The Needs of Victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland

Abstract

• Summary: The civil and political conflict in Northern Ireland over a 30-year period, known as the Troubles, has resulted in over 3600 deaths and some 40,000 injured. The present study investigates the needs of people affected by the Troubles and what contribution social work is making to help meet those needs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key representatives of 45 groups providing services to victims of the Troubles. Proposals are made for the development of specialist social work services for individuals suffering conflict-related trauma.

• Findings: The results show that the psychological experience of the Troubles is characterized by the theme of a vulnerability to depression and anxiety arising from the internalization of negative feelings and the theme of loss — a sudden and violent bereavement and a grieving which has had to be denied and postponed. Victims suffered ill-health caused by long-term, attritional stress and the employment of coping mechanisms which in themselves placed individual health at risk. The Troubles caused adverse social effects including an individual experience of anomie, a community fragmentation and disintegration and a social culture of suspicion and segregation.

• Applications : The prime recommendation of the study is that social work services provided for victims of the Troubles must be community based, offer safety and trust, recognize the right to campaign on human rights issues and offer a range of therapeutic responses.

Keywords

conflict Northern Ireland social work trauma victims

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

APA (American Psychiatric Association) (1994 ) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mood Disorders 4th edn. Washington: APA .

Bloomfield, K. (1998) We Will Remember Them. Belfast : HMSO .

Bolton, D. (1998) `The Threat to Belonging: Reflections on the Remembrance Day Bombing', in E. Zinner and M. Williams (eds) When a Community Weeps: Case Studies in Group Survivorship. Michigan: Edwards Brothers .

Bromet, E. , Parkinson, D. , Schulberg, H. , Dunn, L. and Gonder, P. (1982) ` Mental Health of Residents Near the Three Mile Island Reactor. A Comparative Study of Selected Groups ', Journal of Preventative Psychiatry 1(3): 225—76 .

Bryce, J. , Walker, N. , Ghorayer, F. and Kanu, M. (1989) ` Life Experiences, Response Styles and Mental Health Among Mothers and Children in Beirut, Lebanon ', Social Sciences and Medicine 28(7): 685—95 .

Cairns, E. , Mallett, J. , Lewis, C. and Wilson, R. (2003) Who are the Victims? Self-assessed Victimhood in the Northern Irish Conflict Belfast: Statistics and Research Agency .

Cairns, E. and Wilson, R. (1984) `The Impact of Political Violence on Mild Psychiatric Morbidity in Northern Ireland' , British Journal of Psychiatry 145: 631—5 . Cairns, E. and Wilson, R. (1989) `Mental Health Aspects of Political Violence' , International Journal of Mental Health 18(1): 38—56 .

Caul, B. and Herron, S. (1980) A Service for People. Belfast : University Press . Ccetsw (1999) Getting Off the Fence: Challenging Sectarianism in Personal Social Services. London: CCETSW .

Dfp (2002) Northern Ireland Census. Population Report. Belfast: HMSO . Dhss/Ssi (1998) Living with the Trauma of the Troubles. Belfast: DHSS .

10.

Doyal, L. and Gough, I. (1991) A Theory of Human Need. London : Macmillan . Fay, M. , Morrisey, M. , Smyth, M. and Wong, T. (1999) The Costs of the Troubles Study. Derry: University of Ulster, Incore .

11.

Gallagher, T. (1998) Schools for Justice, Schools for Hate: The Role of Education in Social Conflict. Belfast: British Psychological Society .

12.

Gibson, M. (1991) Order from Chaos. Birmingham : Venture Press .

13.

Gillespie, K. , Duffy, M. , Hackmann, A. and Clark, D. (2002) ` Community Based Cognitive Therapy in the Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Following the Omagh bomb ', Behaviour Research and Therapy 40(4): 345—57 .

14.

Guelke, A. (2000) `“Comparatively peaceful”: South Africa, the Middle East and Northern Ireland', in M. Cox , A. Guelke and F. Stephen (eds) A Farewell to Arms? From `Long War' to Long Peace in Northern Ireland. Manchester : Manchester University Press .

15.

Hargie, O. and Dickson, D. (2003) Researching the Troubles: Social Science Perspectives and the Northern Ireland Conflict . Edinburgh : Mainstream.

16.

Haverty, T. (1983) `The Impact of the Troubles on the Delivery of Personal Social Services in Londonderry 1978'. Unpublished MSc thesis. Cranfield .

17.

Healey, A. (1996) ` Systemic Therapy: Developing a Therapeutic Conversation ', Child Care in Practice 3(1): 68—86 .

18.

Healing through Remembering Project (2002) Report of the Healing through Remembering Project. Belfast: Healing through Remembering Project .

19.

Hewitt, V. (1990) `The Public Sector', in R. Harris , C. Jefferson and J. Spence (eds) The Northern Ireland Economy . Harrow : Longman .

