The Kenyan political conflict and children's adjustment.

Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0372725 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1467-8624 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00093920 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Child Dev Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers
Original Publication: [Chicago, etc.] : Published by the University of Chicago Press for the Society for Research in Child Development [etc.]

Adaptation, Psychological* ; Politics* ; Social Adjustment*; Child Behavior/*psychology ; Stress, Psychological/*psychology; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Kenya ; Male ; Regression Analysis ; Social Environment ; Social Support

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.

Date Created: 20100720 Date Completed: 20101104 Latest Revision: 20100719

20221213

10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01457.x

20636685