Spirituality and Resilience in Children of War in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This mixed-method study examined adaptive and maladaptive development in 62 children of war in Sri Lanka and 15 caregivers. Participants included war orphans and nonwar orphans from Buddhist and Christian orphanages, and a comparison group of children from intact families. Children's measures included; risk and resilience indices, sand tray analysis (constructions and narrative), Stages of Faith Interview (adapted from Fowler, 1981) and a sentence completion task. Adult measures included the adapted Stages of Faith Interview and a sentence completion task. Scoring was completed by three raters, with interrater reliability over 90%. Findings from ANOVA and qualitative analyses found similar indicators of general risk and resilience as in previous research. However, contrary to previous studies, most orphans demonstrated inner peace and resilience after exposure to war. Resilient orphans identified Buddhist and Christian practices used to promote their faith, personal well-being, and sense of belonging. Overall, the children in both Buddhist and Christian orphanages were taught to value peace and compassion, even though they had been exposed to war. Nevertheless, lack of contact with biological parents posed a unique idiom of risk for some orphans.