Pathways to Peace: The Transformative Power of Children and Families

by James F. Leckman (Editor), Catherine Panter-Brick (Editor), Rima Salah (Editor)

Overview

Experts investigate the role of child development in promoting a culture of peace, reporting on research in biology, neuroscience, genetics, and psychology.

Can more peaceful childhoods promote a culture of peace? Increasing evidence from a broad range of disciplines shows that how we raise our children affects the propensity for conflict and the potential for peace within a given community. In this book, experts from a range of disciplines examine the biological and social underpinnings of child development and the importance of strengthening families to build harmonious and equitable relations across generations. They explore the relevance to the pursuit of peace in the world, highlight directions for future research, and propose novel approaches to translate knowledge into concrete action.

The contributors describe findings from research in biology, neuroscience, evolution, genetics, and psychology. They report empirical evidence on children living in violent conditions, resilience in youth, and successful interventions. Their contributions show that the creation of sustainable partnerships with government agencies, community leaders, policy makers, funders, and service providers is a key ingredient for success. Taken together, they suggest possible novel approaches to translate knowledge into concrete action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262549219
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Series:	Strüngmann Forum Reports , #15
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

James F. Leckman is the Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychology, and Pediatrics at Yale University. Catherine Painter-Brick is Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale University.
Catherine Panter-Brick is Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale University.

Rima Salah, formerly the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, is Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale Child Study Center.

Table of Contents

The Ernst Strüngmann Forum vii
List of Contributors ix
Foreword: The Culture of Peace
Anwarul K. Chowdhury xiii
Foundations for a New Approach
1 Peace Is a Lifelong Process: The Importance of Partnerships
James F. Leckman, Catherine Panter-Brick, and Rima Salah 3
2 Framing Our Analysis: A Dialectical Perspective
Robert A. Hinde and Joan Stevenson-Hinde 19
3 Ecology of Peace
Pia R. Britto, Ilanit Gordon, William Hodges, Diane Sunar, Cigdem Kagitcibasi, and James F. Leckman 27
Human Biological Development
4 Peptide Pathways to Peace
C. Sue Carter and Stephen W. Porges 43
5 Epigenetics: Significance of the Gene-Environment Interface for Brain Development
Eric B. Keverne 65
6 Group Identity as an Obstacle and Catalyst of Peace
Douglas P. Fry 79
7 Human Biological Development and Peace: Genes, Brains, Safety, and Justice
Barak Morgan, Diane Sunar, C. Sue Carter, James F. Leckman, Douglas P. Fry, Eric B. Keverne, Iris-Tatjana Kolassa, Robert Kumsta, and David Olds 95
Early Childhood Events and Relationships
8 Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives
Dario Maestripieri 131
9 The Problem of Institutionalization of Young Children and Its Consequences for Efforts to Build Peaceful Societies
Nathan A. Fox, Charles A. Nelson, and Charles H. Zeanah 145
10 Prosocial Development and Situational Morality: Neurobiological, Parental, and Contextual Factors
Marinus H. van IJzendoorn and Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg 161
11 How Do Events and Relationships in Childhood Set the Stage for Peace at Personal and Social Levels?
Howard Steele, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, W. Thomas Boyce, Mary Dozier, Nathan A. Fox, Heidi Keller, Dario Maestripieri, Paul Odhiambo Oburu, and Hiltrud Otto 185
Challenges in Society
12 Mental Health and Development among Children Living in Violent Conditions: Underlying Processes for Promoting Peace
Raija-Leena Punamäki 213
13 Structural Violence and Early Childhood Development
Andrew Dawes and Amelia van der Merwe 233
14 Promoting the Capacity for Peace in Early Childhood: Perspectives from Research on Resilience in Children and Families
Ann S. Masten 251
15 Healthy Human Development as a Path to Peace
Daniel J. Christie, Catherine Panter-Brick, Jere R. Behrman, James R. Cochrane, Andrew Dawes, Kirstin Goth, Jacqueline Hayden, Ann S. Masten, Ilham Nasser, Raija-Leena Punamäki, and Mark Tomlinson 273
Program and Policy Implications
16 Interventions: What Has Worked and Why?
Cigdem Kagitcibasi and Pia R. Britto 305
17 Linking Peacebuilding and Child Development: A Basic Framework
Mohammed Abu-Nimer and Ilham Nasser 323
18 The Power of Media in Peacebuilding
Lucy Nusseibeh 339
19 Creating Effective Programs and Policies to Reduce Violence and Promote Peace
Pia R. Britto, Rima Salah, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Jacqueline Bhabha, Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Gary R. Gunderson, Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Lucy Nusseibeh, Olayinka Omigbodun, Mikiko Otani, and Geraldine Smyth 361
Bibliography 385
Subject
Index 445

