Children of war: understanding the social impact on and the needs of children affected by the Russian War in Ukraine

war child social interactions

Engagement in the educational process is very important in the process of adapting a child to the conditions of life during the war. The theory of social reproduction developed by P. Bourdieu suggests that educational systems play a crucial role in maintaining the existing social order (Bourdieu, 1977). Also, if we analyze learning in the context of wartime conditions, according to the theory of social context by J. Garba- rino (Garbarino, 1999) one of the most important points is the restoration of a normalized social environment to support children's development and rehabilitation after experiencing war. Such an environment for a child is his or her usual circle of friends, classmates, and the learning process that reminds them of the calm pre-war school days. Access to education is a key factor in children's resilience during war (Prince-Embury et al., 2013), as it promotes positive self-identification and adaptation to war-affected contexts. At the same time, in Ukraine, during the war, according to a study by the Sociological Group “Rating”, only 26% of people regularly attend educational institutions, while most others study either online or in a mixed form (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). And yet, according to this study, it is among those who study online that parents observe the greatest deterioration in their children's mental and physical health compared to the pre-war period. According to previous international studies (Christensen et al., 2008), children's relationships with peers and the expansion of communication networks play an important role in mitigating the negative effects of war and developing children's resilience and psychosocial recovery. Therefore, personal physical interaction with peers and teachers in the process of integration and learning directly at school or kindergarten is the most critical for full development and socialization, for leveling psychological trauma.

Also, among those who mostly study online, compared to the pre-war period, children's academic performance and the quality of education according to their mothers (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c) have also deteriorated. This change has occurred for all forms of education, but it is greater for those who study online. One of the reasons is also more frequent absenteeism, which is higher among those who study online. Also, among those who study online, nearly one-third report that there are not enough devices for their child's education (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c), which is a barrier to successful learning because not everyone has access to high-quality gadgets with full online access.

Also, one of the key factors that contribute to other problems (including lack of access to education) is the proximity of the child's place of residence to the frontline area. For example, in the frontline regions (Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa), every tenth adult said that their child does not study anywhere, which is different from the Central and Western regions, where there are fewer such children (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). Among those who do not have such an opportunity, the main reason why their child does not study is that the school or kin-

dergarten is not working because of the war. Moreover, in the frontline settlements, the vast majority (79%) of those who study -- do it exclusively online without the possibility to attend an educational institution permanently or in a mixed form, while in other regions, even in the de-occupied ones, the rate of online learning does not exceed half of the respondents, and in the western regions, it is only 10% (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). The choice of online education in schools in these regions is understandable, because according to a study among school administrators, while in most regions the main factor for choosing the form of education was the opinion of parents or the availability of shelters, in the eastern region this decisive factor was the security situation on the ground (The State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine, 2023). In addition, in the frontline and de-occupied territories, the lack of teachers is more often reported than in other regions (because these are the regions where the most IDPs have left), as well as the lack of electricity and the Internet (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). Accordingly, this has influenced the fact that the quality and success of children's education in the frontline areas has deteriorated more than in other regions, according to parents.

Even for those who are able to continue their online or offline education, the war creates additional obstacles. More than half of the surveyed mothers of children enrolled in schools/kindergartens said that air alerts, power outages, or lack of internet were the reasons for their children's absences from school almost every day or several days a week (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). Interruptions to the learning process can have negative psychological and emotional consequences for children. Full lessons provide a sense of structure, routine and intellectual stimulation, which is crucial for a child's cognitive development and psychological well-being. When this process is constantly disrupted, children can experience increased levels of stress, anxiety, and frustration, which can negatively impact their motivation, engagement, and overall mental health. Therefore, for mothers, taking their children abroad can be not only a way to save their children from war, but also to protect them from the lack of a proper education and a favorable environment. This is one of the reasons why refugees abroad with young children, especially those of school age, may be less likely to consider returning to Ukraine. Although refugees assess the level of education in Ukraine as good, in some countries, such as the UK, Germany, and the US, refugees rated education in that country of residence rather better than in Ukraine, according to a Rating Online survey abroad (Opora, 2023). In another separate survey conducted by the Educational Ombudsman Service among refugees whose children are studying abroad, they rated teachers' attitudes toward children, respect for rights, professionalism of teachers, greater relevance of education abroad to real life, and respect for children better than in Ukraine (Educational Ombudsman of Ukraine, 2022). Of course, the main problem for children studying abroad is the language barrier, but many countries are trying to integrate Ukrainian schoolchildren by creating integration classes for them (Dembitskyi et al., 2022), in such classes children of all ages have the opportunity to learn the local language.

Interestingly, women with children (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023b) are the most tolerated among the categories of those who left Ukraine, which means that these women may feel less social pressure to return because they are protecting their children while abroad. The factor of having a child may even outweigh the presence of a partner in Ukraine, when the desire to secure the child's future abroad is greater than the desire to return to the family at home. Child safety is a special area of responsibility for parents. And in Ukraine, everything related to children has a different perception for parents, because if they can ignore anxiety themselves, they take it more seriously when they are with their children, because they are responsible for them (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023a). As for the future for war refugees, in the Rating Online survey abroad, we also see that while 42% of refugees definitely see their future in Ukraine, only 24% of those with children definitely see a future in Ukraine (Opora, 2023), which indicates that many are not ready to return home because of the threat and lack of vision of opportunities for child development in Ukraine.

