Summarizes historical research on unaccompanied and evacuee children arriving in Australia in the late 1930s-early 1940s, with an emphasis on their ability to cope with separation, loss, and trauma. Research included investigation of archives in Australia, Britain, and Israel, oral history, and official records. Findings showed that the children experienced a number of different stressors before and after separation from their families, among them: harassment and discrimination, violence, ultimate loss of parents and familiar routine, and abuse. Postwar, these children may have suffered from the lack of information about what happened to their families; and later in life, they experienced lasting grief and other personal traumatic events such as divorce. Those children who felt secure in their home life had acquired values of independence and resourcefulness which helped them adjust to difficult circumstances. Successful family reunions, however few, likewise depended on previously strong parent-child bonds. Children with confident, easy-going temperaments had less difficulty adjusting to change, as did those who were placed in supportive foster-care or educational situations. Inculcating personal qualities such as social competence, self-confidence, independence, and initiative can help sustain children in times of crisis. (12 references)
