Understanding How Children Manage Emotions in War and Conflict Zones: A Qualitative

Review of Emotional Regulation and Coping Strategies (2015-2025)

ABSTRACT

The age of childhood is a formative period, where they learn about the world, playing roles,
forming secure attachments in a healthy environment, can be a huge troll on their emotional
development when exposed to war and conflict crisis. To understand their emotional
regulation in crisis, the study aims to explore how children regulate and manage their emotions
in war and conflict zones, focusing on the psychological, familial, and ecological processes that
shape emotional development and resilience under chronic adversity. Across 20 qualitative
research between 2015 to 2025 is derived from credible databases based on priorly set choosing
criteria were thematically analysed and five themes emerged. The findings revealed that
children’s emotion regulation in war and conflict zones is a dynamic process defined by
intergenerational trauma transmission, environmental disruption, adaptive coping, and
relational dependence. Yet in amidst of crisis, children profoundly showcased emotional
resilience and psychological strength. Their ability to adapt, taking premature roles for their
siblings, optimism to go back to ordinary life led to become resilient during the war
situation. Children’s capacity to manage emotions in conflict zones reveals the human
adaptation and affirms the inner potential of children emotional strength as well as a sense of
self even during adversity.

Keywords: Children, Emotional Regulation, Coping strategies, War conflict crisis,Relational

Communities
INTRODUCTION

War represents one of the most severe disruptions to human development, dismantling the
social, emotional, and ecological systems that sustain psychological well-being. Defined as a
sustained and organized conflict between groups or nations, war extends its harm far beyond
physical destruction producing long-term mental, emotional, and social consequences (Smith,
2021). For adults, it often manifests as trauma, grief, and moral injury (Jones & Wessely,
2020). For children, whose development depends on safety, attachment, and routine, the
effects are particularly profound. Exposure to violence, displacement, and chronic insecurity
disrupts their sense of stability, leading to anxiety, sleep disturbances, and emotional
withdrawal (Peltonen et al., 2023; Hamamra et al., 2025). In war such crises , among the
adults , Children are most vulnerable living in war and conflict zones who are routinely
exposed to the loss of parents, forced migration, witnessing violence, and chronic insecurity.
Such exposure disrupts their sense of safety and stability, key foundations of healthy
emotional development (Peltonen et al., 2023). The psychological toll manifests in anxiety,
sleep disturbances, hyperarousal, emotional numbing, and difficulties in social interaction
(Hamamra et al., 2025). However, not all outcomes are pathological; many children
demonstrate remarkable resilience, utilizing imagination, play, and relational support to
restore emotional equilibrium (Kalush & Cohen, 2019). Emotional regulation is the ability to
identify, express, and manage emotions—thus becomes both a survival skill and a
developmental process shaped by trauma, culture, and the caregiving environment.

Theoretical backgrounds like Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and theories of
emotional development and regulation gives a clear picture how children’s emotional processes
are embedded within multiple social and developmental layers and context. Bronfenbrenner’s
(1979) theory conceptualizes child development as occurring within a hierarchy of interrelated
systems: the microsystem (family, peers, school), mesosystem (interactions between these
microsystems), exosystem (broader social and institutional influences), and macrosystem
(cultural and political context). For children growing up in war zones, emotional regulation
becomes a daily act of survival shaped by chaos, loss, and uncertainty. Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological model reveals how each layer of a child’s world is disrupted: the comforting presence
of caregivers may be stripped away, schools may no longer offer safety or routine, and
communities may fracture under pressure. Even when violence isn’t directly witnessed, its ripple
effects through stressed parents, broken routines, and cultural shifts leave deep emotional
imprints. Over time, these experiences shape how children learn to manage fear, express emotion,
and seek connection.

Secondly, theories of Emotional Development and Regulation, Complementing the ecological

view, emotional development theories emphasize how children learn to identify and modulate
emotions through interaction and attachment. Bowlby’s (1988) attachment theory posits that
secure caregiver relationships are foundational for healthy emotional regulation. Similarly,
Gross’s (2015) process model of emotion regulation describes strategies such as reappraisal and
suppression that individuals use to manage emotional responses. In conflict zones, caregivers’
own trauma compromises these regulatory models; children thus mirror inconsistent emotional
cues or adopt defensive strategies such as denial or emotional numbing (Ulutas et al., 2025).
Nonetheless, developmental flexibility enables adaptive responses like play, humor, storytelling,
or helping behaviour that restore emotional balance and contribute to resilience. This framework
situates children’s coping not merely as reactions but as evolving, creative processes of self-
regulation.

Rational
Although there is extensive research on the psychological impact of war and conflict on children,
most existing work focuses on post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and resilience outcomes rather than
on the process of emotional regulation itself. The few studies that do mention emotional
regulation tend to use quantitative or clinical approaches, with limited attention to the lived
experiences and subjective emotional processes of children in conflict settings. Furthermore,
qualitative evidence exploring how children understand, express, and manage their emotions
amid ongoing threat, displacement, or instability remains scattered and under-synthesized. No
comprehensive review has systematically gathered qualitative insights to explain how war-
affected children develop or maintain emotional regulation strategies in different cultural and
developmental contexts. This gap highlights the need for a qualitative review that thematically
integrates findings across diverse conflict regions to provide a deeper, context-sensitive
understanding of children’s emotional regulation.

