Exposure to War-Torn Environments Has Damaging Effect on Psychology of Young People

A team of researchers have examined the impact of exposure to war-torn environments on adolescents and found that it has a long-term damaging effect on the psychology of young people.

The researchers at the University of Leicester  investigated the various types of traumatic events that Palestinian adolescents, who were exposed to the war in Gaza, experienced. They analyzed the events in relation to the post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and coping strategies.

Co-author Professor Panos Vostanis, from the University of Leicester's Greenwood Institute of Child Health, said: "The University of Leicester has been collaborating with colleagues from Gaza for the last 15 years. All studies have consistently shown the impact of war trauma and how this is mediated further by poverty and deprivation. Each cycle of violence has a cumulative effect on children and young people."

The researchers focused on a sample that had 358 adolescents aged between 15-18 years. The sample consisted of 158 boys and 200 girls. A majority of these adolescents had witnessed mutilated bodies on TV, were exposed to heavy artillery shelling, saw evidence of shelling and heard sonic sounds from jet fighters.

The researchers noticed that most of the adolescents in these situations developed a wide range of long-term emotional and behavioral problems. Most of them developed anxiety disorders and more of females developed PTSD symptoms than males.

Professor Vostanis added: "The toll on the mental health of these young people tends to be exacerbated by poverty, which is endemic in Gaza. It's a double whammy for many of them. As well as the conflict itself, they are also affected by how their parents respond, by the provision of basic needs and if there's a sense of helplessness."

The finding was documented in the Arab Journal of Psychiatry.