The well being of children living in chronic war zones: The Palestinian-Israeli case

International Journal of Behavioral Development

Volumn 32, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 322-336

  Sagi Schwartz, Abraham ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA   (Israel)

Author keywords

Children; Israeli; Palestinian; Resiliency; Vulnerability; Wars

Indexed keywords

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; CHILD PARENT RELATION; CHILD PSYCHIATRY; CONFERENCE PAPER; COPING BEHAVIOR; DEPRESSION; EMOTIONAL DISORDER; FAMILY LIFE; HIGH RISK POPULATION; HUMAN; ISRAEL; MENTAL STRESS; PALESTINE; PERSONAL EXPERIENCE; POLITICS; POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL BEING; PSYCHOTRAUMA; RISK ASSESSMENT; SOCIAL ADAPTATION; SOCIAL SUPPORT; TERRORISM; VIOLENCE; WAR;

EID: 46949091839     PISSN: 01650254     EISSN: 14640651     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0165025408090974     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (120)

1. Abdeen, Z., Qasrawi, R., Shibli, N., & Shaheen, M. (2008). Psychological reactions to Israeli occupation: Findings from the national study of school-based screening in Palestine. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 286-293.
2. Abdel-Khalek, A. (1997). A survey of fears associated with Iraqi aggression among Kuwaiti children and adolescents: A factorial study 5.7 years after the gulf war. Psychological Reports, 81, 247-255.
3. Ahmad, A. (1992). Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among displaced Kurdish children in Iraq - victims of a man-made disaster after the Gulf war. Nord Journal of Psychiatry, 46, 314-319.
4. Ahmad, A., Sofi, M., & Sundelin-Wahlsten, V., et al. (2000). Post traumatic stress disorder in children after the military operation "Anfal" in Iraqi Kurdistan. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 9, 235-243.
5. Almqvist, K., & Broberg, A. (2003). Young children traumatized by organized violence together with their mothers: The critical effects of damaged internal representations. Attachment and Human Development, 5, 367-380.
6. American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
7. Baker, A.M. (1990). The psychological impact of the Intifada on Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank and Gaza: An exploratory study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 60, 496-504.
8. Baker, A.M., & Kanan, H.M. (2003). Psychological impact of military violence on children as a function of distance from traumatic event: The Palestinian case. Intervention, 1, 13-21.
9. Barber, B.K. (2008a). Viewing the complexity of adolescents' experience with political violence. In B.K. Barber (Ed.), Adolescents and war: How youth deal with political violence. NY Oxford University Press.
10. Barber, B.K. (2008b). Making sense and no sense of war: Issues of identity and meaning in adolescents' experience with political conflict. In B.K. Barber (Ed.), Adolescents and war: How youth deal with political violence. NY: Oxford University Press.
11. Becker, D., McGlashan, T., Vojvoda, D., & Weine, S. (1999). Case series: PTSD symptoms in adolescent survivors of "ethnic cleansing." Results from a 1-year follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 775-781.
12. Blease, M. (1983). Maladjusted school children in a Belfast center. In J.P. Harbison (Ed.), Children of the troubles. Belfast: Stranmillis College.
13. Bleich, A., Gelkopf, M., & Solomon, Z. (2003). Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and coping behaviors among a nationally representative sample in Israel. JAMA, 290, 612-620.
14. Braungart, R., & Braungart, M. (1995). Black and white South African university students' perceptions of self and country: An exploratory study. South African Journal of Sociology, 26, 77-86.
15. Cairns, E. (1996). Children and political violence. Cambridge: Blackwell.
16. Cairns, E., & Dawes, A. (1996). Children: Ethnic and political violence - a commentary. Child Development, 67, 129-139.
17. Cervantes, R., de Snyder, V., & Padilla, A. (1989). Posttraumatic stress in immigrants from Central America and Mexico. Hospital Community Psychiatry, 40(6), 615-9.
18. Chan, A. (1985). Children of Mao: Personality development and political activism in the Red Guard generation. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
19. Cicchetti, D., & Valentino, K. (2006). An ecological transactional perspective on child maltreatment: Failure of the average expectable environment and its influence upon child development. In D. Cicchetti & D.J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (2 nd ed.): Risk, disorder, and adaptation (Vol. 3) (pp. 129-201). New York, NY: Wiley.
