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Angela Veale

University College Cork, Applied Psychology, Faculty Member

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University of Edinburgh

University College Cork

American University in Cairo

Negin Najjarnejad

Alessia de Biase

Salma Abou Hussein

University College London

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Papers by Angela Veale

Engaging Men to Support the Resilience of Syrian Refugee Children and Youth in Lebanon

Peace Psychology Book Series, 2019

Conflict damages the social ecological systems that sustain children's resilience such as the cap... more Conflict damages the social ecological systems that sustain children's resilience such as the capacity of parents and communities to provide safety and basic needs and of the state to provide education and health services. In contexts of war and displacement, children's responses and experiences are most immediately mediated by their parents who play a fundamental role in regulating their exposure to risk and in protecting their mental health (

An evaluation of 'FRIENDS for Life' programme for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed forces and groups

Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed... more Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed forces and groups Author(s) Veale, Angela Editor(s) Dowdney, Linda Publication date 2010-01 Original citation Veale, A. (2010) 'Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed forces and groups', London (UK): Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Type of publication Article (non peer-reviewed) Link to publisher's version https://www.child-soldiers.org/shop/individual-through-communityresilience-in-social-reintegration-of-children-1 Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. Rights © 2010, Angela Veale. Item downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10468/3639

Reweaving relating in social reintegration with war-affected young mothers and their children in Liberia, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda

UNICEF (UNICEF West Africa); Rockefeller Foundation (The Rockefeller Bellagio Study Center)

Study on Street Children in Four Selected Towns in Ethiopia

This work is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Peter Tacon, whose work with street-children worldwid... more

‘I Had No Idea You Cared About Me’: Empowerment of Vulnerable Mothers in the Context of Reintegration

This article reviews the literature on empowerment and situates empowerment within the context of... more This article reviews the literature on empowerment and situates empowerment within the context of a multi-year participatory action research study with young women and girls who were formerly associated with fighting forces and armed groups in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and northern Uganda and had children of their own during the conflict and with young mothers considered by their community to be especially vulnerable. The authors put forward suggestions about how empowerment of this particularly vulnerable population can happen. Miranda Worthen et al. 150

Transnational migration, health and well-being: Nigerian parents in Ireland and the Netherlands

Comparative Migration Studies, 2019

The phenomenon of families separated across continents is a result of migratory flows in a global... more The phenomenon of families separated across continents is a result of migratory flows in a globalised world. Transnational families occur because one or both parents migrate internationally requiring children to be raised in transnational child-raising arrangements, with the help of caregivers. This study examines the health and the emotional well-being of Nigerian migrant parents living in Ireland and the Netherlands, using comparative analyses based on a survey of close to 300 migrant parents in each host country. Half of the sample in each country is living in transnational families the other half are not. This paper adds to the existing literature on transnational families by including control groups (migrants who are not separated from their children) and comparing migrant parents from the same origin country who live in different host countries, allowing us to identify the significance of migratory context and legal regimes in shaping the emotional well-being and health of par...

Engaging men to promote resilient communities among Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Intervention, 2019

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

Am I lazy, a drama queen or depressed? A journey through a pluralistic approach to analysing accounts of depression

Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2019

Title Am I lazy, a drama queen or depressed? A pluralistic analysis of participant and researcher... more

The transformative and emancipatory potential of participatory evaluation: reflections from a participatory action research study with war-affected young mothers

Oxford Development Studies, 2019

The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and nor... more The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda which took place from 2006 to 2009 aimed to understand what 'reintegration' meant to young mothers formerly associated with armed groups. It also implemented social action initiatives designed by study participants to promote their wellbeing and achieve reintegration. We evaluated the study using multiple participatory evaluation methods, situating evaluation as part of the cycle of research and action. This approach facilitated young mothers' participation in developing the criteria by which the study and its reintegration outcomes would be judged. We describe each method and what we uniquely learned from using a participatory evaluation approach. We discuss how this approach is well-suited for complex studies, can enhance data quality, increases capacity of all involved in the evaluation and supports the critical reflexivity necessary for participatory studies to succeed.

