Since the days of the Hitler Youth in WWII, researchers have been studying the effects of war on children.  However, since the Gulf War, the focus of this research has intensified.  With a growing number of child soldiers fighting today's armed conflicts, researchers are particularly concerned with the debilitating effects of war trauma on children.  Young kids are participating in numerous conflicts around the world each day and many more are being victimized by the violence that localized warfare brings.  Modern "low intensity" warfare has begun to target the civilian population like never before and it seems that children are literally getting caught in the crossfire.  It has been estimated that 50% of civilian casualties in modern warfare are children.  Clearly, direct exposure to war is a problem that warrants further investigation.

    Of equal concern is the refugee population which many armed conflicts produce.  We cannot overlook the fact that much of the refugee population is made up of children, many of whom have lost one or both parents to the violence.  Kids in these environments often suffer greatly without the support and stability of a complete family and a permanent home.  The effects of refugee life on children is just as critical as those of war's effects on children.  Some, in fact, might argue that refugee life has a more detrimental impact on kids than the actual exposure to war.  

    Even in areas where conflict does not exist right now, the danger to children is often not far away.  Landmines, ghosts of former conflicts, still lie buried in many areas.  The location of old mine fields is not always known, and too often, children find themselves on the receiving end of a landmine's wrath.  The issue of landmines has always been a hot topic.  Many children lose their limbs and their lives to landmines that have been left behind.  They have no qualms about who they kill.  Many organizations have undertaken the burdensome task of seeking out old minefields and digging up the unexploded ordinance in order to eliminate the unnecessary deaths caused by landmines.