Variables

In this review, the depended variable is children’s emotional regulation, which refers to their ability to
identify, manage, and express emotions appropriately when faced with stress, trauma, or adversity
through strategies such as play, imagination, and social connection. The key independent variables
include exposure to war and conflict, parental trauma, family and and cultural and social systems.
Exposure to war represents the violent and unstable conditions such as bombing, displacement, and
loss that directly and indirectly affect children’s emotional wellbeing. Parental trauma refers to the
psychological distress experienced by caregivers due to war and displacement, which in turn shapes
parenting behaviour and the emotional climate of the household. Cultural and social systems
encompass the community norms, beliefs, and institutional structures that guide how emotions are
expressed, silenced, or supported during conflict. In addition, coping mechanisms, resilience, and
intergenerational trauma are considered mediating variables, as they influence how the effects of war
and parental distress translate into children’s emotional outcomes. Together, these variables interact to
explain the interplay through which children regulate emotions amid the instability of war and conflict
crisis.

The purpose of this study is to explore how children regulate and manage their emotions in war
and conflict zones, focusing on the psychological, familial, and ecological processes that shape
emotional development and resilience under chronic adversity.

OBJECTIVES
1. To explore how children experience, express and regulate emotions amid war
and conflict.
2. To identify and synthesis common coping strategies employed by children
across qualitative research to balance the trauma related misbalance in emotions in
the amidst crises.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How do children regulate and express emotions in war and conflict contexts?
2. What coping and adaptive strategies support their emotional regulation?
3. How do familial and social systems influence emotional regulation among
children in war zones?

METHODOLOGY
 The current review has followed qualitative research and studies to examine children
emotional regulation in amidst of war and conflict zones through reviewing last 10 years
literatures that is from 2015 to 2025. Relevant studies were identified from databases like
Science Direct, Google Scholar, Psych Info, Biomed central and PubMed. Keywords like
“child refugees”, “children emotional regulation war”, “War and conflict areas”, “Coping
strategies in war” etc were used. The population ranges from 5 years old to 17 years old and
the mean age of caregivers from 18- [Link] inclusion criteria included (a) peer reviewed
studies and published thesis (b) published within the given time frame of the review paper (c)
must be qualitative research (d) published in English (e) focused on children in war-zones (f)
must be full text available. The exclusion criteria include (a) studies that is past 2015 (b)
studies that did not focus on children and adolescents (c) Studies that were not written the
war or conflict area context (d) did not examine the emotional regulation of children
alongside the caregivers within the given context (e) were not published in English (f) are not
peer reviewed. 20 studies were identified based on the criteria. Across the 20 studies
reviewed, researchers primarily adopted qualitative methodologies to explore children’s
emotional regulation within war and conflict contexts. Most studies used in-depth semi-
structured interviews, teller focused interview, focus group discussions, ethnographic field
work, and workshop involving children, caregivers, and families affected by conflict. For
example, Peltonen et al. (2023) and Ulutaş et al. (2025) employed interviews with mothers
and children to examine how trauma transfers across generations, while Mattelin et al. (2024)
and Shamieh et al. (2025) used narrative interviews to explore children’s emotional
experiences of displacement. Data collection in these studies typically relied on participant
observation, allowing children and caregivers to express emotional experiences in their own
words. In terms of analysis, most researchers used thematic analysis (Peltonen et al., 2023;
Hamamra et al., 2025), content analysis (Ulutaş et al., 2025), or phenomenological
interpretation (Kalush & Cohen, 2019) to identify recurring emotional patterns, coping
mechanisms, and relational themes.
Thus, the current review has adopted thematic analysis and together identified 5themes across
the studies.

Table 1: Summary of all the research paper used in the review.

Sl. Author(s) Ye Aim Sample Methodology Key

No. ar Findings

1) Peltonen et al. 20 Investigate the role of Syrian Qualitative/Mixed (Focus Maternal

23 maternal factors refugee on psychological factors). trauma and
(trauma, discipline) in children discipline
emotional and their approaches
processingamong mothers. are linked to
Syrian refugee differences
children. in how
 Syrian
refugee
children
process
emotions.

2) Mattelin et al. 20 Explore children's Children Qualitative (Study on Children

24 experiences on who experiences). find ways to
their refugee journeyed keep living
journey to Sweden. as refugees ("You
to Sweden. cannot just
stop life")
despite the
difficulties of
the refugee
journey.

3) Shamieh et al. 20 Describe the Refugee Qualitative (Focus on Details the

25 psychosocial Gaza psychosocial experiences). specific
experiences of children emotional
refugee Gaza undergoing and social
children receiving cancer challenges
cancer treatment in treatment in faced by
Jordan. Jordan. this highly
vulnerable
group.

4) Hamamra et al. 20 Analyse the Children in Qualitative Content War-related

25 relationship between Gaza Analysis (Explicitly stated). trauma
trauma and affected by leads to
sleep disruption war. significant
in Gaza children due sleep
to war. disruption
and related
psychologic
al effects.

5) Gatenio-Kalush 20 Identify emotion- Mothers Qualitative/ Mothers and

& Cohen 19
 regulation and young Observational(Focus on children
strategiesused by children strategies). actively
mothers and young exposed to create a
children exposed to political "Safe
recurrent political violence. Haven"
violence. using
specific
emotion-
regulation
strategies to
cope with
recurrent
violence.

6) Akarçay Ulutaş 20 Conduct a scoping Existing Scoping Provides an

et al. 25 review on the published Review(Synthesizing existing overview of
effects of war and literature. evidence). the current
migration on research
emotion landscape
regulation in regarding
Syrian children. emotion
regulation
challenges
in Syrian
refugee
children.

7) Nicole Marie 20 Examine mental Refugee Thesis (Likely quantitative or Assesses

Gosnell 17 health and students in mixed methods the state of
emotion Malaysia. survey/assessment). mental
regulation among health and
refugee students in emotional
Malaysia. coping
strategies
used by
refugee
youth in a
specific
resettlement
context.

