Options
Maloku, Edona
Preferred name
Maloku, Edona
Official Name
Maloku, Edona
Research Output
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- PublicationChildren’s outgroup giving in settings of intergroup conflict: The developmental role of ingroup symbol preferenceUnderstanding when children develop a sense of group boundaries has implications for conflict and its resolution. Integrating Social Identity Development Theory and the Developmental Peacebuilding Model, we investigate whether preferences for ethno-religious ingroup symbols mediate the link from child age to outgroup prosocial giving among 5- to 11-year-old children from both majority and minority backgrounds in three settings of protracted intergroup conflict (N=713, M=7.97, SD=1.52, 52.6% female). Participants represented the conflict rival ethno-religious groups in each setting (Northern Ireland (n=299): 48.5% Protestant, 51.5% Catholic; Kosovo (n=220): 54.1% Albanian, 45.9% Serbian; Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) (n=194): 45.9% Macedonian, 54.1% Albanian) and were largely from lower to middle class families; 4% of participants from other ethnic backgrounds were excluded from the current analyses. Multiple group, bias-corrected bootstrapped mediation found that ingroup symbol preference mediated the link from child age to outgroup prosocial giving; that is, older children expressed higher ingroup symbol preference which was linked with lower outgroup giving. Across Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and the RNM, there was some significant variation in the strength of specific paths; however, there was a significant indirect effect in all three settings. The findings advance cross-cultural understanding of how age relates to ingroup symbol preferences and outgroup prosocial giving across the elementary school years, with implications for children’s long-term peacebuilding contributions in three conflict-affected societies.
Scopus© Citations 14 43 - PublicationChildren’s Ethno-National Flag Categories in Three Divided SocietiesFlags are conceptual representations of group membership that can prime nationalism and allegiance to one’s group (Butz, 2009; Firth, 1973). Flags of rival groups in post-accord societies may fuel further divisions (Bryson & McCartney, 1994; Holmes & Cagle, 2000; Jarman, 1997; Morris, 2005). Yet, in settings of historic intergroup conflict, flags may also symbolize unity and peace. For instance, in Bolivia, the Wiphala flag holds dual status with the Bolivian flag; flown side by side, these flags symbolize unity with the indigenous minority population (Flesken, 2014). In Kosovo, the creation of a new flag after the break from Yugoslavia symbolized the formation of a new subordinate national identity—the Kosovar identity (Maloku, Derks, Van Laar, & Ellemers, 2016). Given these multiple meanings and representations, investigating children’s understanding of the symbolic content of flags representing conflict-related groups and national allegiances can shed light on early conceptions of nationality. Framed by Social Identity Development Theory (SIDT; Nesdale, 1999; 2004), we investigate the development of categorization of, and preferences for, ethnic flags in three post-accord societies: Northern Ireland (NI), the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM), and Kosovo.
95Scopus© Citations 6 - PublicationStrength of children’s European identity: findings from majority and minority groups in four conflict-affected sites(Taylor and Francis, 2023)
; ; ; ; ; The European Union (EU) aims to promote peace. This research investigates the saliency of a European identity for children from majority and minority groups in four conflict-affected societies in Europe (Croatia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland (NI), and Republic of North Macedonia (RNM)). These sites represent a range of relations with the EU (e.g., leaving the EU, an EU member, wanting to join the EU). Participants included 442 children aged 7 to 11 years, evenly split by gender and group status (Croatia n = 90; Kosovo n = 107; NI n = 60; RNM n = 185). After a draw-and-tell task to prime European identity (vs. ingroup or control condition), we measured children’s identification with Europe, outgroup attitudes and prosociality. Although the European identity prime was not effective, children’s strength of European identity varied by site and group status and related to more positive attitudes and prosociality towards the conflict-rival outgroup. Implications for the future of the European project are discussed.Scopus© Citations 3 33