Mideast Children Stressing Out

A psychological study of 1,300 children shows that 70 percent of Palestinian children in the West Bank and 30 percent of children in Jewish settlements are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of months of bloodshed.

Children taking part in the study said they suffered from nightmares, eating disorders, anxiety and a sense of loss — all symptoms of the disorder, according to Tamar Lavi, a psychologist who conducted the research last summer as part of her thesis for Tel Aviv University's Adler Center.

"We knew from books that exposure (to violence) can lead to a lot of things, but we also knew that different exposure leads to different results," Lavi said Tuesday.

Israeli and Palestinian children have been exposed to steady suicide bombings, missile strikes and shootings since the current round of violence erupted in September 2000. Some children in Lavi's study said they had seen attacks, been injured and lost relatives. Some Palestinian children had been arrested.

Lavi found that in the West Bank, Palestinian children had been exposed to an average of 10 incidents of violence between September 2000 to July 2001, while Israeli children living in the Gush Katif bloc of settlements in the Gaza Strip had been exposed to an average of 11 instances of bloodshed. She did not study Palestinians in Gaza.

Hassan Ziadah, a psychologist at the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, said Lavi's findings were similar to a study done by his center that found 90 percent of Palestinian children who saw the first uprising from 1987 to 1993 also showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

Ziadah said mental health professionals in Gaza have been debating whether the increase in the number of Palestinians willing to carry out suicide bombings is related to post-traumatic stress, which could be "a factor involved in the decision to become a martyr," the term Palestinians use for those killed in clashes with Israelis, as well as suicide bombers. No clear conclusion has been drawn.

"In the (next) generation we will suffer from this trauma ... we have to prepare ourselves to deal with the consequences, the psychological and social consequences," Ziadah said.

A generation of children with chronic psychological problems can have a destabilizing effect on a society, he said.

The children interviewed in Ziadah's study suffered from bed-wetting, nightmares, clinging, loss of appetite, decrease in academic performance, and rebellious behavior. In therapy, children drew soldiers, airplanes, checkpoints, tanks and guns, Ziadah said.

Like Ziadah, Lavi fears the current level of tension could contribute to a cycle of violence that will be even more difficult to break.

"People who make decisions that lead to violence and conflict have to realize that these things don't just pass by children," Lavi said. "The children here are paying a very, very high price."

By Ramit Plushnick-Masti
By Ramit Plushnick-Masti