8) El-Khani et al. 20 Investigate coping Displaced Qualitative (Focus on coping Identifies

 17 mechanisms used refugee mechanisms). parental
by displaced refugee parents. coping
parents caring for strategies
children in pre- used to
resettlement settings. protect and
care for
their
children
before
reaching
final
resettlement
countries.

9) Necile Gürle 20 Study the effect of Syrian Intervention/ Art and

18 art and drama on refugee Qualitative(Focus on drama
enhancing emotion children in program effectiveness). intervention
awareness in southeast s can
Syrian refugee Turkey. effectively
children. improve the
children's
awareness
and
expression
of emotions.

10) Hend Eltanamly 20 Conduct a Refugee Qualitative Explores

et al. 22 qualitative parents. Investigation(Explicitly how refuge
investigation of stated). and
parenting in the displaceme
context of refuge. nt impact
family
dynamics
and
parenting
practices.

11) Anne Carolina 20 Analyze the Children Qualitative/Thematic Highlights

Ramos & 25 importance of and their Analysis (Focus on the crucial
Andrea Riepl family (through families in relationships/objects). role of
home, objects, times of family,
relationships) for war. familiar
 children's well- objects, and
being in times of home
war. environment
in stabilizing
children
during
conflict.

12) Helle Harnisch 20 Study avoidant Former Qualitative Study (Focus Avoidant
& Edith 17 responses to war forcibly on former combatants). coping
Montgomery adversity and their recruited mechanism
link to the children/yo s were
perpetration of uth in linked to
violence by former Northern war-related
child soldiers. Uganda adversity
(Acholi and
region). potentially
to the
perpetration
of violence.

13) S. Childress et 20 Study the Ukrainian Qualitative Study(Explicitly Details the

al. 25 adaptation refugees in stated). specific
challenges faced the U.S. social,
by Ukrainian cultural, and
refugees in the structural
United States. challenges
faced by
Ukrainian
refugees
during
resettlement
.

14) ShaymaaAbdelh 20 Identify negative Refugee Qualitative Study(Explicitly Identifies

amid et al. 23 and protective children stated). factors (both
experiencesinflue resettling in harmful and
ncing the well-being Germany. helpful) that
of refugee children impact
resettling in refugee
Germany. children's
adjustment
 and well-
being in a
new host
country.

15) Amanda Sim et 20 Explore the Syrian Qualitative Study(Explicitly Establishes

al. 18 pathways linking refugees in stated). links
war and Lebanon. showing
displacement to how war
parenting and impacts
child adjustment parental
in Syrian refugees. mental
health,
which in
turn affects
parenting
and child
adjustment
outcomes.

16) Megan 20 Study coping Trauma- Qualitative Study(Explicitly Documents

Cherewick et al. 15 strategies among affected stated). the specific
trauma-affected youth (likely coping
youth. in conflict mechanism
zones like s used by
DRC, young
based on people
journal facing high
context). levels of
trauma.

17) Hala Kerbage et 20 Investigate Parents Qualitative Explores the

al. 24 parentingfollowing and Inquiry(Explicitly stated). extreme
adolescents' recent adolescent stress and
traumatic s in Beirut. changes in
exposure in a parenting
multiple crisis setting required
(Beirut, Lebanon). when
adolescents
face
repeated,
recent
 trauma in a
complex
crisis
environment
.

18) Maya Fennig et 20 Examine early Children Qualitative/Clinical Describes

al. 25 psychological and Study (Focus on immediate the acute
responses of caregivers responses). psychologic
children and released al state and
caregivers from war needs of
immediately after captivity. those
release from war recently
captivity. freed from
captivity.

19) Munitz Kineret 20 Analyze Adolescent Qualitative/Mixed(Focus Explores

& Ben Shirley 25 adolescent s and their on lived experiences and how
coping and parents. perspectives). adolescents
identity manage
development stress and
during the 'Swords of shape their
Iron' War. identity
while living
through
active
conflict.

20) Livia Hazer & 20 Review the effects of Existing Literature Provides a
Gredeback 23 war, published Review(Synthesizing broad
displacement, literature. evidence). overview of
and trauma on the various
child negative
development. impacts of
conflict and
displaceme
nt on
children's
developmen
tal
 trajectory.

FINDINGS
Theme 1: Intergenerational Trauma and Emotional Development
This theme captures how emotional development among children in conflict contexts is
profoundly shaped by the transmission of trauma across generations. Across the reviewed
papers, war and displacement were shown to break parental mental health, alter caregiving
dynamics, and restrict the emotional support children require to develop secure emotional
regulation. The concept of intergenerational trauma recurs as an observed phenomenon which
is a children’s capacity to identify, manage, and express emotion is conditioned by the
unresolved trauma of their parents, particularly mothers (Peltonen et al., 2023; Ulutas et al.,
2025; Gurle, 2018). In Peltonen et al., 2023, maternal trauma was directly correlated with
diminished emotional processing ability in children. Even where mothers sought to maintain
discipline, trauma symptoms mediated their emotional responsiveness and consistency. The
study found that harsh disciplinary methods particularly spanking were significantly
associated with poorer emotional processing. Crucially, this relationship held across ages,
implying that once maternal trauma disrupts a child’s emotional learning environment, its
effects persist developmentally. In thematic terms, this reveals a pattern of transmission,
where parental dysregulation is both modelled and embodied by children.
Across the broader evidence base, this transmission is not purely behavioural but also
psychophysiological. Research in Hamamra et al., 2025; Ulutas et al., 2025 and Kerbage et
al., 2024 indicated that chronic exposure to parental distress, fear, or sleeplessness, it also
affects stress-system functioning in children. When parents exhibit hypervigilance or
avoidance, common trauma responses, the child learns that the environment is unsafe,
internalizing a perpetual alert state. This mirrors findings from Gaza (Hamamra et al., 2025),
where sleeplessness, persistent fear, and physiological exhaustion were shared between
mothers and children, reflecting a family-wide dysregulation of stress responses. Children
growing up under such conditions exhibit mixed emotional development trajectories, a
tension between precocious emotional awareness and impaired emotional regulation. Some
studies noted heightened sensitivity and empathy, likely reflecting children’s adaptation to
monitor parental distress; others showed emotional blunting or confusion.
Another recurring dimension of this theme concerns the cultural mediation of trauma
transmission. In some contexts, especially Middle Eastern and African refugee families,
cultural norms of silence and shame around suffering restricted emotional communication
between parents and children (Ulutas et al., 2025; Peltonen et al., 2023; Peltonen et al., 2023).
This limited children’s opportunities to verbalize distress or to receive emotional validation,
reinforcing maladaptive regulation patterns such as suppression, denial, or somatisation.
Taken together, this theme demonstrates that intergenerational trauma shapes children’s
emotional development not simply through direct exposure to violence but through the
relational and communicative breakdowns that trauma precipitates. When parents’ own
regulation capacities are compromised, children lose a critical model for interpreting and
managing emotions. The findings across studies highlight that interventions targeting child
emotional health in conflict zones must address parental trauma simultaneously.

