Children Soldiers: The Causes And Effects Of Child Soldiers

More than 300,000 victimized children are recruited into 36 armies around the globe. Children soldiers are children younger than the age of 18 forced to battle in government forces. Many child soldiers are children who are poor, separated from families, abducted or kidnapped, born in the squads or lack education. Being that youth can be easily manipulated and emotionally vulnerable shows how they are not mature enough to fight in the war. The advancement of weapons and technology increases the use of children in these armies. Even though many children are legally recruited, many are also kidnapped, forced to participated in the army, and forced to take on life-long diseases and memories (Facts about Child Soldering). “Children are considered
In the second study in Uganda, children who adapted the best in the war were the ones who picked the most violent houses and communities to live in. The same children also had fewer feelings of guilt, less reason to seek revenge, better socioeconomic situations, and more grasped spiritual support. Some children that were soldiers may have also been raped, resulting in high hostility and anxiety. This suggests that war trauma is highly toxic to children's psychological and social alteration. This study also found that children who were abducted at younger ages were more likely to report symptoms of depression over time than those who were older. Studies also show that almost 90 percent of the child soldiers continued to be uncovered to violence once they returned home. This includes caning, burning, being locked up, and being raped. And two thirds of them suffered from significant mental health problems. Researchers discovered it was the qualities of the child and the home environments where they returned. Including less exposure to domestic and community violence, better family class situations, less motivation to seek revenge, and more perceived spiritual support. (Studies explore effects of war on former child
Some consider delusive drug absorption a critical factor that has contributed to the numbing of boy soldiers during their delayed exposure to violent aggression and to prepare them for combat. In Sierra Leone most fighters use drugs in plenty: crack cocaine, smoked heroin, ephedrine, benzodiazepines, marijuana, etc. Drug abuse may also develop as a means of coping with PTSD. Researchers say that substance abuse can be seen as a way to escape the emotional difficulty associated with extreme shortage and unemployment. Also being an attempt to cope with trauma-related symptom it’s a form of self-medication. In several instances with Somali combatants, researchers found that those with PTSD used more drugs to ‘self- medicate,’ especially those who indicated that drug use helped them forget stressful war experiences. The main drug used in Somalia are leaves of the khat shrub that contain the amphetamine-like cathinone. In these studies, it was clear that PTSD leads to higher khat intake and this leads to a higher risk for the development of psychotic symptoms, such as paranoia. It was observed that 12 years after the end of the war and 6 years after the last war, 16% of the ex-combatants were severely damaged by multiple psychological suffering, mostly severe psychotic disorders combined with drug abuse, trauma-related disorders, and emotional problems. In most cases, uncontrollable behavior, like