Melville M B, Lykes M B
Department of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Soc Sci Med. 1992 Mar;34(5):533-48. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(92)90209-9.
The effects of government-sponsored terrorism, characteristic of the contemporary Central American civil wars, are particularly devastating to children. In Guatemala, the Mayan population felt the worst of a systematic and brutal counterinsurgency, where over 400 rural villages were destroyed between 1981 and 1983. This research is intended to elucidate selected characteristics of the psychosocial trauma of civil war as experienced by Guatemalan Mayan children, to describe some of the sociocultural effects of civil war on the children's Mayan ethnic identity and to identify those factors that helped them to survive severe trauma and loss. Specifically, during the summer of 1988, 32 children in Guatemala and 36 exiled in Mexico, between the ages of 8 and 16, participated in research designed to compare the negative effects of civil war and the adaptive capabilities of children who have experienced the trauma of the loss of immediate family members, the witnessing of violent crimes and the displacement from their homes. In addition to a semi-structure, open-ended interview and taped personal story/testimonies, several traditional psychological instruments were used to facilitate our understanding of the overall well-being of these children who have been affected by systematic violence. The long-term effects of this trauma cannot be fully anticipated, but the results suggest that these children suffer an abiding fear and face many uncertainties. The children in the orphanages in Guatemala have few expectations for the future and those in refugee camps in Mexico see a bleak future with few opportunities besides survival. The training and preparation of community mental health workers is a realistic possibility with positive effects for the psychic health of the children.
政府支持的恐怖主义行为是当代中美洲内战的特征之一，对儿童的影响尤为严重。在危地马拉，玛雅人口遭受了系统性和残酷的反叛乱行动的最恶劣影响，1981年至1983年间，超过400个乡村被摧毁。这项研究旨在阐明危地马拉玛雅儿童所经历的内战心理社会创伤的某些特征，描述内战对儿童玛雅族裔身份的一些社会文化影响，并确定那些帮助他们在严重创伤和损失中幸存下来的因素。具体而言，1988年夏天，32名年龄在8至16岁之间的危地马拉儿童和36名流亡到墨西哥的儿童参与了一项研究，该研究旨在比较内战的负面影响以及经历了直系家庭成员丧失、目睹暴力犯罪和家园流离失所创伤的儿童的适应能力。除了进行半结构化、开放式访谈以及录制个人故事/证词外，还使用了几种传统心理测试工具，以帮助我们了解这些受到系统性暴力影响的儿童的整体幸福感。这种创伤的长期影响无法完全预测，但结果表明，这些儿童长期处于恐惧之中，面临许多不确定性。危地马拉孤儿院的儿童对未来几乎没有期望，而墨西哥难民营中的儿童则看到一个黯淡的未来，除了生存几乎没有机会。培训和配备社区心理健康工作者是切实可行的，对儿童的心理健康有积极影响。