Transformative spaces in the social reintegration of former child soldier young mothers in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Northern Uganda

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2017

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

An evaluation of the “FRIENDS for Life” programme among children presenting with autism spectrum disorder

Educational Psychology in Practice, 2017

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

Victims and Perpetrators: A Clinician’s Account of Ex-child Soldiers and the Child Development Process in Sri Lanka

International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation, 2015

Given the pervasiveness of political violence and terrorism in certain geographic regions, it is ... more Given the pervasiveness of political violence and terrorism in certain geographic regions, it is reasonable to consider the impact of the violence as all-encompassing and therefore as a feature of child development in those communities. Growing up in an environment of perceived and actual violence is an unfortunate element of child development for large segments of the population existing in conflict zones. Apart from the children who witness, directly experience or silently incorporate the direct or intergenerational transmission of political violence, the complex experiences of another subgroup of children also need to be understood — child soldiers. As both victims and controversially termed ‘perpetrators’ of political violence, these children navigate the treacherous moral highway between child and adult notions of innocence, abduction, agency and culpability.

Reintegration of young mothers: young mothers seeking reintegration after periods of time spent living with fighting forces and armed groups face exclusion and stigma rather than the support they and their children badly need

Forced Migration Review, 2012

Opinions in FMR do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors, the Refugee Studies Centre o... more

Gender-Based Insecurity and Opportunities for Peace: Supporting the Reintegration of Young War-Affected Mothers

Disarmament Forum, 2011

In conflicts throughout the world, armed forces and groups recruit children to fight, maintain th... more In conflicts throughout the world, armed forces and groups recruit children to fight, maintain their camps, perform labor and be used for sexual purposes. The experiences of children associated with armed forces and groups (CAAFAG) are not uniform, nor can there be a uniform approach to helping them when the conflict is over. This article examines the gendered experiences of girls prior to recruitment, during their time with the fighting forces, through disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes, and in their communities after formal DDR has ended. We also present some of the experiences of the Participatory Action Research (PAR) Study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda-a study conducted predominantly with former CAAFAG which used a highly participatory methodology to help participants attain community-based reintegration. In the PAR study young mother participants took a central role in the design and implementation of their reintegration process. A mixture of self-help style psychosocial support and livelihood support were critical to their success. As this population had exceptionally low social status, lacked confidence and self-respect, and did not have rudimentary economic skills at the start, social support and community mobilization were critical in laying the groundwork for livelihood activities and facilitating the sustainability of these activities. The DDR process According to the United Nations Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS), the "objective of the DDR process is to contribute to security and stability in post-conflict environments so that recovery and development can begin". 1 The emphasis of this process has largely been on the immediate security threat posed by armed ex-combatants-typically adult and male. The priority is removing weapons and providing the individuals with meaningful alternative livelihoods so that they do not return to fighting. Yet the opportunity remains for DDR processes to positively contribute to the creation of environments conducive to development and stability. Indeed, while security narrowly construed means an end to military hostilities, more broadly understood, security is about creating safe, strong communities resistant to renewed fighting. The earliest efforts to include children in DDR began in the mid-1990s. While governments and the international community recognized that boys with military training returning to communities where there was no work posed a significant threat to peace, this has only just

Children bereaved by suicide: evaluation of a group intervention

How mothers mediate the social integration of their children conceived of forced marriage within the Lord's Resistance Army

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2016

This article aims to understand how formerly abducted young mothers mediate the social integratio... more This article aims to understand how formerly abducted young mothers mediate the social integration of their children conceived of forced marriage and sexual violence within the Lord&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. Interviews and photographic methods were used in six Internally Displaced Persons Camps in northern Uganda. This article draws on data derived from ten mothers of thirteen children who were conceived in the LRA, five boys and eight girls. The analytic approach used was Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Osborn, 2008). The analysis identified turning points of sites of action where young formerly abducted mothers used diverse strategies to support the reintegration of their children born or conceived within the LRA. Six key turning points are identified, these are (a) participating in rituals and ceremonies, (b) naming, (c) adapting to changing family structures, (d) responding to discrimination against boys (e) managing disclosure and (f) sharing positive memories and identities. Formerly abducted young mothers mediate the social integration of their children by engaging in strategies to support and foster their wellbeing and social relationships. However, the contexts in which they are operating are highly constrained and the relational identities of children born in the LRA are fluid and potentially insecure within communities of return. Implications for policy and programming are discussed.

