Adolescents' views on war and peace in the early phases of the Iraq conflict.
Adolescents' views of war and peace were assessed among 209 children aged 10-14 who attended a parochial school or its after-school religious program located in a predominantly middle-class, suburban area within commuting distance of New York City. Findings were compared to those of youth surveyed during other armed conflicts, specifically the Vietnam War, the first Persian Gulf War, and the U.S. military involvement in Latin America. The study took place in early fall 2003, and results were interpreted in light of the social climate and complex realities of post 9/11 in New York State, the Catholic Church's initial opposition to the Iraq conflict, and popular opinion. In spite of differences between the Iraq War and other conflicts, findings are remarkably similar. Although the present group is highly preoccupied with terrorism and nuclear war, even in a time of war, participants show concern for what they perceived as affecting their lives directly, rather than with conventional war. While they believe that President Bush was honest about the war in Iraq and right in sending troops, they do not glorify war. On a theoretical level, they overwhelmingly believe that wars are bad and the majority is optimistic that world peace is possible, though they realize that wars are difficult to prevent, believe that they are sometimes needed, and will occur in the future. Unlike the Catholic group surveyed by Tolley during the Vietnam War, however, participants are not as ready to die for their country, although findings show that, overall, like past groups, more boys tend to be pro-war than are girls and participants' views tend to reflect contemporary public opinions.
Department of Foreign Languages and of Secondary Education, SUNY New Paltz, New York 12561, USA. garattim@newpaltz.edu
Marinella
M
Garatti
Rose A
RA
Rudnitski
D000293:Adolescent; D000296:Adolescent Psychiatry; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D012940:Social Problems; D023481:Terrorism; D014857:Warfare