Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Anxiety Among Gaza Strip Adolescents in the Wake of the Second Uprising (Intifada)

• NCJ Number: 220032
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 31 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 719-729
• Author(s): Salman Elbedour; Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie; Jess Ghannam; Janine A. Whitcome; Fadel Abu Hein
• Date Published: July 2007
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated and described the psychological effects of exposure of war-like circumstances on the children and adolescents of the Gaza Strip.

Abstract

The study found that adolescents experienced significant levels of psychological distress as a result of the high frequency of anxiety, depression, and preoccupation of the violence. Participants were 229 adolescents; 68 percent were classified as having developed PTSD, 40.0 percent reported moderate or severe levels of depression, 94.9 percent were classified as having severe anxiety levels, and 69.9 percent demonstrated undesirable coping responses. A canonical discriminant analysis revealed that adolescents diagnosed with PTSD tended to be those who reported the highest levels of depression, anxiety, and positive reappraisal coping, and the lowest level of seeking guidance and support coping. Data were collected in 2002 using the following measures: the post-traumatic stress disorder interview (PTSD-I; Watson, Juba, Manifold, Kucala, and Anderson, 1991), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996); the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI: Beck and Steer, 1990); and the Coping Responses Inventory (CRI-Youth Form; Moos, 1993). Table, references