Children suffer for many years before seeking revenge

Researchers have found the plight of child soldiers should be taken into consideration after fighting in war-torn countries has settled down.

Where children have been press-ganged into fighting, the mental health of the young combatants should be closely reviewed, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The United Nations estimates some 250,000 children worldwide are currently fighting in wars, mostly in Africa, though very little research has gone into the effects of the violence on the young soldiers. The study, based on interviews with former Ugandan and Congoloese child soldiers, underlines the role psychological trauma may play in the cycle of revenge killing in war-torn regions.

The findings indicate that mental distress and mental illness, or post-traumatic stress disorder, are associated with war-affected children's attitudes toward reconciliation and could therefore impose barriers to sustainable and long-term peace.

The study found that former child soldiers with more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress were significantly less willing to consider reconciliation and regarded acts of retaliation as a way to overcome their experiences.

The children surveyed reported that they had been violently recruited, served an average of 38 months and witnessed beatings, shootings and rape. More than half said they had killed somebody.

Australian Herald