An ecological model of children of war

Un modelo ecológico para niños de la guerra

Although the consequences of war for children has received much attention in the last few years, there has been less significance attached to the sociocultural context in which the children live. I introduce the framework of the developmental niche (Super & Harkness, 1986; 1999) to the study of children in war and integrate it with other ecological models that have been proposed to show how children interact with the sociocultural context.

The developmental niche consists of three major subsystems: the physical and social settings in which children spend their days, the customs of childrearing, and the psychology of caretakers, including their beliefs and values about children. Data from Bosnia are used to explore the relationship between trauma and the wider sociocultural context of childhood and illustrate the developmental niche of young children who were victims of war. The model provides a useful framework for understanding both single individuals and to compare societies, and in examining changes in child care that are due to war and exile.

Trauma, deprivation and cross-cultural issues often coincide in real life, and I suggest that this model facilitates the integration of these areas, both for research and applied purposes. Each part of the niche, i.e. settings, customs and parental psychology, is a potential target for change, and the model therefore has practical implications. I conclude that this model can be used to improve our understanding of the children's situation when they are victims of war and be a fruitful approach to help design culturally appropriate interventions.