Threatened Childhood in the Drawings of Ukrainian Children

Abstract

Introduction: In the 21st century, most children experience favorable conditions for development and are protected by their loved ones, who provide them with a happy and safe childhood. Nonetheless, it cannot be forgotten that there are still many thousands of children around the world who experience oppression and whose childhood is destroyed by adults due to abandonment, neglect, and mental and physical violence.

Research Aim: The aim of the study was to attempt to discover and understand the individual traumatic war experiences of Ukrainian children, externalised in drawings.

Method: Qualitative methods were used which allowed for an understanding of the way in which life situations are experienced by those studied. Projective techniques were used to analyse and interpret children’s drawings.

Results: In the analysis of the drawings of Ukrainian children who have experienced war trauma, 5 main categories were differentiated: 1. Mummy, I see war; 2. My Father– Hero; 3. Friendship in the face of tragedy; 4. Putin is dead; and 5. Ukraine victorious. The drawings tell a tale of the cruelty which the children have experienced, which they have seen and felt, and which they carry inside themselves.

Conclusions: The children’s drawings are a space for the externalisation of unspoken feelings. The children’s works demonstrate that suffering, uncertainty, fear for their own lives and the lives of loved ones, and the drama of the sudden loss of a carefree childhood and entry into the cruel world of adults are permanently etched into their memories.