The effect of trauma on Palestinian children and mothers mental health in the Gaza Strip (original) (raw)
Related papers
Exposure to war trauma and PTSD among parents and children in the Gaza strip
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2008
Objective Exposure to war trauma has been independently associated with posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and other emotional disorders in children and adults. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between ongoing war traumatic experiences, PTSD and anxiety symptoms in children, accounting for their parents’ equivalent mental health responses. Methods The study was conducted in the Gaza Strip, in areas under ongoing shelling and other acts of military violence. The sample included 100 families, with 200 parents and 197 children aged 9–18 years. Parents and children completed measures of experience of traumatic events (Gaza Traumatic Checklist), PTSD (Children’s Revised Impact of Events Scale, PTSD Checklist for parents), and anxiety (Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale for parents). Results Both children and parents reported a high number of experienced traumatic events, and high rates of PTSD and anxiety scores above previously established cut-offs. Among children, trauma exposure was significantly associated with total and subscales PTSD scores, and with anxiety scores. In contrast, trauma exposure was significantly associated with PTSD intrusion symptoms in parents. Both war trauma and parents’ emotional responses were significantly associated with children’s PTSD and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions Exposure to war trauma impacts on both parents’ and children’s mental health, whose emotional responses are inter-related. Both universal and targeted interventions should preferably involve families. These could be provided by non-governmental organizations in the first instance.
Traumatic Events Exposure and Psychological Trauma in Children Victims of War in the Gaza Strip
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2017
The present article studies war-related trauma and its effects on children living in the Gaza Strip, 6 months after the attack launched by the Israeli army on July 8, 2014, which lasted for 51 days. The objective was twofold: (a) to identify the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events and (b) to examine the symptoms of traumatic stress in children as described by their parents or tutors using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Data from 1,850 male and female children aged between 6 and 15 years living in the Gaza Strip were collected throughout the months of February and April 2015, that is 6 months after the attack. Results showed that the majority of the children were exposed to bombardments and residential area destruction (83.51%), were confined at home unable to go outside (72.92%), were witness to the profanation of mosques (70.38%), were exposed to combat situations (66.65%), and saw corpses (59.95%). A sample of 275 males (28.3%) and 232 females (26.5%) showed diagnoses of posttraumatic
Consequences of war-related traumatic stress among Palestinian young
2023
Background The long-standing Israeli–Palestinian conflict has escalated since the beginning of the 20th century, resulting in a humanitarian crisis in Palestine. It has caused significant psychological and social suffering, particularly children and young people. Objectives Firstly, to identify and synthesize the existing knowledge available in peer review articles about the consequences of war-related trauma reactions among young people, and secondly to investigate the mechanisms of resilience in the context of Gaza Strip. Methods The review follows Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework, including a systematic search of eight databases. Relevant studies were assessed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results The identified studies used various measurement tools and instruments to assess mental health outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and resilience. War-related traumatic experiences were common among children. The determinants of traumatic stress that increased the of mental health problems were also identified, including exposure to violence and destruction, loss of family members and friends. Resilience and coping mechanisms have a crucial role in mitigating the negative impact of war-related trauma. Conclusion The mental health of children and young people in the Gaza Strip is a pressing public health concern, particularly PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Nonetheless, more qualitative research is required to address existing knowledge gaps and improve the available mental health service. This study could provide valuable insights for creating interventions and support services that are culturally tailored.
Emotional problems in Palestinian children living in a war zone: a cross-sectional study
The Lancet, 2002
Background Children living in war zones are at high risk of developing post-traumatic stress and other emotional disorders, but little is known about the effect of traumatic events during war. We aimed to assess the nature and severity of emotional problems in Palestinian children whose homes had been bombarded and demolished during the crisis in Palestine, compared with children living in other parts of the Gaza strip.
Child development and family mental health in war and military violence: The Palestinian experience
International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2008
The article reviews developmental research among Palestinians living in Gaza. The aims are, first, to analyze how exposure to traumatic events associates with children's mental health and their cognitive, emotional and social development. Second, we aimed to model familial and symbolic processes that can either harm or protect the mental health of children. Third, we wanted to learn who the resilient children are in conditions of war and military violence. The reviewed research has been conducted in the context of a Palestinian non-governmental organization, the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, during the political upheavals involving hopes for peace and intensive war and violence: the First Intifada (1987—1993), the Palestinian Authority rule (1994— ) and the Second Al Aqsa Intifada (2001— ). The results show that life threat, violence and losses form a risk for increased psychological distress. There are, however, a myriad of child, family and society related factors an...
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020
Background: The situation in the Gaza Strip is uncommon in the frequency with which children are exposed to war-related traumatic events on a daily basis and because of the long-term nature of the conflict. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip increased after the recent wars. The aims of the study are: To investigate the prevalence and nature of war traumatic events and PTSD; and to investigate how these traumatic events predict PTSD when taking into account demographic and socioeconomic status factors amongst Palestinian children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip. Methods: The sample consists of 1,029 school pupils (11-17 years old): 533 (51.8%) were female and 496 (48.2%) were male. War-Traumatic Events Checklist (W-TECh) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Symptoms Scale (PTSDSS) were used. Results: The majority of children and adolescents experienced personal trauma (N: 909; 88.4%), witnessed trauma to others (N: 861; 83.7%) and observed demolition of property (N: 908; 88.3%) during the war. Compared to girls, boys showed significantly more exposure to all three event types as well as overall traumatic events. Results also demonstrated that the prevalence of DSM-V PTSD diagnosis was 53.5% (N = 549). Further, children who had experienced personal trauma, trauma to others, and the demolition of property were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD compared to those who had not, even when adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors. The strongest war trauma for PTSD is personal trauma followed by witnessing trauma and then observing demolition of properties. Conclusions: The study provides valuable evidence that demographic and socioeconomic factors mediate the relationship between different war traumatic events and PTSD. Interventions should take into account the children's background including their gender, age, where they live, and their socioeconomic status (e.g., family income, parents' educational level, family size) to alleviate the psychological symptoms and to enhance their resilience.