Theme 2: The Disruption of Safety, Stability, and Ordinary Childhood

This theme illustrates how war and displacement dismantle the fundamental psychological
anchors of safety, continuity, and normalcy that underpin emotional regulation. Across nearly
all reviewed papers, children experienced being disconnected from ordinary life, an ongoing
attempt to reconstruct everyday routines, education, and play amid insecurity (Mattelin et al.,
2024; Shamieh et al., 2025; Hamamra et al., 2025; Ulutas et al., 2025; Ramos & Riepl 2025;
Sim et al., 2018). Their narratives reveal a dual movement: the longing to reclaim an
“ordinary childhood” and the constant structural and emotional barriers that make it
unattainable.
Mattelin et al., 2024 provides a saddening foundation for this theme. Refugee children
repeatedly expressed a “longing for a good life that cannot be taken for granted.” This
longing encompassed school attendance, friendships, and leisure activities symbolising
normal childhood. Yet, these aspirations were continually disrupted by displacement,
violence, and uncertainty. Children tried to hold on to fragments of routine through keeping
diaries, studying, or playing with siblings to sustain a sense of continuity. This allows
children to construct predictability in a world where everything else is volatile.
The data from Mattelin et al., 2024 also revealed that family separations, language barriers,
and unstable asylum processes fractured children’s sense of self and belonging. The transition
from refugee to resettled child was not linear but oscillatory. Children moved between
moments of stability and sudden reactivation of loss or fear. For unaccompanied minors, the
absence of family intensified feelings of exposure and emotional dependency on peers or
temporary guardians. Across contexts, safety was not experienced as an external condition
but as an emotional perception, continually negotiated and easily lost.
Hamamra et al., 2025 amplifies this theme through the lens of sleep disturbance in Gaza. The
testimonies of sleepless nights, nightmares, and the transformation of night into suffering,
demonstrate how insecurity seeps into the most intimate rhythms of childhood. Sleep, which
normally functions as a physiological regulator, becomes a site of anxiety and trauma
repetition. Children and parents alike describe hyperarousal “sleeping with one eye open” a
metaphor that captures the downfall of the boundary between danger and rest. This state of
chronic vigilance undermines both cognitive and emotional restoration, further entrenching
dysregulation. The erosion of safety including overcrowded shelters, loss of privacy,
displacement also led to emotional vulnerability. Across several papers (Mattelin et al., 2024;
Hamamra et al., 2025, Ulutas et al., 2025; Childress et al., 2024; Cherewick et al., 2015),
physical dislocation is mirrored by emotional disorientation. Children report feeling “foreign
everywhere,” detached from their previous familiar identities and uncertain of their future.
This rupture of spatial and emotional stability produces a condition of suspended
development of what some participants described as “waiting for life to start again.” In
psychological terms, this state limits emotional maturation, leaving children trapped between
past trauma and deferred normalcy.
Despite these losses, the longing for normal life operates as a protective fantasy and coping
mechanism. This aligns with broader resilience research suggesting that hope and imagined
normalcy serve as cognitive-emotional regulators in contexts of prolonged crisis (Mattelin et
al., 2024; Kalush & Cohen, 2019; Gosnell, 2017; Ramos & Riepl., 2025). Thus, the
disruption of safety and stability is not totalizing; it coexists with creative attempts to rebuild
order from chaos. Thus, it suggests that the reconstruction of safety is not limited to physical
security but involves symbolic restoration that include consistent caregiving, schooling, and
the reestablishment of cultural routines.