20. Clinton, H. (1996). It takes a village. New York: Touchstone.
21. Cohen, A.A., & Dotan, J. (1976). Communication in the family as a function of stress during war and peace. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 141-148.
22. Couperus, J.W., & Nelson, C.A. (2006). Early brain development and plasticity. In K. McCartney & D. Phillips (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of early childhood development (pp. 85-105). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Press.
23. Curtis, J.W., & Nelson, C.A. (2003). Toward building a better brain: Neuro-behavioral outcomes, mechanisms, and processes of environmental enrichment. In S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 463-488). London, UK: Cambridge University Press.
24. Dawes, A., Tredoux, C., & Feinstein, A. (1989). Political violence in South Africa: Some effects on children of the violent destruction of their community. International Journal of Mental Health, 18, 16-43.
25. Demb, M. (2006). Resilience in a time of terror: Individual, social, and familial protective factors in Israeli adolescents. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, Vol. 66(7-B), pp. 3944.
26. Dickason, D., Him, C., & Sack, W. (1999). Twelve-year follow-up study of Khmer youths who suffered massive war trauma as children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 1173-1179.
27. El Sarraj, E., & Qouta, S. (2005). Disaster and mental health: The Palestinian experience. In J. Löpez-Ibor, G. Christodoulou, M. Maj, N. Sartorius, & A. Okasha (Eds.), Disaster and Mental Health (pp. 229-237). New York: Wiley.
28. Fassaert, R. (1992). Growing up in Soweto: Using diaries in the study of South African adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 4, 1-18.
29. Ferguson, N., & Cairns, E. (1996). Political violence and moral maturity in Northern Ireland. Political Psychology, 17, 713-725.
30. Garbarino, J. (1995). Raising children in a socially toxic environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
31. Garbarino, J., Dubrow, N., Kostelny, K., & Pardo, C. (1998). Children in danger: Coping with the consequences of community violence. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
32. Garbarino, J., & Kostelny, K. (1993a). Children's response to war: What do we know? In L.A. Leavitt & N.A. Fox (Eds.), The psychological effects of war and violence on children (pp. 23-39). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
33. Garbarino, J., & Kostelny, K. (1993 b). The effects of political violence on Palestinian children's behavior problems: A risk accumulation model. Child Development, 67, 33-45.
34. Goldstein, R.D., Wampler, N.S., & Wise, P.H. (1997). War experiences and distress symptoms of Bosnian children. Pediatrics, 100, 873-878.
35. Haj-Yahia, M.M. (2008). Political violence in retrospect: Its effect on the mental health of Palestinian adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 279-285.
36. Hobfoll, S.E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513-524.
37. Hobfoll, S.E., Lomranz, R.J., Eyal, N., Bridges, A., & Tzemach, M. (1989). Pulse of a nation: Depressive mood reactions of Israelis to the Israel-Lebanon war. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 1002-1012.
38. Hoffman, M., & Bizman, A. (1996). Attributions and responses to the Arab- Israeli conflict: A developmental analysis. Child Development, 67, 117-128.
39. Jagodić, G.K. (2000). Is war a good or a bad thing? The attitudes of Croatian, Israeli, and Palestinian children toward war. International Journal of Psychology, 35, 241-257.
40. Jones, L. (2004). Then they started shooting. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
41. Kaffman, M. (1977). Kibbutz civilian population under war stress. British Journal of Psychiatry, 30, 489-494.
42. Kalantari, M., Yule, W., & Gardner, E. (1990). Behavioural characteristics of Iranian martyrs' pre-school children. Bereavement Care, 9, 5-7.
43. Kelman, H.C. (2007). The Israeli-Palestinian peace process and its vicissitudes: Insights form attitude theory. American Psychologist, 62, 287-303.
44. Khamis, V. (2005). Post-traumatic stress disorder among school age Palestinian children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 81-95.
45. Kinzie, J.D., Sack, W.H., Angell, R.H., Manson, S., & Rath, B. (1986). The psychiatric effects of massive trauma on Cambodian children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 25, 370-376.
