Traumatic Events Exposure and Psychological Trauma in Children Victims of War in the Gaza Strip
Date
2021
Type:
Article
item.page.extent
item.page.accessRights
item.contributor.advisor
ORCID:
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
item.page.isbn
item.page.issn
item.page.issne
item.page.doiurl
item.page.other
item.page.references
Abstract
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.
Description
item.page.coverage.spatial
item.page.sponsorship
Citation
Manzanero, A. L., Crespo, M., Barón, S., Scott, T., El-Astal, S., & Hemaid, F. (2021). Traumatic events exposure and psychological trauma in children victims of war in the Gaza Strip. Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(3-4), 1568-1587.
Keywords
Trauma, War, Children, Victim, Psychological trauma, Post-traumatic stress disorder