Theme 3: Coping Mechanisms and Emotion Regulation Strategies in Conflict

This theme focuses on how children develop and employ coping strategies to regulate
emotions amid conflict, displacement, and chronic insecurity. The reviewed papers
collectively depict children as active agents of adaptation, not passive victims, using
cognitive, behavioural, social, and imaginative strategies to manage overwhelming fear and
distress. Emotion regulation (ER) emerges here not only as a psychological construct but as a
survival tool shaped by context, culture, and relational support (Shamieh et al., 2025;
Hamamra et al., 2025; Kalush & Cohen., 2019; Ulutas et al., 2025; Eltanamly et al., 2021,
Sim et al., 2018). Kalush & Cohen, 2019 provides detailed insight into children’s
spontaneous emotion regulation in the face of rocket attacks. Children described running to
the “mamad,” a designated safe room, as both a physical and symbolic act of protection. The
mamad represented more than shelter, it was an emotionally charged space embodying
control, predictability, and safety. By attributing protective qualities to the mamad, children
cognitively reframed threat into manageable action..
Alongside cognitive strategies, behavioral and physiological regulation emerged across
contexts. Breathing exercises, drinking water, counting, or taking brief solitude were cited as
ways to calm down during attacks. These micro-regulation practices, while simple, reveal a
great way of stress management even among young children (Kalush & Cohen., 2019). They
show how regulation is often learned through necessity rather than formal instruction. Play
and imagination appeared as powerful adaptive tools across studies. Children used fantasy,
humor, and games to symbolically transform threatening experiences. Imaginative play
provided a narrative framework in which they could reassert control, turning chaos into story,
fear into metaphor. One child recalled imagining a “huge birthday cake” to replace
frightening images (Kalush & Cohen, 2019), while others engaged in playful reinterpretations
of sirens and bomb sounds. These acts reveal how imagination allows temporary detachment
from traumatic reality, enabling emotional relief without denial. Not all regulation strategies
are adaptive in the long term. Denial, suppression, and emotional numbing was also observed
in Kalush & Cohen., 2019 and Ulutas et al., 2025 which offer short-term stability but may
hinder emotional processing and recovery. The repeated assertion “I’m not afraid” or “I’m a
hero” reflects both bravery and defensive dissociation. This underscores that in contexts of
chronic trauma, coping strategies operate along protection in crisis situation.
Socially supported coping emerged as another strong pattern. Physical comfort especially “a
hug from mom” or a trusted adult was consistently reported as the most effective form of
emotional soothing (Kalush & Cohen., 2019; Shamieh et al., 2025). These moments
exemplify co-regulation, where the caregiver’s presence and touch modulate the child’s
arousal levels. The protective power of relational proximity was equally evident among
paediatric patients in Shamieh et al., 2025, where children separated from parents during
medical evacuation showed greater anxiety and despair than those accompanied by close
relatives. Community-level coping also surfaced in the studies, particularly through collective
rituals and digital expression. In Hamamra et al., 2025, Gazan mothers’ acts of staying awake
to “listen to the darkness” became a communal rhythm of vigilance, a form of collective
emotion regulation where shared fear is transformed into shared endurance.
Therefore, findings portray coping as multidimensional encompassing cognitive reframing,
behavioural control, relational support, and cultural expression. In the absence of formal
psychological interventions, these naturalistic regulation systems serve as the foundation for
resilience. Yet, their effectiveness depends on continuity and support; when family and
community structures collapse, even the strongest coping strategies become fragile.

Theme 4: The Role of Family, Caregivers, and Social Systems

The fourth theme centres on the relational ecosystems that shape how children regulate
emotions amid conflict. Family, caregivers, and wider social systems such as schools, health
institutions, and community networks serve as both protective buffers and potential
amplifiers of distress. Across the reviewed papers, children’s emotional stability was
repeatedly shown to depend on the responsiveness, consistency, and emotional availability of
caregivers (Peltonen et al., 2023; Mattelin et al., 2024; Shamieh et al., 2025; Ulutas et al.,
2025; Eltanamly et al., 2021; Ramos & Riepl, 2025, Abdelhamid et al., 2022). This dynamic
also appears in Shamieh et al., 2025, where children receiving cancer treatment during
wartime exhibited higher emotional resilience when accompanied by immediate family
members. The emotional containment provided by parental presence served as a co-
regulatory mechanism that mitigated fear, loneliness, and pain. Yet, these same caregivers
often operate under severe psychological strain, poverty, and social dislocation, creating a
distressful environment.
In Peltonen et al., 2023, maternal mental health emerged as a central determinant of
children’s emotional processing. Mothers with high trauma symptoms displayed inconsistent
or harsh parenting practices, particularly corporal punishment, which was directly associated
with poorer emotion recognition skills in children. Synthesis across Peltonen et al., 2023 and
Ulutas et al., 2025 underscores how parental dysregulation flows into child dysregulation:
when adults lack the emotional resources to self-regulate, children inherit an emotional
climate of unpredictability.
However, war frequently ruptures these co-regulatory bonds. Separation, loss, and
displacement destabilize the caregiving system, leaving children emotionally adrift. Many
narratives in Mattelin et al., 2024 and Shamieh et al., 2025 described children losing contact
with one or both parents, being cared for by grandparents or extended kin, or living under
foster or institutional arrangements. These alternative caregiving settings, though protective,
often lacked the emotional attunement necessary for deep regulation. In one striking account
from Mattelin et al., 2024, a girl described crying alone in her foster home because her social
worker refused her requests to visit friends, illustrating how such systems sometimes
reproduce the very helplessness and voicelessness from which children flee from. Parenting
styles in refugee and conflict settings are also mediated by culture. Studies such as Ulutas et
al., 2025 noted that many Syrian and Middle Eastern parents adopt overprotective or
controlling behaviours out of fear for their children’s safety. While these approaches emerge
from care, they may inadvertently restrict autonomy and suppress emotional expression,
increasing anxiety and dependency. In this sense, culture functions both as a source of
emotional continuity and a constraint on emotional communication.
The intersection between family and institutional systems is another defining feature of this
theme. School environments, for example, act as secondary regulatory systems. Mattelin et
al., 2024 showed that children viewed schooling not only as education but as emotional
rehabilitation. Attending school restored structure, offered social belonging, and symbolically
marked a return to normalcy. Teachers, peers, and routines provided relational and temporal
stability, countering the chaos of displacement. Similarly, Peltonen et al., 2023 highlighted
the role of community organizations and peer groups in providing safe spaces for emotional
expression. These collective networks functioned as “house of stability” that children could
lean on when family structures were fragmented.
Yet, systemic and structural inadequacies often undermined these protective potentials.
Across Shamieh et al., 2025; Hamamra et al., 2025; and Ulutas et al., 2025, children and
caregivers reported poor access to mental health services in host country institutions, and
bureaucratic obstacles in asylum processes. This created what can be termed institutional
dysregulation, where the very systems meant to provide care generated additional uncertainty
and anxiety. In Shamieh et al., 2025, the difficulty of maintaining continuity of medical care
for Gaza children transported to Jordan reflected how political instability and resource
scarcity disrupt even life-saving services. Similarly, refugee families in Mattelin et al., 2024
described how inconsistent asylum decisions reactivated trauma, perpetuating emotional
instability in both children and parents.
Despite these barriers, the family remains a primary site of emotional repair. Review across
papers suggests that nurturing parenting expressed through warmth, empathy, and consistent
routines acts as a core resilience mechanism. Even under extreme distress, small acts of
caregiving, sharing meals, storytelling, singing lullabies functions as micro-interventions of
emotional regulation. For example, Hamamra et al., 2025 depicted mothers in Gaza staying
awake at night as “guardians of sleepless nights,” listening to the sounds of bombs to reassure
children of their vigilance. These acts of love and presence, though enacted within terror,
provide children with a felt sense of protection that enables temporary emotional regulation.
This theme thus captures both the fragility and endurance of relational regulation. Families
under obstruction oscillate between breakdown and repair, with children’s emotional survival
hinging on moments of connection. When caregivers are supported through trauma-informed
programs, social policy, or community solidarity, their capacity to co-regulate improves,
creating ripple effects that stabilize children. Conversely, when systems fail caregivers,
children bear the psychological cost.