46. Laor, N., & Wolmer, L. (2000). Image control and posttraumatic symptoms in children following SCUD missile attacks. Perceptual and Motors Skills, 90, 1295-1298.
47. Laor, N., Wolmer, L., Mayes, L.C., Golomb, A., Silverberg, D.S., Weizman, R., & Cohen, D.J. (1996). Israeli preschoolers under Scud missile attacks: A developmental perspective on risk-modifying factors. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 416-423.
48. Laor, N., Wolmer, L., Mayes, L.C., Gershon, A., Weizman, R., & Cohen, D.J. (1997). Israeli preschool children under Scuds: A 30-month follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 349-365.
49. Lavi, T., & Solomon, Z. (2005). Palestinian youth of the Intifada: PTSD and future orientation. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 1176-1183.
50. Lyons, H.A. (1974). Terrorists' bombing and the psychological sequelae. Journal of the Irish Medical Association, 67, 15-19.
51. Macksoud, M. (1992). Assessing war trauma in children: A case study of Lebanese children. Journal of Refugee Studies, 5, 1-15.
52. Macksoud, M., & Aber, J. (1996). The war experience and psychosocial development of children in Lebanon. Child Development, 67, 70-88.
53. Macksoud, M., Dyregrov, A., & Raundalen, M. (1993). Traumatic war experiences and their effects on children. In Wilson, J.P. & Raphael, B. (Eds.), International handbook of traumatic stress syndromes (pp. 625-633). New York, London: Plenum Press.
54. Masten, A. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 227-238.
55. Meijer, A. (1985). Child psychiatric sequelae of maternal war stress. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 72(6), 505-511.
56. Milgram, N.A. (1982). War-related stress in Israeli children and youth. In L. Goldberger & S. Breznitz (Eds.), Handbook of stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects (pp. 656-676). New York: Free Press.
57. Milgram, N.A. (1986). Stress and coping in time of war. New York: Bruneer/ Mazel.
58. Milgram R., & Milgram, N. (1976). The effect of the Yom-Kippur war on anxiety level in Israeli children. Journal of Psychology, 94, 107-113.
59. Moghaddam, F.M. (2005a). The staircase to terrorism: A psychological exploration. American Psychologist, 60, 161-169.
60. Moghaddam, F.M. (2005b). Psychological processes and "the staircase to terrorism", American Psychologist, 60, 1039-1041.
61. Morris, B. (2001). Righteous victims: A history of the Zionist-Arab conflict 1881-2001. New York: Vintage.
62. Muldoon, O., & Trew, K. (2000). Children's experience and adjustment to conflict related events in Northern Ireland. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 6(2), 157-176.
63. Nader, K., & Fairbanks, L. (1994). The suppression of reexperiencing: Impulse control and somatic symptoms in children following traumatic exposure. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 7, 229-239.
64. Nader, K., Pynoos, R., Fairbanks, L., Al-Ajeel, M., & Al-Asfour, A. (1993). A preliminary study of PTSD and grief among the children of Kuwait following the Gulf crisis. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 32, 407-416.
65. Nelson, C.A. (2002). Neural development and life-long plasticity. In R.M. Lerner, F. Jacobs, & D. Wertlieb (Eds.), Promoting positive child, adolescent, and family development: Handbook of program and policy interventions (pp. 31-60). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
66. Nelson, Zeanah, & Fox, N.A. (in press). The Effects of Early Deprivation on Brain-Behavioral Development: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project. In D. Romer & E. Walker (Eds.), Adolescent Psychopathology and the Developing Brain: Integrating Brain and Prevention Science. New York: Oxford University Press.
67. Punamäki, R.-L. (1988). Historical, political and individualistic determinants of coping modes and fears among Palestinian children. International Journal of Psychology, 23, 721-739.
68. Punamäki R.-L., Muhammed, A., & Abdulrahman, H. (2004). Impact of traumatic events on coping strategies and their effectiveness among Kurdish children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(1), 59-70.
69. Punamäki, R.-L., Qouta, S., & El Sarraj, E. (1997a). Models of traumatic experiences and children's psychological adjustment: The roles of perceived parenting and the children's own resources and activity. Child Development, 64, 718-728.
70. Punamäki, R.-L., Qouta, S., & El Sarraj, E. (1997b). Relationship between traumatic events, children's gender and political activity, and perceptions of parenting styles. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 21, 91-109.
