Understanding of Enemy in Turkish Cypriot Children

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to explore children's understanding and conceptualization of enemy in contexts defined by conflict and war, in addition to providing evidence of age-and gender-related differences. One hundred fifty-two Turkish Cypriot children's enemy conceptualization and enemy images were assessed using a free association task, a drawing task, and a questionnaire. Results suggested that Turkish Cypriot children have well-defined, concrete representations of the enemy, which change with age. Increases in age were related to more positive conceptualizations of the enemy, indicating more abstract thinking skills with maturity. Girls showed evidence of advanced emotional expressiveness in enemy conceptualization, making more reference to the character of an enemy compared with boys. The likely influence of being raised in contexts of war and conflict are discussed.