Theme 5: Resilience, Adaptation, and the Reconstruction of Emotional Identity

The final theme captures the complex processes through which children in war and conflict
contexts reconstruct their emotional identities, transforming suffering into adaptive strength.
Across studies, children were not passive recipients of trauma but active agents navigating
immense instability through creativity, hope, and meaning-making (Mattelin et al., 2024;
Kalush & Cohen, 2019; Ulutas et al., 2025; Childress et al., 2024; Kerbage et al., 2024 ;
Fenning et al., 2025; Hazer & Gredeback, 2023). Resilience in this context is not the erasure
of pain but the capacity to integrate it into a new sense of self. Mattelin et al., 2024 provides a
crucial insight: refugee children often described their lives not as endless victimhood but as
an ongoing negotiation between loss and aspiration. Their “longing for a good life”
represented an act of emotional resistance, a refusal to let war define their entire identity.
Many articulated hopes of becoming doctors, teachers, or community helpers, framing
education as both an escape and a moral duty. Such future-oriented narratives served as
regulatory tools, channelling fear and uncertainty into purpose and agency.
Analysis across Mattelin et al., 2024; Kalush & Cohen , 2019; and Ulutas et al., 2025 suggest
that agency and regulation are intertwined. Children’s ability to make or influence decisions
whether to migrate, to study, or to help peers restored a sense of control over their lives,
countering the learned helplessness that trauma often instils. Nevertheless, it supported
emotional organization, allowing children to assign meaning to their actions and thus regulate
distress.
Coping strategies discussed in Kalush & Cohen, 2019, including play, imagination, and
humor, also intersect with resilience. These behaviours are not mere distraction; they
constitute creative self-regulation, enabling emotional flexibility and preserving a sense of
self-continuity. Through imagination, children bridge their internal and external worlds,
converting chaos into narrative coherence. For example, children who imagined protective
figures or transformed traumatic stimuli into playful metaphors demonstrated the capacity to
symbolically reframe their experiences, a process central to post-traumatic growth. A notable
dimension of resilience is collective adaptation. The reconstitution of emotional identity also
involves cultural and moral reorientation. Several studies ( Ulutas et al., 2025; Eltanamly et
al., 2021; Childress et al., 2024; Fenning et al., 2025) emphasized that maintaining cultural
traditions, language, and faith provided emotional continuity amid displacement. Cultural
identity acts as an emotional anchor, a symbolic reminder of belonging that mitigates
fragmentation. For instance, children who participated in cultural rituals or used their native
language in host countries reported greater emotional coherence and lower levels of
loneliness. Resilience thus extends beyond individual psychology into cultural and spiritual
domains.
However, resilience is not linear. Many children experience oscillations between adaptation
and relapse, between hope and despair. Ulutas et al., 2025 documented that prolonged
insecurity and poverty often erode resilience over time, leading to burnout and emotional
fatigue. This fluctuation underscores that resilience is a process that is dynamic, relational,
and contingent upon environmental stability. Perhaps the most profound expression of
resilience observed across the studies is the moral maturation of children. Exposure to
suffering often led to heightened empathy, responsibility, and altruism. Some children
assumed caregiving roles for siblings or peers, embodying what might be termed “premature
emotional adulthood.” Resilience also manifests in the reconstruction of emotional narratives
which is the ability to integrate past trauma into coherent life stories. Across the corpus,
children who could articulate their experiences verbally, through writing, or through art
demonstrated greater emotional regulation and reduced distress. This suggests that
interventions promoting storytelling, journaling, and expressive arts can facilitate healing by
activating children’s innate narrative capacities ( El-Khani et al., 2017; Eltanamly et al.,2021,
Kineret & Shirely, 2025; Hazer & Gredback, 2023).
Collectively, this theme reveals that despite devastation, children’s emotional worlds are not
defined solely by damage but by the capacity to rebuild. Through imagination, community,
and meaning making, they reconstruct not only coping strategies but also moral and
emotional selves. Their regulation is future-oriented anchored in purpose, identity, and human
connection. In the words of one child in Mattelin, 2024 “Life is hard, but I will continue
studying so I can help my family.” This sentence encapsulates the essence of resilience
leading the transformation of trauma into motivation, vulnerability into strength, and loss into
relational purpose.

