Authors: Angela Veale
In our 16th edition, we are publishing an original paper by Angela Veale on childhood resilience and its relationship to the reintegration of former child soldiers. This paper represents a real addition to the resilience literature in this field, offering a thoughtful reflection on the contributions of different theoretical conceptualizations of resilience, summarizing both their strengths and their limitations. Questions addressed include: what are the major theoretical definitions of resilience – and what is their relevance or utility for programmatic interventions? Is resilience an intra-individual psychological trait? Can resilience be ‘fostered’ by environmental support? Do all former child soldiers have the same capacity to access and utilize community support networks?
In seeking to answer questions such as these, Angela argues for the centrality of taking a systemic stance – that is, acknowledging that the starting point for any useful conception of resilience is a recognition of the importance of transactions between systems internal to the child (such as biological systems that regulate the management of emotions) and those external to the child (such as potential support networks ranging from the social to the ecological). If we can view resilience as an emerging property of the systems within and between individuals, then we can move away from regarding it as residing within the individual. Within the former framework, resilience becomes the ability to engage in social relations within transactional relationships - i.e. in relationships chosen by the child and where support is not only received but also given. One question then becomes: Can such systems be fostered in post-conflict societies, and if so, how?
Angela answers this question with illustrations from a Participatory Action Research project (PAR) by McKay, Veale, Worthen and Wessells (2010) with young mothers formerly associated with armed forces/groups in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda (link below). The project was designed in such a way that leadership roles were undertaken by the young mothers themselves in projects that were highly responsive to local contexts. All the young mothers were active participants providing each other with peer support and garnering local resources so as to maximize both their acceptance and their contribution to their local communities. While the McKay et al paper presents the major project and key findings in detail, in this paper Angela focuses on the systemic, transactional processes by which the girls moved from being vulnerable and socially excluded, to being engaged in satisfactory reciprocal relationships with their peers, families and local communities.
McKay, S. Veale, A., Worthern, M. & Wessells, M (2010). Community-Based Reintegration of War-Affected Young Mothers: Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda. http://www.uwyo.edu/girlmotherspar/