Age Differences

The main cause of significant psychological consequences is, of course, the experience of traumatic events. According to the results of the survey of mothers, 60% of children witnessed or participated in some war-related events (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). Most often, according to mothers, children were separated from their families and relocated to another region of the country (28 and 25%, respectively). The figure of 24% of respondents who said that their children had witnessed shelling and bombing is also very significant. Prolonged stay in a cold room was experienced by 17%, moving abroad and returning -- 11%, being under occupation -- 8%, witnessing the death of relatives or friends -- 6%, losing housing -- 5%, experiencing hunger and lack of water -- 5% (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c).

A very significant factor of the war's impact on children is moving and changing their place of residence, as even among those children who stayed in Ukraine, a quarter to a third were forced to leave their homes and move (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). Forced migration is a contributing factor to the emergence of maladaptive states, and according to psychologists, it can also be a provoking factor for mental illness (Halchenko et al., 2019). In addition to the trauma of displacement itself, children are also stressed by their parents, who are experiencing many problems due to displacement: according to a study of the situation of IDPs with children, the main problems for parents are finding a job, finding housing, and many had to live in less than comfortable conditions conducive to learning and development: for example, a significant number of IDPs with children live in a dormitory, hostel or temporary camp for displaced persons (SOS Children's towns in Ukraine, 2023).

Another important fact is that among children who currently live outside their homes, 40% were forced to change their educational institution (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). Moving and changing the environment have an impact on child development, in particular, among children of internally displaced persons, parents notice a change for the worse in their child's academic performance, physical and psychological health. There is also a higher rate of those who, according to their parents, need psychological help, and not only those who still live outside their homes but also those who have left and returned (including Kyiv residents) -- for both categories, about 17-18% declare the need for such help, while among those who have not changed their place of residence, it is 10% (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). It is also often not only a consequence of moving but also a consequence of trauma due to events that forced parents and families to leave their homes: while 8% of children in general have experienced the occupation, among IDP children, it is one in four (24%) (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c) who was forced to live in the occupied territory before leaving for a safe area.

This dependence also applies to the loss of housing and home: 22% of IDP children have experienced such a loss, while among others it is only 1-2% (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). In general, the loss of a home significantly correlates with the need for psychological assistance: among those who have lost their homes, 30% of parents say their child needs psychological support, although among all of them, it is only 13% (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c), and this category also has a greater difference between the child's mental state before and during the war. Loss of housing means disruption of the physical and social environment with which children are familiar. Housing provides a sense of security, belonging, and stability, and its loss can create a state of turmoil, uncertainty, and loss of involvement in society. In social psychology, the severity of the home loss is explained by the fact that children rely on stable and familiar environments to develop a sense of identity, establish routines, and create social bonds (Kreps, 1981). When children lose their homes, they are not only deprived of physical shelter, but also of the social networks and support systems associated with their former residence. This change can contribute to feelings of isolation, anxiety, and insecurity, which can have a significant impact on a child's psychological well-being.

Children are also very traumatized by the war when they witness the death of people, and witness suffering and cruelty with their own eyes. It is among children who have had such traumatic experiences that parents are more likely to assess their children's signs of fear of the future, nightmares, and fright from loud noises (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). In addition, in war conditions, the failure to meet basic needs (poor nutrition, significant physical activity, lack of a sense of security, love and affection) can be a serious traumatic factor (Chuiko et al., 2019). In particular, according to the study, among children who were forced to experience hunger or lack of water, the rate of indifference to past hobbies, irritability, outbursts of anger, and fear is also quite high (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c). To a somewhat lesser extent, but there is a similar trend among those who experienced cold by staying in a cold room for a long time. Interestingly, when comparing such traumatic events as moving to another region and moving abroad, moving within Ukraine is a more traumatic experience, because the child still remains in the war environment under shelling and anxiety, in particular, the fear of loud noises is significantly higher, and there are more people in this category who left the hottest spots close to the front line.

On the other hand, it is important to note that although there are differences in the severity of certain problems depending on the specific traumatic experience, at the same time, any traumatic experience, whatever it was, caused significantly more harm (especially in terms of fear of loud noises and sleep problems) compared to those who were lucky enough not to have experienced any of these events (Sociological Group “Rating”, 2023c): among those children who avoided any traumatic experience, the index of distress for these psychological and behavioral problems does not exceed 1.4 on average (the index ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 is “not at all disturbed” and 5 is “very disturbed” by a particular problem) and 1.8 for the most common problem of fear of loud noises, while for those who unfortunately had any of the negative experiences, this index of fear of loud noises is 2.5, and for the most traumatic experiences it is higher.

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