Being Muslim and being Irish after 9/11: self-conceptions of place in Irish society

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2015

There has been a significant, well-established if somewhat invisible Muslim population in Ireland... more There has been a significant, well-established if somewhat invisible Muslim population in Ireland since the 1950s. An increase in immigration during the Celtic tiger years along with the hysteria of 9/11 caused a rapid visibilization of this population. Muslims became synonymous with extremism and terrorism, but also fell victim to racist constructions emerging from the economic decline. The experience of Muslim youth since 9/11 has been well researched in the UK and Europe, however there has been little empirical work conducted with Ireland’s Muslim communities. In the literature, it is assumed that the British experience is replicated for Muslim youth in Ireland – this is not the case. This paper examines the lived experience of Irish Muslim youth given the visibilization of Islam after 9/11 and their ensuing experiences of Irishness. An analysis of ethnographic data reveals the idiosyncratic experiences of these youth growing up in the shadow of a discriminatory and Islamophobic narrative on extremism and terrorism and an evolving immigrant landscape.

Children, Psychosocial Interventions with

The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology, 2011

Psychosocial interventions with children aim to address the root causes and consequences of viole... more Psychosocial interventions with children aim to address the root causes and consequences of violence, exploitation, and abuse directed at or experienced by children and adolescents by fusing personal, material, and social resources to prevent harm and to support children's capacity to thrive. Interventions range from addressing children's physical and psychological health to tackling the repercussions of dominant cultural narratives or structural factors that depress or hinder their development. Old paradigms that place biology, psyche, or culture in opposition in psychosocial interventions with children have been challenged over the past decade. An evolving paradigm can be identified which views children's developmental trajectory as rooted in biology but in which family, community, political institutions, and culture all provide “structuring contexts” in which children actively participate and can support or disempower their development. Conceptually this is evident in models such as the social-ecological model of the Psychosocial Working Group. In practice, it is evident in the rise of empowerment and community-mobilization approachs in child psychosocial programming. Keywords: psychosocial interventions; child protection; social-ecological model; community mobilization; positive peace; negative peace; psychosocial support; trauma; resilience; child protection committees; child rights committees; policies; systems; “do no harm”

Victims and Perpetrators

International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation

Engaging Men to Support the Resilience of Syrian Refugee Children and Youth in Lebanon

Peace Psychology Book Series, 2019

Conflict damages the social ecological systems that sustain children's resilience such as the cap... more Conflict damages the social ecological systems that sustain children's resilience such as the capacity of parents and communities to provide safety and basic needs and of the state to provide education and health services. In contexts of war and displacement, children's responses and experiences are most immediately mediated by their parents who play a fundamental role in regulating their exposure to risk and in protecting their mental health (

An evaluation of 'FRIENDS for Life' programme for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed forces and groups

Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed... more Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed forces and groups Author(s) Veale, Angela Editor(s) Dowdney, Linda Publication date 2010-01 Original citation Veale, A. (2010) 'Individual through community resilience in social reintegration of children associated with armed forces and groups', London (UK): Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Type of publication Article (non peer-reviewed) Link to publisher's version https://www.child-soldiers.org/shop/individual-through-communityresilience-in-social-reintegration-of-children-1 Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. Rights © 2010, Angela Veale. Item downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10468/3639

Reweaving relating in social reintegration with war-affected young mothers and their children in Liberia, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda

UNICEF (UNICEF West Africa); Rockefeller Foundation (The Rockefeller Bellagio Study Center)

Study on Street Children in Four Selected Towns in Ethiopia

This work is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Peter Tacon, whose work with street-children worldwid... more

‘I Had No Idea You Cared About Me’: Empowerment of Vulnerable Mothers in the Context of Reintegration

This article reviews the literature on empowerment and situates empowerment within the context of... more This article reviews the literature on empowerment and situates empowerment within the context of a multi-year participatory action research study with young women and girls who were formerly associated with fighting forces and armed groups in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and northern Uganda and had children of their own during the conflict and with young mothers considered by their community to be especially vulnerable. The authors put forward suggestions about how empowerment of this particularly vulnerable population can happen. Miranda Worthen et al. 150

Transnational migration, health and well-being: Nigerian parents in Ireland and the Netherlands

