Do adolescents know when they need help in the aftermath of war?

This study examined Israeli Arab and Jewish students' reports on needing help, a year after the Second Lebanon War and whether students' requests for support were associated with posttraumatic distress. The representative sample included 1,800 Jewish and 2,351 Arab students, grades 7-11. The questionnaires included items regarding (a) exposure to wartime events and other negative life events, (b) measures of posttraumatic stress disorder, and (c) needing help. The results showed that about 30% of the students reported needing help from any source (e.g., parents, peers) in the aftermath of the war. Arab students were more likely to report needing help than Jewish students. The students who reported needing help experienced higher levels of posttraumatic symptoms.

High school students' posttraumatic symptoms, substance abuse and involvement in violence in the aftermath of war.

This study examined one-year after effects of exposure to war events on adolescents' Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTS) and risk behaviors (substance use and involvement in school violence). In addition, it addressed two potential vulnerability factors: at the micro level, it examined whether childhood trauma raised the vulnerability of Israeli adolescents to PTS and risk behaviors when exposed to war events. At the macro level, we explored whether ethnicity, i.e., being an Israeli Arab, is a vulnerability factor to PTS and risk behaviors. We used a representative sample of 7th to 11th grade students from the north of Israel that included 4151 students: 1800 Jewish (54.4% boys) and 2351 Arab (41.5% boys). We assessed exposure to war events and childhood traumatic events, PTS and PTSD, substance use (alcohol, cannabis, Ecstasy) and involvement in school violence. The findings revealed extensive exposure to war events among both Jewish and Arab students. A year after the war, its effects on adolescents were still manifested in PTS, and involvement in school violence and substance use. Exposure to child physical abuse was associated with higher levels of PTS symptoms, substance use and involvement in violence. Exposure to other traumatic events was also associated with greater PTS symptoms and involvement in violence but not with greater substance use. Arab students were a more vulnerable population. They reported higher PTS symptoms, more cannabis use and greater involvement in school violence than Jewish students. However, exposure to war events had similar effects on both Arab and Jewish students. We conclude that war effects include a broad range of psychological distress and risk behaviors that last long after the war ends, especially among youth who have experienced childhood trauma and high exposure to war-related stressors.

The influence of war and terrorism on post-traumatic distress among Israeli children.

The Middle East has been in conflict for many decades and wars have become the 'normative reality' of children residing in the area. Questions have been raised about children's vulnerability to the stresses that come with living in a war area. Are children more resilient because they are more flexible in their ways of coping? Or are children more vulnerable because their psychological development is influenced by the environment?