Star Wars Meta: Jedi & First Order Recruitment and the Effects of Child Separation
Thanks to Trump’s horrific and unconscionable policies of separating immigrant children from their parents, the public is learning a lot about the long-term effects of such practices on children. As it turns out, it’s really damaging both physically and psychologically. Within the world of Star Wars, there are two organizations, the Jedi Order and the First Order, which permanently separate children from their parents before the age of five. Let's talk about the implications of that, shall we?
If there's one thing scientists have learned from studying kids evacuated during the Blitz, Australian Aboriginal children sent to government schools, Romanian orphans, and others it is this: separating young children from their parents is bad. From the moment of their birth, children bond with their caregivers. These bonds are crucial for helping the child develop intellectually, organize perceptions, think logically, develop a conscience, become self-reliant, develop coping mechanisms (for stress, frustration, fear, and worry), and form healthy and intimate relationships (source). Caregivers help mediate the child's relationship with the big, scary, and confusing world in a way that gives the child a sense of safety. Separating the child from the parent causes the child intense psychological and physiological stress. As stress hormones flood the child's brain, they can start killing off dendrites, the little branches in brain cells that transmit messages, or even neurons. In young children, this can cause long-term damage, both psychologically and to the physical structure of the brain (source). Some documented long-term effects include cognitive impairment, trust issues, anomalous flight-or-flight responses, increased aggression, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, C-PTSD, diabetes, and heart disease.
It's hard to tell just how young the Jedi Order and First Order recruits are. Thanks to TPM, we know that nine is too old for the Jedi. In the Clone Wars cartoons, we learn that potential candidates are identified young, but are allowed to remain with their parents for at least a certain time, possibly until they are weaned or maybe even potty trained. For the sake of argument, let's say Jedi are recruited between the ages of 1 and 5. The First Order likely also takes its kids in this age range. The image of young Finn in TFA is of a toddler, not an infant and, really what army wants to spend time changing diapers. Based on real-world research, what would be the effects of taking kids at that age?
A child between the ages of 1 and 3 will likely have no clear memory of either their parents or the trauma, but will still suffer as a result of the loss. In the short term, they are likely to lose recently acquired skills, including language skills and potty training, and have diminished awareness of both internal and external stimuli (source). Long term, there are serious effects on the brain. Studies of children in Romanian orphanages found that children separated in their first two year had less brain matter, less brain activity, and lower IQs than other children their age. They also had messed up flight or fight responses, showing few physical signs of stress in situations which would terrify most people (source). Other long term effects include control issues, anger issues, subtle language problems, unstable identities, a general lack of self-awareness, and growing into fairly rigid and inflexible adults.
Older children between the ages of 3 and 6 have a different set of issues. They may be old enough to remember both their parents and the trauma of separation. Developmentally, they are at the age where they are likely to see the separation as their fault and may develop self-esteem problems as a result. In the short term, they may indiscriminately attach themselves to adults and display extreme thinking about the 'good' and 'bad' traits in themselves or others (source). Long term, they may suffer from low self-esteem, anxiety, anger issues, trust issues, depression, and even heart disease (source).
It's unlikely that the writers had any clue about the effects of childhood separation when they came up with the Jedi Order or First Order recruitment practices, but we do see signs of this within the narrative. The Jedi seem weirdly desensitized to danger and have trouble forming or maintaining healthy relationships. They are all fairly rigid and exhibit strong black-and-white thinking, especially as it relates to the Force. In TFA, we see Finn suffering from anxiety and panic attacks.
Questions? Comments? Are there any other signs I missed? How do you think it effects the Jedi Order and First Order as institutions?