What People are Saying About This

Sarah B. Hrdy

Beginning in utero and throughout childhood, the human brain responds to its environment, reshaping neural connections in line with social experience. But war and other traumas that threaten security distort these processes. Today, with more children than ever before growing up in conflict zones, the implications extend far beyond the suffering of individuals to encompass the rearing environments of future generations and the societies they will compose. In this authoritative,integrative, first-of-its-kind compilation, neuroscientists, psychiatrists,anthropologists, economists, and experts on child development from around the world explore child-rearing environments and policies most likely to mitigate trauma,promote emotional regulation and sensitivity to others, and encourage the formation of positive social relationships.

Ruth Feldman

In this thoughtful collection of essays top scholars across diverse fields—from child development to neuroscience and cultural anthropology—join to shed new light on the question that has baffled humans since the dawn of civilization: how to make the world a place of peace and collaboration and reduce aggression and violence. Their answer intriguingly suggests that peace begins at home and is rooted in the infant's earliest experiences. Society that strives for peace must attend to its infants, help develop healthy brains, and support parents in carrying this difficult task. A courageous book integrating science and humanity!

Dante Cicchetti

This innovative and groundbreaking volume is replete with remarkable ideas from leading multidisciplinary thinkers on how the science of early childhood development can facilitate the important and daunting quest for the promotion of a peaceful global citizenry.

Endorsement

In this thoughtful collection of essays top scholars across diverse fields—from child development to neuroscience and cultural anthropology—join to shed new light on the question that has baffled humans since the dawn of civilization: how to make the world a place of peace and collaboration and reduce aggression and violence. Their answer intriguingly suggests that peace begins at home and is rooted in the infant's earliest experiences. Society that strives for peace must attend to its infants, help develop healthy brains, and support parents in carrying this difficult task. A courageous book integrating science and humanity!

—Ruth Feldman, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Bar-Ilan University and Yale University

From the Publisher

This innovative and groundbreaking volume is replete with remarkable ideas from leading multidisciplinary thinkers on how the science of early childhood development can facilitate the important and daunting quest for the promotion of a peaceful global citizenry.

—Dante Cicchetti, William Harris Professor of Child Development and Psychiatry, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

Beginning in utero and throughout childhood, the human brain responds to its environment, reshaping neural connections in line with social experience. But war and other traumas that threaten security distort these processes. Today, with more children than ever before growing up in conflict zones, the implications extend far beyond the suffering of individuals to encompass the rearing environments of future generations and the societies they will compose. In this authoritative, integrative, first-of-its-kind compilation, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, anthropologists, economists, and experts on child development from around the world explore child-rearing environments and policies most likely to mitigate trauma, promote emotional regulation and sensitivity to others, and encourage the formation of positive social relationships.

—Sarah B. Hrdy, author of Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding

In this thoughtful collection of essays top scholars across diverse fields—from child development to neuroscience and cultural anthropology—join to shed new light on the question that has baffled humans since the dawn of civilization: how to make the world a place of peace and collaboration and reduce aggression and violence. Their answer intriguingly suggests that peace begins at home and is rooted in the infant's earliest experiences. Society that strives for peace must attend to its infants, help develop healthy brains, and support parents in carrying this difficult task. A courageous book integrating science and humanity!

—Ruth Feldman, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Bar-Ilan University and Yale University