DISCUSSION
In line with the aim of this review that is to explore how children regulate and manage their
emotions in war and conflict zone , the review found that children’s emotional regulation in
war and conflict zones is a deeply complex and interconnected process shaped by trauma,
loss, and the broader social and cultural environments in which they grow up. Children’s
capacity to manage their emotions under extreme conditions is not solely an individual
psychological function but interrelation between relational, familial, and systemic structures
surrounding them. Across the reviewed literature, children’s emotional lives emerge as
products of both vulnerability and adaptation, characterized by the continuous tension
between distress and resilience. Living amid of war and displacement exposes them to
chronic fear, instability, and uncertainty like conditions that disrupt the basic sense of safety,
predictability and secure attachment that is essential for emotional regulation. Yet, within
these disrupted situations, children demonstrate a remarkable capacity to cope, to reimagine
normalcy, and to rebuild emotional meaning through connection, creativity, and hope creating
resilience and sense of purpose. A major insight came from the emotional worlds of children
in war which cannot be separated from those of their caregivers. The findings consistently
show that intergenerational trauma plays a crucial role in shaping how children regulate
emotions in crisis. Parents, particularly mothers, often experience unprocessed trauma from
violence, loss, and displacement, and this distress inevitably soaks into their parenting
behaviours and emotional availability. When parents are trapped in cycles of fear, anxiety, or
avoidance, their children learn to mirror these emotional patterns. Children’s ability to
recognize and manage emotions becomes impaired not only by direct exposure to violence
but also by the indirect absorption of parental distress. In many cases, maternal trauma is
linked to inconsistent or harsh discipline, creating emotional climates characterized insecurity
and disrupt children’s emotional development. These interactions teach children that
emotional expression can be unsafe, fostering maladaptive coping strategies such as
suppression, denial, or withdrawal. This pattern of intergenerational transmission underscores
that emotional regulation in war-affected children must be understood relationally as a shared
emotional experience shaped by both psychological and cultural forces where culture
discourage open expression of grief or fear further compound this silence. These emotions are
often internalized, deepening the burden of unspoken trauma.
Equally significant theme is the disruption of safety and stability that defines life in war
zones. The reviewed literature reveals how displacement, violence, and loss strip children of
the normal routines that provide structure and predictability in emotional development. The
destruction of homes, the loss of loved ones, and the collapse of schools and communities
create a constant sense of instability. Without a safe and consistent environment, children
struggle to regulate emotions effectively, as their bodies and minds remain in heightened
states of vigilance. Sleep disturbances, nightmares, and hyperarousal become common,
reflecting an inability to differentiate between moments of danger and calm. Yet, children’s
longing for normalcy persists as a powerful emotional anchor. Many attempt to restore
fragments of ordinary life through play, schooling, and rituals that symbolize continuity.
These efforts show that even when external safety is destroyed, children engage in symbolic
reconstructions of stability to regain emotional control. Their attempts to “feel normal”
function as vital self-regulatory strategies, also leads them employ diverse coping
mechanisms that illustrate both vulnerability and agency. The reviewed evidence consistently
portrays children not as passive victims but as active participants in their own emotional
survival. They develop imaginative strategies to manage fear and distress, often relying on
spontaneous and creative forms of regulation. Behavioural responses such as finding quiet
spaces, deep breathing, or focusing attention on small tasks help them manage immediate
anxiety. Imaginative reinterpretation of rockets and humour emerge as especially powerful
tools for emotional regulation, allowing children to symbolically reframe trauma into
manageable narratives. These symbolic transformations provide psychological distance from
fear and allow emotions to be expressed indirectly. However, coping mechanisms are not
universally adaptive. Some children use denial or emotional numbing to survive extreme
conditions, asserting that they are “not afraid” as a defence against overwhelming fear. Such
strategies may preserve functioning in the short term but can hinder emotional recovery later.
What becomes clear across the reviewed studies is that effective emotion regulation for
children in war is not an isolated act but one supported through relationships. Caregivers,
siblings, peers, schools and communities provide the emotional scaffolding through which
regulation occurs, and when these support networks collapse, children’s regulatory capacities
weaken. The reality of conflict often undermines these protective systems. Bureaucratic
challenges, limited resources, and political instability frequently disrupt access to education
and mental health services. This institutional fragility mirrors the instability children face at
home, reinforcing cycles of uncertainty and emotional dysregulation. The role of caregivers
and social systems in supporting emotion regulation is a central thread across the literature.
Families act as the primary emotional environment where regulation is modelled and
nurtured. When caregivers provide warmth, empathy, and predictability, they buffer children
against the psychological effects of trauma. Co-regulation when a caregiver helps a child
calm and organize their emotions through touch, tone, and presence is shown to be one of the
strongest protective factors for emotional health. However, many caregivers in war zones are
themselves deeply traumatized, living under economic strain, displacement, and loss. Their
ability to provide emotional containment is compromised, leaving children without consistent
sources of reassurance. In these situations, children often become prematurely self-reliant or
emotionally detached as they adapt to inconsistent caregiving.
Despite the profound challenges outlined across the studies, one of the most important
findings is the emergence of resilience and the reconstruction of emotional identity among
children. Resilience in war contexts is not about the absence of pain or distress but rather
about the ability to find meaning, continuity, and agency within adversity. Many children
transform their experiences of suffering into sources of motivation, often expressing strong
aspirations to study, work, or help others. Education and aspiration become both a symbol of
hope and a coping mechanism that allows them to project their emotions into a future-
oriented narrative. Through creativity, storytelling, and faith, children reframe their trauma
into coherent personal and cultural stories. Cultural expression through native language,
rituals, and community acts as an emotional anchor that helps children maintain identity and
reduce loneliness in the host country despite displacement. This continuity is essential for
emotional coherence. However, resilience is dynamic as it fluctuates according to levels of
safety, social support, and material security. Prolonged instability and poverty can erode even
the strongest coping systems, leading to emotional fatigue.

CONCLUSION
The aim of the review was to explore how children regulate and manage their emotions in war
and conflict zones, focusing on the psychological, familial, and ecological processes that shape
emotional development and resilience under chronic adversity. Thematic review approach was
adopted , and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 studies were reviewed. The reviewed
evidence reveals that children’s emotion regulation in war and conflict zones is a multifaceted
process defined by trauma transmission, environmental disruption, adaptive coping, and
relational dependence. Emotional regulation is both an individual and collective
phenomenon, reflecting how children themselves and their communities' families, and
communities respond to each other amidst the prolonged distress. Yet, children demonstrate
profound emotional creativity and strength. Their ability to adapt, imagine, led them to
become resilient during the war situation. Ultimately, children’s capacity to manage emotions
in conflict zones reveals both the fragility and endurance of human development motivating
them to become future oriented inculcating their purpose developing a sense of self with
human touch.

LIMITATIONS ACROSS STUDIES

1. Limited Longitudinal Data and sample size
Most studies relied on cross-sectional designs that captured children’s emotional states at a
single point. Many few have used prospective longitudinal design. Consequently, the long-
term developmental trajectories of emotional regulation such as whether early coping
strategies evolve into adaptive or maladaptive patterns—remain unclear. Longitudinal
research is needed to track emotional outcomes across recovery, displacement, and
resettlement phases. The sample size across the studies were respectively small making it non
generalised across different refugees in the world
2. Cultural and Contextual Biases
A significant proportion of research originated in Middle Eastern or African refugee contexts,
with fewer studies from regions such as South Asia, Latin America, or Eastern Europe.
Moreover, several studies applied Western-developed psychological tools that may not fully
capture culturally specific forms of emotion expression and regulation. This raises questions
about cultural validity and the universality of certain emotion regulation constructs.
3. Underrepresentation of Adults’ unresolved distress.
Despite being the focal group were children, the adult-centric voices though were included
but was under-looked in respect of how their own unresolved war distress directly impacted
their own children as one of the key factors which may contribute to the children being
victim of emotional dysregulation.
4. Neglect of Systemic and Institutional Factors
While the role of family and culture was well-documented, few studies examined how
broader institutional systems—such as asylum procedures, education policy, or humanitarian
aid structures—affect children’s emotional regulation. The lack of macro-level ecological
analysis leaves an incomplete understanding of how policy, governance, and socio-economic
factors interact with emotional well-being .
5. Inconsistent Theoretical Integration
Although many studies implicitly draw from attachment theory or resilience frameworks, few
explicitly operationalize theoretical models such as Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
Theory. As a result, findings are often fragmented, lacking an overarching conceptual
coherence that connects individual emotion regulation with environmental systems. This
limits theoretical advancement in the field.
6. Limited Inclusion of Intersectional Variables
Most research treats children as a homogenous group, overlooking intersectional factors such
as gender, disability, ethnicity, or socio-economic background. For instance, the emotional
coping of girls exposed to gender-based violence or children with disabilities in camps
remains underexplored (Fenning et al., 2025). Such omissions obscure the nuanced ways in
which vulnerability and resilience intersect.

Recommendations
1. Adopt Longitudinal and Mixed-Methods Designs
Future studies should integrate longitudinal designs to capture the evolution of emotional
regulation across time, displacement, and reintegration stages. Combining quantitative and
qualitative methods would allow for richer, context-sensitive insights while maintaining
empirical rigour.
2. Incorporate Child-Centred and Participatory Approaches
Research should prioritise methodologies that amplify children’s voices through storytelling,
drawing, participatory photography, or play-based interviews. Such approaches respect
children’s agency and generate deeper understanding of their emotional worlds.
3. Strengthen Cultural Validity
Emotion regulation should be studied within local cultural frameworks. Researchers must
adapt or co-create assessment tools that reflect indigenous expressions of emotion and
coping. Collaborations with local scholars and practitioners are essential to ensure cultural
authenticity.
4. Integrate Ecological and Developmental Frameworks
Future work should explicitly apply models such as Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
Theory and attachment-based frameworks to link individual, familial, institutional, and
societal influences on emotion regulation. This would allow a more holistic mapping of how
environmental disruptions and supports shape children’s emotional resilience.
5. Expand Geographic and Demographic Representation
There is a need to include underrepresented conflict zones and marginalized populations,
such as internally displaced children, child soldiers, and those with disabilities. Comparative
studies across cultural and geopolitical contexts can reveal both universal and culture-specific
patterns of emotional adaptation.
6. Develop Family- and Community-Based Interventions
Findings across multiple studies highlight the centrality of family co-regulation and caregiver
mental health. Intervention programs should focus on supporting parents’ emotional recovery
alongside children’s, incorporating parenting workshops, peer support groups, and culturally
adapted family therapy.
7. Promote Resilience-Oriented Narratives
Finally, research and interventions should move beyond deficit models that pathologize war-
affected children. Emphasizing resilience, creativity, and meaning-making reframes children
not merely as victims but as active agents of adaptation and hope could reshape the narrative
around the emotional regulation of children.
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