Abstract
The persistence of intergroup conflicts around the world creates urgency for research on child development in such settings. Complementing the existing knowledge about internalizing and externalizing developmental outcomes, this article shifts the focus to children’s prosocial behaviors, and more specifically, introduces the Developmental Peacebuilding Model (DPM). The DPM makes three main contributions. First, the DPM integrates a developmental intergroup framework and socio-ecological perspective, with a peacebuilding paradigm, to examine the target and type of children’s prosocial behavior in settings of intergroup conflict. Second, DPM outlines how children’s outgroup prosocial behaviors, which promote constructive change at different levels of the social ecology, can be understood as peacebuilding and fostering social cohesion. Third, the article concludes with the DPM’s implications for research and global policy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 127-134 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Child Development Perspectives |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 30 Jul 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 Sep 2020 |
Keywords
- children
- social cohesion
- prosocial behavior
- intergroup conflict
- adolescents
- youth
- Developmental Peacebuilding Model
- social ecology
- civic engagement
- helping
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Life-span and Life-course Studies