Traumatic Events Exposure and Psychological Trauma in Children Victims of War in the Gaza Strip
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
ISSN
0886-2605
1552-6518
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Antonio L. Manzanero
María Crespo
Susana Barón
Teresa Scott
Sofián El-Astal
Fairouz Hemaid
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
<jats:p>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 stress disorder (PTSD). Gender and age were independent of PTSD. The presence of this pathology was positively related to the number of trauma events experienced. The type of traumatic experience was hardly related to age and gender. A greater protection on behalf of the families against exposure to traumatic events could explain these differences.</jats:p>
Subjects
trauma
;
war
;
children
;
victim
;
psychological trauma
;
posttraumatic stress disorder
;
child
;
female
;
humans
;
infant
;
male
;
middle east
;
parents
;
psychological trauma
;
stress disorders, post-traumatic
;
warfare
;
child
;
child parent relation
;
female
;
human
;
infant
;
male
;
middle east
;
posttraumatic stress disorder
;
psychotrauma
;
warfare