Comparative Migration Studies, 2019

The phenomenon of families separated across continents is a result of migratory flows in a global... more The phenomenon of families separated across continents is a result of migratory flows in a globalised world. Transnational families occur because one or both parents migrate internationally requiring children to be raised in transnational child-raising arrangements, with the help of caregivers. This study examines the health and the emotional well-being of Nigerian migrant parents living in Ireland and the Netherlands, using comparative analyses based on a survey of close to 300 migrant parents in each host country. Half of the sample in each country is living in transnational families the other half are not. This paper adds to the existing literature on transnational families by including control groups (migrants who are not separated from their children) and comparing migrant parents from the same origin country who live in different host countries, allowing us to identify the significance of migratory context and legal regimes in shaping the emotional well-being and health of par...

Engaging men to promote resilient communities among Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Intervention, 2019

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

Am I lazy, a drama queen or depressed? A journey through a pluralistic approach to analysing accounts of depression

Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2019

Title Am I lazy, a drama queen or depressed? A pluralistic analysis of participant and researcher... more

The transformative and emancipatory potential of participatory evaluation: reflections from a participatory action research study with war-affected young mothers

Oxford Development Studies, 2019

The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and nor... more The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda which took place from 2006 to 2009 aimed to understand what 'reintegration' meant to young mothers formerly associated with armed groups. It also implemented social action initiatives designed by study participants to promote their wellbeing and achieve reintegration. We evaluated the study using multiple participatory evaluation methods, situating evaluation as part of the cycle of research and action. This approach facilitated young mothers' participation in developing the criteria by which the study and its reintegration outcomes would be judged. We describe each method and what we uniquely learned from using a participatory evaluation approach. We discuss how this approach is well-suited for complex studies, can enhance data quality, increases capacity of all involved in the evaluation and supports the critical reflexivity necessary for participatory studies to succeed.

Transformative spaces in the social reintegration of former child soldier young mothers in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Northern Uganda

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2017

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

An evaluation of the “FRIENDS for Life” programme among children presenting with autism spectrum disorder

Educational Psychology in Practice, 2017

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription.

Victims and Perpetrators: A Clinician’s Account of Ex-child Soldiers and the Child Development Process in Sri Lanka

International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation, 2015

Given the pervasiveness of political violence and terrorism in certain geographic regions, it is ... more Given the pervasiveness of political violence and terrorism in certain geographic regions, it is reasonable to consider the impact of the violence as all-encompassing and therefore as a feature of child development in those communities. Growing up in an environment of perceived and actual violence is an unfortunate element of child development for large segments of the population existing in conflict zones. Apart from the children who witness, directly experience or silently incorporate the direct or intergenerational transmission of political violence, the complex experiences of another subgroup of children also need to be understood — child soldiers. As both victims and controversially termed ‘perpetrators’ of political violence, these children navigate the treacherous moral highway between child and adult notions of innocence, abduction, agency and culpability.

Reintegration of young mothers: young mothers seeking reintegration after periods of time spent living with fighting forces and armed groups face exclusion and stigma rather than the support they and their children badly need

Forced Migration Review, 2012

Opinions in FMR do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors, the Refugee Studies Centre o... more

Gender-Based Insecurity and Opportunities for Peace: Supporting the Reintegration of Young War-Affected Mothers

Disarmament Forum, 2011

In conflicts throughout the world, armed forces and groups recruit children to fight, maintain th... more In conflicts throughout the world, armed forces and groups recruit children to fight, maintain their camps, perform labor and be used for sexual purposes. The experiences of children associated with armed forces and groups (CAAFAG) are not uniform, nor can there be a uniform approach to helping them when the conflict is over. This article examines the gendered experiences of girls prior to recruitment, during their time with the fighting forces, through disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes, and in their communities after formal DDR has ended. We also present some of the experiences of the Participatory Action Research (PAR) Study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda-a study conducted predominantly with former CAAFAG which used a highly participatory methodology to help participants attain community-based reintegration. In the PAR study young mother participants took a central role in the design and implementation of their reintegration process. A mixture of self-help style psychosocial support and livelihood support were critical to their success. As this population had exceptionally low social status, lacked confidence and self-respect, and did not have rudimentary economic skills at the start, social support and community mobilization were critical in laying the groundwork for livelihood activities and facilitating the sustainability of these activities. The DDR process According to the United Nations Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS), the "objective of the DDR process is to contribute to security and stability in post-conflict environments so that recovery and development can begin". 1 The emphasis of this process has largely been on the immediate security threat posed by armed ex-combatants-typically adult and male. The priority is removing weapons and providing the individuals with meaningful alternative livelihoods so that they do not return to fighting. Yet the opportunity remains for DDR processes to positively contribute to the creation of environments conducive to development and stability. Indeed, while security narrowly construed means an end to military hostilities, more broadly understood, security is about creating safe, strong communities resistant to renewed fighting. The earliest efforts to include children in DDR began in the mid-1990s. While governments and the international community recognized that boys with military training returning to communities where there was no work posed a significant threat to peace, this has only just

