Symptoms of PTSD among Children Living in War Zones in Same Cultural Context and Different Situations

Abstract

Situations of war and military conflict have been linked to the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To our knowledge, there are no studies that have examined, within the same conflict and the same culture, exposure to different traumatic events or traumatic events of different intensity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the symptoms of PTSD among Palestinian schoolchildren in two different areas of Hebron. A total of 381 schoolchildren from different parts of Hebron participated in the study. To evaluate the symptoms of PTSD, the children were asked to complete the Child Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index. To evaluate the traumatic events experienced, they completed the Gaza Traumatic Event Checklist. Results indicate that 77.4% of the children living in Hebron show symptoms of moderate-to-severe PTSD, and 20.5% of them meet the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for chronic PTSD. There were no significant differences in total symptoms between the two areas of Hebron, but there were differences within the specific types of symptoms. It is clear that the traumatic events of the war lead to the development of post-traumatic stress in children and that psychological intervention is necessary.Literature suggests that exposure to the traumatic events of war is related to high levels of PTSD among the victims of military conflicts. However, there are important differences between the stressors and prevalence of PTSD in each conflict due to cultural differences, type of conflict, and PTSD instruments ad-

Child and Adolescent Health From 1990 to 2015

“…Fifth, while GBD 2015 has analyzed the total burden and underlying etiologic causes of several broad conditions, such as anemia and developmental intellectual disability, there are others that may be particularly important in children and adolescents that have not received the same level of scrutiny, including, for example, traumatic brain injury, hydrocephalus, and sepsis. Sixth, our quantification of disease burden focuses only on affected individuals and therefore does not capture indirect effects, including effects on education and development of child labor, 52 the long-term effects of war, 67 or the burden on parents, siblings, and communities of caring for ill or injured children and adolescents. 68 …”

Mechanisms of change for interventions aimed at improving the wellbeing, mental health and resilience of children and adolescents affected by war and armed conflict: a systematic review of reviews

“…The detrimental effect on the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents exposed to war, armed conflict and political violence has long been established [ 1 ], and are increasingly addressed by humanitarian agencies [ 2 , 3 ]. The higher prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders has been recognized in a number of countries and regions; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) [ 4 ], depression, and anxiety [ 5 ], disproportionately affect those whose lives are, or have been, affected by war, with particular damaging effects of direct exposure to violence [ 4 ]. Beyond psychiatric diagnoses, cognitive, emotional and behavioural concerns have been widely noted, including externalising (outward directed behaviours such as aggression), internalising behaviours (inward directed behaviours such as self-harm) [ 6 ] and toxic stress associated with severe and protracted ongoing exposure to extreme violence and instability [ 7 , 8 ].…”

HEALTH UNDER OCCUPATION Counter Strategies and Resistance Tactics of Palestinians and the Health System in the State of Palestine

“…It could also be the case that occupation influences the students collectively where individual specific exposure is of lesser importance, or that their defense mechanisms are collective. A later study from Hebron comparing H1 and H2 respectively (areas which differ considerably regarding exposure to settler violence and checkpoints) by Fasfous, Peralta-Ramírez, and Perez-Garcia (2013) finds that there is no difference in incidence of PTSD among the groups, although the type of violence from soldiers and settlers differs in severity. It would be of value to see if this finding could be related to the same cultural context the groups live in.…”

“…For data corroboration and triangulation, the results have been coded with relation to existing research and scientific topics in the theoretical sampling in accordance with a GT approach to add richness to emerging concepts. Studies of Fasfous (2013) and Nashef (1991) are worth mentioning again, as is Giacaman's discussion on valid categories to explain effects of occupation.…”