Youth in Northern Ireland: Linking Violence Exposure, Emotional Insecurity, and the Political Macrosystem
Volume 85, Issue 4, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
By Dana Townsend, Laura K. Taylor, Christine E. Merrilees, Andrea Furey, Marcie C. Goeke-Morey, Peter Shirlow, and E. Mark Cummings
Included in this issue:
Abstract
Direct exposure to sectarian violence can lead to emotional insecurity and subsequent adjustment problems for youth. Are these effects heightened in the midst of a tense or threatening sociopolitical climate? In this monograph, Townsend and colleagues examine this question through the lens of post-accord Belfast by combining five years of coded news reports from Northern Ireland with five years of family survey data. Their findings suggest that the impact of sectarian violence on youth may vary based on what is happening in the political macrosystem, the individuals’ ethnic background, and their cumulative violence exposure. This monograph should interest researchers who study the effects of political violence on youth, use social-ecological methods, or investigate how the macrosystem can impact individual wellbeing.
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About the Authors
Dana Townsend, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dame
Laura K. Taylor, Ph.D.
University College Dublin
Queen’s University Belfast
Christine E. Merrilees, Ph.D.
State University of New York, Geneseo
Andrea Furey, Ph.D.
University of Ulster, Magee Campus
Marcie C Goeke-Morey, Ph.D.
The Catholic University of America
Peter Shirlow, FAcSS
University of Liverpool
E. Mark Cummings, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dame
Commentaries
Videos
Overview: Youth Development in Northern Ireland
Authors Dana Townsend and E. Mark Cummings highlight the key questions, methods, and findings of their SRCD monograph (85.4). Video by the University of Notre Dame Marcomm Video Team.
Getting Started: An Insider’s View of an International Longitudinal Study
Author E. Mark Cummings gives his insider’s view of how the longitudinal research described in this SRCD monograph (85.4) originated, involved an international team of collaborators, and attracted funding. Video by the University of Notre Dame Marcomm Video Team.
Author Interview: Youth in Northern Ireland (Part I)
In this video, Monograph Matters Associate Editor, Lauren J. Myers, talks with Dana Townsend and E. Mark Cummings to discuss the SRCD Monograph, “Youth in Northern Ireland: Linking Violence Exposure, Emotional Insecurity, and the Political Macrosystem.” In Part I, Townsend and Cummings discuss their interdisciplinary methods, theoretical orientation, and how they addressed research challenges.
Author Interview: Youth in Northern Ireland (Part II)
In Part II, Monograph Matters Associate Editor, Lauren J. Myers, and authors Dana Townsend and E. Mark Cummings discuss the key findings and implications of the work published in the SRCD monograph.