How children feel during war – research

Children make up 6% of the total number of wounded and dead civilians as of December 2023. We are talking about 1,822 people. Most children were affected in the east of Ukraine.

60% of children in Ukraine do not feel safe testify the results of the “Future Index” study conducted by the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

“These are only those cases that have been accurately recorded, and the real number of victims is probably much higher, since we do not take into account the children who died in the temporarily occupied territories.” – stressed Vladyslav Szymanskyi, the chief analyst of the study, during the presentation of the study.

In addition to explosions and shelling, minefields also pose a significant danger to children

and undamaged ammunition.

“We hope that all the developments will become a practical tool for the work of institutions and relevant ministries in the future”– says the director of the Foundation, Nina Gorbacheva, in the commentary “UP. Life”.

Mental health of children

44% of children in Ukraine have signs of potential PTSD and 40% once a month or more often faced bullying.

The study says that because of the emotional stress caused by the war, the amount of violence against children in families may increase and they may become witnesses of aggression. As a result, the child may also begin to commit violence against others.

Problems in the system of institutional care

Particular attention was paid in the study system of institutional care. Its index is 0.42, which is the lowest indicator of all 9 dimensions of the analysis.

58,630 children in Ukraine are or study in institutions of institutional care (for example, in a children’s home, boarding schools of various types, in an educational rehabilitation center, etc.), which is twice as many as in the EU. However, only 10% are orphaned or deprived of parental care, the study reports.

According to a survey of children from institutions of institutional care, issues of independence and safety skills are among the most problematic.

“One of the most problematic things mentioned by graduates of institutional care institutions is that the system currently does not prepare them for independent and adult life. They feel afraid of independent decision-making, and they often worry that it can harm”, – explained the head of the research Olha Rybak at the presentation.

Survey participants share that they also have a fear of making a mistake.

“I have a choice, I can’t make it myself, I’m used to being decided for me… I still can’t make a choice myself. I don’t know, I’m scared, I think someone will beat me if I make a choice , and it will turn out to be wrong…” – the survey participant anonymously shared with the researchers.

Inadequate psychological support is also among the problems – building psychological contact with pupils does not inspire trust in them.

“There was such a thing that I opened up to the psychologist, that is, I shared my painful feelings, I could reveal something, you know, personal. I told this to the psychologist, the psychologist went and reported it to the director. That is, it was actually difficult, it was difficult to trust…” – one of the research participants said anonymously.

The field of education

In the conditions of war, distance learning remains relevant. According to the results of the study, 55% of parents rate the conditions for online learning as good. On the other hand, 22% of parents of children from the East often pointed to poor conditions. The researchers emphasize that equipping with equipment and sometimes the lack of access to the Internet were among the problems.

The researchers note that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, it was possible to quickly renew the educational process, however the adaptation of education to the conditions of war is slow, and many schools not provided with shelters.

Head of the Coordinating Center for the Development of Family Education and Child Care, Iryna Tulyakova, notes that schools located far from the war zone still continue teaching online because communities cannot provide shelter.

For results international study of the quality of education PISA–2022, in Ukraine, a significant drop in success in all subjects was foundwhich may be related to long distance learning during the pandemic and war in the case of Ukraine.

The study of the “Index of the Future” states that Ukrainian children have a particularly low level of mathematics knowledge – many students have reached only a basic level, and only 32% of students have reached a higher level.

The level of knowledge of mathematics is systematically lower than the level of knowledge of the Ukrainian and English languages ​​throughout Ukraine: many Ukrainian students reached only the basic level, and only 32% of students reached the higher level.

The education index is 0.46.

Children’s health

The study found that the dynamics of vaccination of children decreased in Ukraine. The share of vaccinated against DPK (diphtheria-tetanus-whooping cough) and poliomyelitis decreased by 16 and 22%, respectively, compared to the period before the start of a full-scale war. The level of vaccination against DPS in Ukraine in 2023 is 37% lower than in EU countries.

An analysis of risky behavior was also carried out. Children aged 14-17 took part in this survey. Of them:

• tried: alcohol 56%, cigarettes 53%, drugs 3%;
• systematically used: alcohol 13%, cigarettes 16%.

One of the indicators for assessing health is physical activity. As of October 2023, 75% of the surveyed children were engaged in physical exercises. However, girls were less active and less likely to feel full of energy.

In addition, because of the war, doctors succeed it is less likely to detect diseases in children in the early stages, because parents do not turn to doctors in time. Families who moved to the central and western regions of Ukraine were not immediately able to find a new family doctor and pediatrician.

In the rear part of Ukraine, due to the constant risk of missile attacks, it remains a problem with the provision of medical services.

The critical situation with access to medical services persists in temporarily occupied territories, in settlements on the contact line and in frontline cities.

According to the general director of the “Okhmatdyt” hospital, Volodymyr Zhovnir, it is difficult to provide medical services to children in such territories, as it is difficult to find the necessary specialist.

in return there are mobile medical teams working in the de-occupied territories, so the situation is somewhat easier. Tetyana Lomakina, an authorized advisor to the President of Ukraine on barrier-free issues, recommends that parents take their children out of areas where there is critical destruction and difficult access to medical services.

“The index of the future is a pilot project. We plan to conduct repeated studies that will allow us to see the situation in dynamics” – said the rector of the Kyiv School of Economics at the presentation of the project.

The project was implemented on the initiative of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, together with the Kyiv School of Economics and with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine.

As part of the study, more than 1,300 children aged 10 to 17 were interviewed throughout Ukraine (except temporarily occupied territories) in October 2023. 19 in-depth interviews were conducted.

Children’s well-being was analyzed in 9 areas:

• education;
• health;
• security;
• financial support;
• mental health;
• social skills;
• manifestations of risky behavior;
• relationships with family and friends;
• system of institutional care.

According to the results of the study, the Future Index in Ukraine is currently 0.64. The index is a value with a range of values ​​from 0 to 1, where the higher the value, the better the situation.

Anna Stopenko, UP. Life