Children's Reported Communication With Their Parents About War

Abstract

There is increased interest by parents in communicating with their children about political violence. However, limited attention in the scholarly literature has focused on parent—child communication about war and terrorism. In response, the purpose of this study is to assess, within their respective ecological contexts, American and Northern Irish children's ( n = 97) reported communication with their parents about war. The results provide support for the presence of developmental differences, with age being a stronger predictor than gender and country in the frequency and content of parent—child discussions about war. Children ages 7 to 11 are more likely than younger children to report talking to their parents about war, and they address more topics than do the younger children in their reports of what their parents said about war. The contents of the children's reported conversations with their parents are discussed, as are implications for parents, parenting educators, and researchers.