Psychological Effects of War Terror on the Palestinian People

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United States government estimated 37,212 Palestinians lived in United States in 2010. The influxes of Palestinian immigrants often could attributed to events called “Intifadas.” The Arabic word “Intifada” translated, means a “shaking off” but can also translate to an “uprising.” Israel’s and the Palestinian authority’s animosity derives from the First Intifada. The current political standing of the state of Israel and the Palestinian authority runs off from the Second Intifada, which lasted from late 2000 to 2005. The Second Intifada left negative psychological effects on both Israelis and Palestinians lasting until this day. The increasing number of Palestinian immigrants makes it imperative to understand the psychological effects that wartime terror has on the Palestinian people.

Testing for Psychological Disorders of War Time Terror:

Lavi’s & Solomon’s (2005) study investigated how chronic exposure to terror affects Palestinian youth by means of posttraumatic symptoms, future orientation, and attitudes towards peace. A total of 545 participants partook in the study, 245 Palestinians living in the Palestine authority and 300 Palestinians living in Israel. The participants completed exposure questionnaire to assess their exposure to terror events. The participants completed the Children’s Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index, used to find the intensity and number of posttraumatic symptoms experienced by the children and adolescents. The final two measures used include: The Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children and the Child Future Orientation Scale. To assess the posttraumatic symptoms which might occur from experiencing chronic exposure to war-time terror, the researchers used The Trauma Symptoms Checklist for childre...

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... population under constant threat would not easy to come by. The population's perceived threat of negative retaliation based on what they might have said in their interviews affected their willingness to participate in the studies.

Works Cited

Canetti, D. (2010). Exposure to Prolonged Socio-Political Conflict and the Risk of PTSD and Depression among Palestinians.Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 73(3), 219-231.

Elbedour, S., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Ghannam, J., Whitcome, J. A., & Hein, F. A. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among Gaza Strip adolescents in the wake of the second Uprising (Intifada). Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(7), 719-729.

Lavi, T., & Solomon, Z. (2005). Palestinian youth of the Intifada: PTSD and future orientation. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(11), 1176-1183.

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