20.

Iassw (2001) Ethics in Social Work: Statement of Principles. URL (consulted Dec 2006): http://www.iassw-aiets.org/en/NewsEvents/EthicsDocument.pdf.

21.

Ifsw (2000) International Statement on Peace and Justice. URL (consulted December 2006): http://www.ifsw.org/publications.

22.

Kelly, G. and Smyth, M. (1998) Report on a Survey of Voluntary Groups Serving the Needs of Those Bereaved and Injured in the Troubles. Belfast: Victims Liaison Unit .

23.

Lacey, B. (1999) Discover Derry . Dublin: O'Brien Press .

24.

Lederach, J. (1995) Preparing for Peace. Conflict Transformation Across Cultures. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press .

25.

Loughrey, G. , Bell, P. , Kee, M. , Roddy, R. and Curran, P. (1988) ` Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Civil Violence in Northern Ireland ', British Journal of Psychiatry 153: 554—60 .

26.

McGarry, J. and O'Leary, B. (1995) Explaining Northern Ireland, Oxford: Blackwell .

27.

McKittrick, D. , Kelters, S. , Feeney, B. and Thornton, C. (1999) Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles . Edinburgh : Mainstream.

28.

McLaughlin, J. and Kelly, B. (1998) `The Physical Disability Context and Crisis Support Services in Northern Ireland', in M. Anderson , S. Bogues , J. Campbell , H. Douglas and M. McColgan (eds) Social Work and Social Change in Northern Ireland. Belfast: CCETSW(NI) .

29.

McWhirter, L. , (1986) `Psychological Impact of Violence in Northern Ireland: Recent Research Findings and Issues', in N. Eisenberger and D. Glasgow (eds) Recent Advances in Clinical Psychology. Aldershot : Gower .

30.

Marks, I. , Lovell, K. , Noshirvani, H. , Livanou, M. and Thrasher, S. (1998) ` Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder by Exposure and/or Cognitive Restructuring: A Controlled Study', Archives of General Psychiatry 55: 317—25 .

31.

Maslow, A. (1970) Theory of Human Motivation. New York: Harper and Row .

32.

Morrow, D. (1995) `Church and Religion in the Ulster Crisis', in S. Dunn (ed.) Facets of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. New York: St Martin's Press .

33.

Murtagh, B. (2002) The Politics of Territory: Policy and Segregation in Northern Ireland. Basingstoke: Macmillan .

34.

Newburn, T. (1993) Disaster and After. Social Work in the Aftermath of Disaster. London: Jessica Kingsley .

35.

Nio (1998) The Good Friday Agreement, 10th April 1998. Belfast: HMSO . O'Connor, F. (1994) In Search of a State: Catholics in Northern Ireland . Belfast: Blackstaff .

36.

Peake, S. (2001) ` Working with Children and Young People Affected by the Troubles: A Support Group's Perspective ', Child Care in Practice 7(1): 33—45 .

37.

Pinkerton, J. and Campbell, J. (2002) ` Social Work and Social Justice in Northern Ireland: Towards a New Occupational Space ', British Journal of Social Work 32(6): 723—37 .

38.

Raphael, B. (1986) When Disaster Strikes: A Handbook for the Caring Professions. London: Unwin Hyman .

39.

Rose, S. , Bisson, J. and Wessly, S. (2003) ` A Systematic Review of Single-session Psychological Interventions (“Debriefing”) Following Trauma ', Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 72(4): 176—84 .

40.

Sheppard, M. and Woodcock, J. (1999) ` Need as an Operating Concept: The Case of Social Work with Children and Families ', Child and Family Social Work 4(1): 67—76 .

41.

Silverman, D. (2000) Doing Qualitative Research. London: Sage .

42.

Smyth, M. (2000) `The Human Consequences of Armed Conflict: Constructing “Victimhood” in the Context of Northern Ireland's Troubles', in M. Cox , A. Guelke and F. Stephen (eds) A Farewell to Arms? From `Long War' to Long Peace in Northern Ireland. Manchester : Manchester University Press .

43.

Smyth, M. and Thompson, K. (2001) Working with Children and Young People in Violently Divided Societies: Papers from South Africa and Northern Ireland. Derry: Incore .

44.

Taylor, A. and Fraser, A. (1990) ` The Field of Disasters and Disaster Stress ', British Journal of Guidance and Counselling 19(1): 1—7 .

45.

Traynor, C. (1998) `Social Work in a Sectarian Society', in M. Anderson , S. Bogues , J. Campbell , H. Douglas and M. McColgan (eds) Social Work and Social Change in Northern Ireland. London: CCETSW .

46.

Whyte, J. (1991) Interpreting Northern Ireland. Oxford: Clarendon Press .