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6 April 2004
Terrorism and Scottish children
80% of Scottish children between 6 and 8 years old know what terrorism is. And, 50% of parents in Scotland
worry that their children will be hurt in a terrorist attack. These startling figures have been uncovered by
a psychologist at the University of Dundee.
Rona Dolev has found that there is no straightforward relationship between the level of 'real' exposure
to terrorism and the fears parents have for their child’s wellbeing. Rona is looking into the effects of
exposure to terrorism on both parents and their children in four countries exposed to varying degrees of
terrorism: Israel, United States, Northern Ireland and Scotland in collaboration with psychologists from
these four countries. The most striking finding in the study was that 50% of Scottish parents in the
sample, who have had no direct exposure to terrorism, said they were worried about their child being
hurt in a terrorist attack.
Rona explains: "One of the aims of the study was to find out whether Scottish children are aware of the
phenomenon of terrorism. According to parents’ reports 80% of 6-8 year-old children know what terrorism is,
and this figure grows to 99% by the time the children are 11 years of age."
How do all these children gain access to information about terrorism? According to the study’s findings
the most important source of information about terrorism is the media, and 91% of 6-11 year old children
have watched media coverage of terrorist attacks. Since so many children have seen images of terrorism
on TV, Rona says it is hardly surprising that 74% of them have asked their parents questions about
terrorism, with the majority of children doing so on several occasions. When asked about any effects
of exposure to terrorism on their child’s behaviour, 86% of parents said that their child hasn’t
been affected in any way. However 14% of parents did report some changes in their child’s behaviour,
especially in the time after the September 11th terrorist attacks in America, such as fear of
flying, nightmares, worries about family members going abroad and fears of an attack here in
Scotland.
75% of parents reported having talked about terrorism with their children. However, this is not a
topic that many of them were keen to raise, and most parents said they do not initiate
conversations about terrorism and will only provide information if specifically asked by the
child. One parent said, "I don’t want to make him worry or get upset too much as he is only
a child" and another parent said, "I don’t say much because she is too young to understand".
On the other hand other parents believe that terrorism is part of the world we live in
and their child should be aware of it. One of the aims of this ongoing study is to find
out just how much parent mediation would be beneficial to children.
Rona says: "The results of this study so far highlight just how much terrorism has become a part of
ours and our children’s lives here in Scotland, and so in some sense Madrid doesn’t seem so far away"
The full article by Rona Dolev can be read on the internet at /externalrelations/press/eContact/dolev.html
Contact Dr Rona Dolev 01382 348116.
By Jenny Marra, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk
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