THE PREVALENCE OF PTSD AND DEPRESSION AMONG GAZA CHILDREN
GIAP Journals, 2019
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic distress disorder (PTSD) and depression among children in Gaza, Palestine. Methodology: This study assessed the psychological effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on children in the Gaza Strip. 286 children aged 9-14 years old, who were exposed to a wide range of war events, were selected from the Gaza Strip to participate in this study. All participants conducted the following scales: the child PTSD Reaction Index(CPTSD-RI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Arabic version for PTSD and depression assessment. Finding: The results show that the mean number of participants witnessing home destroyed and people killed was (88%) and home invasion (76%). Approximately 70% of the participants reported that they witnessed war violence against at least one of their family members. Further, 44 % of the children have a least one death in their family due to the Israeli invasion. Using t-tests, we found that significantly more females have both PTSD and depression than males. Approximately 32.8% of the participants met the criteria for severe depression, and 42.6 % met the criteria for PTSD. Implications: Our results suggest that it is imperative to provide intervention programs to treat PTSD and depression symptoms among children in Gaza. These programs should take into account the cultural and religious background of the participants. Originality: This investigation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led to an increase in PTSD and depression symptoms among children in the Gaza Strip.
PsycEXTRA Dataset
Objective: This study investigates the impact of ongoing traumatic events on Palestinian adolescents" posttraumatic stress according to event-related and demographic factors. Method: A sample of 368 Palestinian adolescents (49.2% males, mean age 17.03) w as draw n from different areas of the Gaza Strip. Students were investigated on exposure to traumatic events and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and disorder (PTSD). Results: The mean number of traumatic events experienced by the adolescents was 9.9 (SD = 3.20). Boys were significantly more exposed than girls, as were adolescents living in villages compared to those living in Gaza city or refugee camps. Adolescents mainly and pervasively experienced objective, non-personal material exposure (such as witnessing bombardments) (85% to 96%) and media exposure (95%). Up to 17% of the adolescents experienced direct, physical exposure (7% personal injury), exposure through injury and death of relatives. I n this context, two fifths of the adolescents experienced mild, two fifths moderate and one fifth severe PTSS. Remarkably, adolescents did not differ significantly in PTSS despite exposure differences across gender, place of residency and family income. Conclusion: Near half of the investigated adolescents living in the Gaza Strip experience moderate to severe levels of posttraumatic stress, for around one fifth this amounts to a probable posttraumatic stress disorder. These findings urge toward providing psychological support programs to Palestinian adolescents to enhance current wellbeing and limit further developmental risks. Furthermore, the findings suggest the need to investigate the role of appraisal and Posttraumatic stress among Palestinian adolescents in the Gaza Strip 33 coping to understand the pathw ays through which differences in trauma exposure lead to similar posttraumatic stress outcomes.
Quality of Life of Palestine Children Exposed to war
Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of trauma due to wars on quality of life of Palestine children living in Gaza with special reference to 2009 war. It is analytic study; the study sample consisted of 195 children and adolescents who were selected purposely from three areas in the Gaza Strip. Those children exposed to variety of traumatic events besides losing their homes during ground incursion of the border and shelling and bombardment of the area. They were 101 boys (51.8%) and 94 girls (48.2%). The age ranged from 7 to 18 years with mean age of 12.84 (SD = 2.9). Children were assessed by socio-demographic questionnaire, Gaza Traumatic Events Checklist, and Health Related Quality of Life. Results: the highest frequencies of reported traumatic events by Palestinians children were 97.9% hear shelling of the area by artillery, 93.3% hear the sonic sounds of the jetfighters, 90.8% watched mutilated bodies in TV, and 85.6% were forced to move from home to a safer place during the war. The study showed that mean total quality of life was 62.80, physical functioning was 69.87, emotional functioning was 51.96, mean of social functioning was 77.62, and school functioning mean was 47.53. Total traumatic events reported by children were negatively strongly correlated with total Health Related Quality of Lief (HRQoL), physical, emotional, and social functioning. However, traumatic experiences by children were not correlated with school function. Conclusion: In summary, this study not only supports the findings of the body of research as it relates to traumatic experiences in children and adolescents and impact of their health quality of life, but also has important implications for establishing and implementation of different psychosocial intervention programs for the school-aged population in Gaza Strip. There are need to be considered in the planning of educational and mental health support services by different governmental United Nations organizations, and non-governmental organization in Gaza. Also, successful treatment of the mental health symptoms associated with traumatic events first requires an acknowledgment of the trauma and then a process which allows for comprehensive assessment and accurate diagnosis. Keywords: Children; Gaza; quality of life; trauma; war.