Children bereaved by suicide: evaluation of a group intervention

How mothers mediate the social integration of their children conceived of forced marriage within the Lord's Resistance Army

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2016

This article aims to understand how formerly abducted young mothers mediate the social integratio... more This article aims to understand how formerly abducted young mothers mediate the social integration of their children conceived of forced marriage and sexual violence within the Lord&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. Interviews and photographic methods were used in six Internally Displaced Persons Camps in northern Uganda. This article draws on data derived from ten mothers of thirteen children who were conceived in the LRA, five boys and eight girls. The analytic approach used was Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Osborn, 2008). The analysis identified turning points of sites of action where young formerly abducted mothers used diverse strategies to support the reintegration of their children born or conceived within the LRA. Six key turning points are identified, these are (a) participating in rituals and ceremonies, (b) naming, (c) adapting to changing family structures, (d) responding to discrimination against boys (e) managing disclosure and (f) sharing positive memories and identities. Formerly abducted young mothers mediate the social integration of their children by engaging in strategies to support and foster their wellbeing and social relationships. However, the contexts in which they are operating are highly constrained and the relational identities of children born in the LRA are fluid and potentially insecure within communities of return. Implications for policy and programming are discussed.

Being Muslim and being Irish after 9/11: self-conceptions of place in Irish society

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2015

There has been a significant, well-established if somewhat invisible Muslim population in Ireland... more There has been a significant, well-established if somewhat invisible Muslim population in Ireland since the 1950s. An increase in immigration during the Celtic tiger years along with the hysteria of 9/11 caused a rapid visibilization of this population. Muslims became synonymous with extremism and terrorism, but also fell victim to racist constructions emerging from the economic decline. The experience of Muslim youth since 9/11 has been well researched in the UK and Europe, however there has been little empirical work conducted with Ireland’s Muslim communities. In the literature, it is assumed that the British experience is replicated for Muslim youth in Ireland – this is not the case. This paper examines the lived experience of Irish Muslim youth given the visibilization of Islam after 9/11 and their ensuing experiences of Irishness. An analysis of ethnographic data reveals the idiosyncratic experiences of these youth growing up in the shadow of a discriminatory and Islamophobic narrative on extremism and terrorism and an evolving immigrant landscape.

Children, Psychosocial Interventions with

The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology, 2011

Psychosocial interventions with children aim to address the root causes and consequences of viole... more Psychosocial interventions with children aim to address the root causes and consequences of violence, exploitation, and abuse directed at or experienced by children and adolescents by fusing personal, material, and social resources to prevent harm and to support children's capacity to thrive. Interventions range from addressing children's physical and psychological health to tackling the repercussions of dominant cultural narratives or structural factors that depress or hinder their development. Old paradigms that place biology, psyche, or culture in opposition in psychosocial interventions with children have been challenged over the past decade. An evolving paradigm can be identified which views children's developmental trajectory as rooted in biology but in which family, community, political institutions, and culture all provide “structuring contexts” in which children actively participate and can support or disempower their development. Conceptually this is evident in models such as the social-ecological model of the Psychosocial Working Group. In practice, it is evident in the rise of empowerment and community-mobilization approachs in child psychosocial programming. Keywords: psychosocial interventions; child protection; social-ecological model; community mobilization; positive peace; negative peace; psychosocial support; trauma; resilience; child protection committees; child rights committees; policies; systems; “do no harm”

Victims and Perpetrators

International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation