The long-term impact of war experiences and evacuation on people who were children during World War Two.

During World War Two 1.9 million people were evacuated from British cities where the risk of bombing was perceived to be highest. 1.5 million of these were children who, often unaccompanied, were sent to live with strangers. Two hundred and forty-five people who were evacuated as children were compared with 96 of similar age who did not experience evacuation. Within this self-selected sample, significant numbers of the evacuees were found to have experienced abuse and neglect. Pre-evacuation abuse made continued abuse likely during evacuation, while abuse during evacuation led to children being more likely to continue to be abused on their return home. Abuse during evacuation led to increased scores on the Impact of Event Scale and General Health Questionnaire, and to insecure attachment patterns. The role of evacuation and abuse in the maintenance of long-term psychological problems is discussed.