Impact of political conflict on trajectories of adolescent prosocial behavior: Implications for civic engagement.

ABSTRACT: Counterbalancing the narrative of youth as either helpless victims or ruthless perpetrators, a new generation of research in conflict settings focuses on their peace-building potential, including constructs such as prosocial behaviors and civic engagement. Previous research on the impact of political violence on prosocial behaviors in mixed, finding both positive and negative links. This study examines this relation using a launch and ambient approach, which helps to disentangle these effects over time. To do so, the article prospectively examines trajectories of adolescent prosocial behaviors (N = 999; Time 1: M_age = 12.18 years, SD = 1.82, range = 10-20) over 6 consecutive years in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a setting of on-going sectarian conflict. A dual

SUBMITTER: Taylor LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6110962 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature