Will war be a family discussion topic? – Children and adolescents awareness and family topic conversation on war news: a cross sectional study in Portugal following the emergence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Mariana Sousa-Santos, Pediatrics Department, ULS Região de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
Ana Carolina Alves, Pediatrics Department, ULS Região de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
Elsa Machado Guimarães, Pediatrics Department, ULS Região de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
Maria Manuel Zarcos, Pediatrics Department, ULS Região de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

Introduction and Objective: Since the September 11 attacks took place, several studies have been carried out, looking at the impact that news about traumatic events has on the population not directly exposed. The aim is to determine to what extent children and adolescents have access to the news and whether the topic of war is discussed within the family. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study, with questionnaires to parents of children and adolescents between five and 17 years old, between October and December 2022. The sample was divided into two groups: group I (GI) with children aged from five to 11 and group II (GII) with adolescents from 12 to 17. Results: We obtained 97 questionnaires (response rate of 91.5%) of which 46.4% were from GI and 53.6% from GII. More than half of the parents already permitted limited access to the news for their children, with differences between the groups (68.9% GI vs. 38.5% GII, p = 0.003), and the main restricted news items were those of a violent nature (74.5%). Nearly all the children and adolescents became aware of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, mostly through television (81.4% GI vs. 90.4% GII, p = 0.204), the internet (23.3% GI vs. 55.8% GII, p = 0.001), and school (74.4% GI vs. 53.8% GII, p = 0.039). The topic of war was addressed by 80.4% of the parents, and the most commonly expressed feelings by their children were sadness and concern, with GI frequently expressing fear and GII indignation. Discussion: The majority of the children and adolescents were aware of the ongoing conflict, and the issue was frequently addressed at home. Television continues to be the main source of access to information.

Keywords: Armed conflicts. Mental health. Media exposure.