Psychological Perspectives on Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Children

Psychological Perspectives on Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Children argues that in order to achieve comprehensive responses to violence against children (VAC), scholars and practitioners must develop a robust understanding of how direct, structural, and cultural forms of violence interact across social systems. This understanding of VAC motivates a multi-sectoral response that seeks to promote intergenerational health and well-being through addressing violence in all its forms. This volume is organized into three interconnected sections that explore violence across socioecological domains: violence against children in social macrosystems, violence against children in social microsystems, and ways to address VAC in practice and policy. With chapters highlighting diverse methodological approaches, context-specific case studies, and approaches to redress violence through practice and policy, this volume is designed to be a resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working to prevent VAC.

Dr. Scott Moeschberger is a Professor of Global Studies at Taylor University, where he launched an interdisciplinary problem-based major focused on vulnerable children. He has served as a President of Division 48 (Society for Peace Psychology) in the American Psychological Association. His early research focused on contact, empathy and forgiveness in divided societies, and evolved to include the role of divisive symbols, culminating in an edited book Symbols that Unite; Symbols That Divide. He teaches a wide variety of courses, including "Working with Orphaned and Vulnerable Children", "Peace Psychology", and "Violence Against Children". Dr. Laura Miller-Graff is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She is a clinical psychologist, with experience in both research and practice with children and families exposed to violence. Her research examines the developmental and intergenerational effects of exposure to violence. Working within an ecological framework, Dr. Miller-Graff's research seeks to understand how various systems (i.e., individual, family, and community) interact to promote or inhibit healthful development following violence exposure. Dr. Miller-Graff's program of research also focuses on the development and evaluation of psychological supports for violence-exposed children and families.

- Preface - Chapter 1 Introduction: Psychological Perspectives on Violence Against Children - Pressing Global Questions for Research and Policy - Laura Miller-Graff, Catherine Maloney, Scott Moeschberger - Section I: Violence against Children in Social Macrosystems - Chapter 2 Sociopolitical Violence and Child Development: New Directions Informed by Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Research in Northern Ireland - Mark Cummings, Bethany Wentz, Michelle Lee - Chapter 3 The Psychosocial and Political Dynamics of Children and Youth Entering and Exiting Armed Groups - Gabriel Velez, Fabio Idrobo, Programa Educapaz, La Fundacion para la Reconciliacion - Chapter 4 Peace Across Cultures: Understanding Children's Traumatic Migration Experience and Pathways of Healing - Amy Marks, Regina Roberg, Rose Luhers, Cynthia Garcia Coll - Chapter 5 Resilience to Structural Violence: Learning from African Adolescents - Linda Theron, Sadiyya Haffeejee, Michael Ungar - Chapter 6 The Impact of Racism on Violence Exposure Among Black Children in the United States - Donte Bernard, Henry Willis, Effua Sosoo - Section II: Violence against Children in Social Microsystems - Chapter 7 Child Sex and Labor Trafficking: Psychological Perspectives on Risk Factors, Impacts, and Interventions - Kelly Kinnish, Shannon Self-Brown, Katherine Reuben, Kathryn O'Hara, Elizabeth Perry - Chapter 8 Global Perspectives on Family Violence: Prevalence and Effects on Children across Cultural Contexts - Kathryn Howell, Taylor Napier, Kari Thomsen, Cecilia Martinez Torteya, Asa Kallstrom - Chapter 9 Navigating Violent Spaces: Violence Against Children in Alternative Care - Scott Moeschberger, BreeAnna Bailey - Chapter 10 Understanding Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Girls: Structural and Episodic Violence in the Urban Slums of Mombasa - Michael Wessels, Kathleen Kostelny, Ken Ondoro - Section III: Practice and Policy to Redress Violence against Children - Chapter 11 Teacher Violence - A Global Perspective on Prevalence, Consequences, and Prevention - Tobias Hecker, Faustine Bwire Masath, Joseph Ssenyonga, Mabula Nkuba, Katharin Hermenau - Chapter 12 Education in Crisis: Exploring the Effectiveness of Accelerated Education Programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania - Neil Boothby, Abigail Mills, Ygal Sharon, Shukran Salvatory - Chapter 13 Addressing Violence Against Children in Low-Resource and Humanitarian Settings: Potential of Family-Based Approaches - Eve Puffer, Savannah Johnson, Amanda Sim - Chapter 14 Formal and Informal Social Control of Family Violence: A Comparison of Protective and Punitive Approaches with Respect to Family Heterogeneity - Clifton Emery, Alhassan Abdullah - Chapter 15 Building Resilience among Refugee Youth in Lebanon: Comparing Delivery Modes of a Digital Mental Health Game - Dana Townsend, Solfrid Raknes, Mahmoud Hammoud - Conclusions - Chapter 16 Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Children: Implications for Researchers, Practitioners and Policymakers - Laura Miller-Graff, Catherine Maloney, Scott Moeschberger