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Nuclear War: Fear of Children and Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Neville J King ,
Kate Ollier  and
Eleonora Gullone
Neville J King*
Affiliation:
Monash University
Kate Ollier
Affiliation:
Office of Intellectual Disabilities Services, Victoria
Eleonora Gullone
Affiliation:
Victoria College
*
Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168
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Abstract

Using an extended fear survey schedule, 72 per cent of a sample of 8 to 16 year old children and adolescents in Australia reported a lot of fear of nuclear war. Although a high proportion of respondents in all age groups expressed a lot of fear of nuclear war, significantly more respondents in the middle age group (11-13 years) were found to be afraid. Consistent with the findings on children's fears in general, significantly more females than males reported fear of nuclear war. Further research should be undertaken on the impact of the fear of nuclear war on the psychological development of children and adolescents.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , June 1990 , pp. 2 - 4
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1990

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