71. Qouta, S. (2004). "Father, let us hide!" Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Gaza (internal document).
72. Qouta, S., & El Sarraj, E. (1994). Palestinian children under curfew. Psychological Studies, 4, 1-12.
73. Qouta, S., & Odeh, J. (2005). The impact of conflict on children: The Palestinian experience. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 28, 75-79.
74. Qouta, S., Punamäki, R.-L., & El Sarraj, E. (1995). Impact of peace treaty on psychological wellbeing: A follow-up study on Palestinian children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19, 1197-1208.
75. Qouta, S., Punamäki, R.-L., & El Sarraj, E. (1998). House demolition and mental health: Victims and witnesses. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 7, 279-288.
76. Qouta, S., Punamäki, R.-L., & El Sarraj, E. (2001). Mental flexibility as resiliency factor among children exposed to political violence. International Journal of Psychology, 36, 1-7.
77. Qouta, S., Punamäki, R.-L., & El Sarraj, E. (2003). Prevalence and determinants of PTSD among Palestinian children exposed to military violence. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 12, 265-272.
78. Qouta, S., Punamäki, R.-L., & El Sarraj, E. (2005). Mother-child expression of psychological distress in acute war trauma. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 10(2), 135-156.
79. Raddock, D.M. (1977). Political behavior of adolescents in China: The cultural revolution in Kwangchow. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press.
80. Romer, D., & Walker, E. (Eds.) (2007). Adolescent psychopathology and the developing brain: Integrating brain and prevention science. New York: Oxford University Press.
81. Rosenthal, M., & Levy-Shiff, R. (1993). Threat of missile attacks in the Gulf War: Mothers' perceptions of young children's reactions. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 63, 241-249.
82. Rousseau, C., Drapeau, A., & Rahimi, S. (2003). The complexity of trauma response: A four-year follow-up of adolescents Cambodian refugees. Child Abuse and Neglect, 27, 1277-1290.
83. Sack, W., Clarke, G., & Seeley, J. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder across two generations of Cambodian refugees. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1160-1166.
84. Sagi-Schwartz, A., van Ijzendoorn, M.H., Grossmann, K.E., Joels, T., Grossmann, K., Scharf, M., Koren-Karie, N., & Alkalay, S. (2003). Attachment and traumatic stress in female Holocaust child survivors and their daughters. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1086-1092.
85. Saigh, P. (1989). The validity of the DSM-III posttraumatic stress disorder classification as applied to children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 189-192.
86. Saigh, P. (1991). The development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Behavioral Research and Therapy, 29, 213-216.
87. Schwarzwald J., Weisenberg, M., Solomon, Z., & Waysman, M. (1997), What will the future bring? Thoughts of children after missile bombardment. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 10, 257-267.
88. Setiloane, C. (1991). A study of attitudes towards and tolerance of violence by a group of school children. Maatskaplike Werk/Social Work, 27, 59-66.
89. Shalev, A., Adaski, B., Boker, R., Benat, Y., Bar Guy, N., & Hadar, H. et al. (2002). Ita'rvuyot kliniyot be'matzavei dahak [Clinical interventions in stressful events]. Sihot, 17, 5-19.
90. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N. (2005). Negotiating the present, historicizing the future: Palestinian children speak about the Israeli separation wall. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 351-373.
91. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N. (2006). Negotiating the present, historicizing the future: Palestinian children speak about the Israeli separation wall. American Behavioral Scientist, 49, 1101-1124.
92. Shamai, M., & Kimhi, S. (2006). Exposure to threat of war and terror, political attitudes, stress, and life satisfaction among teenagers in Israel. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 165-176.
93. Shaw, J.A. (2003). Children exposed to war/terrorism. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 237-246.
94. Shikaki, K. (2006). Willing to compromise: Palestinian public opinion and the peace process. United States Institute of Peace, Special Report No. 158. Washington, DC.
95. Shonkoff, J., & Phillips, D. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
