaps years of living with the stresses and pressures of the Troubles have created this strength. Many young people ruled out the possibility of a move from the area because of the strength of these ties. These tight knit communities foster a sense of belonging and young people find it hard to move away. Young people also aspired to change their community to reduce the violence or end it.
• Many young people of both genders and religions hoped to marry and have children in the future. Some were torn between the strong ties to family and the wish to bring up children in a more peaceful environment.
• Perceptions of the police and army were generally quite negative among young people and particularly among young Catholics and Nationalists. Nationalists, particularly those living in the most economically deprived urban areas, were more likely to have been involved in clashes with the police and army. Young men were more likely to be involved in riots while young women reported negative verbal exchanges (including verbal abuse of a sexual nature by security forces).
• Whilst all the young people interviewed had some knowledge of paramilitary groups, the level of contact varied extensively between areas. Those living in deprived urban areas were most likely to report frequent, even daily contact with local paramilitaries. Generally a high paramilitary presence was associated with high levels of Troubles-related violence. Some young people resented the paramilitary presence in their community and saw no useful role for them. Some young people in isolated communities saw paramilitaries as protection. Many young people expressed their resentment about the 'policing' role of paramilitaries in their communities and the often brutal methods used and the threats of violent punishment which were felt to be excessive compared to the crime. Interviewees also reported ongoing recruitment of young people into paramilitary organisations in some areas.

Recommendations

• Based on the findings from this study recommendations were developed to begin to help young people who have been affected by the Troubles and create support for them and to continue to offer help and support to all those who have been affected.