96. Slone, M. (2006). Promoting children's coping in politically violent environments: Suggestions for intervention in educational contexts. In C.W. Greenbaum, P. Veerman, & N. Bacon-Shnoor (Eds.), Protection of children during armed political conflict: A multidisciplinary perspective. Antwerp: Intersentia.
97. Slone, M., Adiri, M., & Arian, A. (1998). Adverse political events and psychological adjustment: Two cross-cultural studies. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 1058-1069.
98. Slone, M., Lobel, T., & Gilat, I. (1999) Dimensions of the political environment affecting children's mental health: An Israeli study. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 43, 78-91.
99. Smith, P., Perrin, S., Yule, W., Hacam, B., & Stuvland, R. (2002). War exposure among children from Bosnia-Herzegovina: Psychological adjustment in a community sample. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 147-156.
100. Solomon, Z. (1993). Combat stress reaction: The enduring toll of war. New York: Plenum.
101. Solomon, Z. (1995). Coping with war-induced stress: The Gulf War and the Israeli response. Cambridge, MA: Springer.
102. Solomon, Z., & Kleinhauz, M. (1996). War-induced psychic trauma: An 18-year follow-up of Israeli veterans. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 66, 152-160.
103. Solomon, Z., & Lavi, T. (2005). Israeli youth in the second Intifada: PTSD and future orientation. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 1167-1175.
104. Solomon, Z., & Mikulincer, M. (2006). Trajectories of PTSD: A 20-year longitudinal study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 659-66.
105. Solomon, Z., Mikulincer, M., & Avitzur, E. (1988). Coping, locus of control, social support, and combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A prospective study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55(2), 279-85.
106. Somer, E., Ruvio, A., Soref, E., & Sever, I. (2005). Terrorism, distress and coping: High versus low impact regions and direct versus indirect civilian exposure. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 18(3), 165-182.
107. Straker, G. (1992). Faces in the revolution - the psychological effects of violence on township youth in South Africa. Athens: Ohio University Press.
108. Terr, L. (1992). Too scared to cry. New York: Harper Collins.
109. Thabet, A.A., Abed, Y., & Vostanis, P. (2002). Emotional problems in Palestinian children living in a war zone: A cross-sectional study. Lancet, 359, 1801-1804.
110. Thabet, A.A., Abed, Y., & Vostanis, P. (2004). Comorbidity of PTSD and depression among refugee children during war conflict. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 533-542.
111. Thabet, A.A., Karim, K., & Vostanis, P. (2006). Trauma exposure in pre-school children in a war zone. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 188, 154-158.
112. Van Ijzendoorn, M.H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.J., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2003). Are children of Holocaust survivors less well-adapted? No meta-analytic evidence for secondary traumatization. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 459-469.
113. Verter, Y. (1998, March 6). Barak: Ilu haaiti tzair palestinai, yitahen sh'haiti mitztaref l'irgun teror [Barak: If I was a young Palestinian, I might have also joined a terrorist organization]. Ha'aretz, retrieved March, 8, 2006, from http://www.haaretz.co.il
114. Wiener, Z. (2004). Individual and societal reactions to ongoing terror in Israel. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 28, 80-85.
115. Yagur, A. Greenspoon, A., & Ponizovsky, A. (2002). Primary care clinic attenders under war stress. IMAJ, 4, 568-572.
116. Zahr, L.K. (1996). Effects of war on the behaviour of Lebanese pre-school children: The influence of home environment and family functioning. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 66, 401-408.
117. Zeanah, C.H., Nelson, C.A., Fox, N.A., Smyke, A.T., Marshall, P., Parker, S.W., & Koga, S. (2003). The effects of institutionalization on brain and behavioral development: The Bucharest early intervention project. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 885-907.
118. Ziv, A., & Israeli, R. (1973) Effects of bombardment on the manifest anxiety levels of children living in the Kibbutz. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40, 287-291.
119. Ziv, A., Kruglanski, A., & Shulman, S. (1974). Children's psychological reactions to wartime stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 24-30.
120. Zivcic, I. (1993). Emotional reactions of children to war stress in Croatia. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 709-713.