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Israeli preschoolers under Scud missile attacks. A developmental perspective on risk-modifying factors
Insights
Displaced children and mothers experienced more stress symptoms after Scud missile attacks. Home destruction and displacement were key factors, with family cohesion impacting younger children most.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Trauma Studies
- Family Dynamics
Background:
- Traumatic events significantly impact children, with risk and protective factors influencing outcomes.
- This study investigated the effects of displacement due to Scud missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War on preschool children and their families in Israel.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the differential effects of traumatic displacement on preschool children and families.
- To identify risk and protective factors influencing children's adaptation to traumatic events.
Main Methods:
- Compared three groups: displaced families (home damage), undisplaced families (no damage), and families from a threatened distant city.
- Collected data on traumatic events, child symptoms (personality, internalizing, externalizing, stress), maternal distress (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised), and family functioning (Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales) 6 months post-war.
Main Results:
- Displaced children and mothers reported higher levels of externalizing and stress symptoms compared to non-displaced and threatened groups.
- House destruction and displacement, not proximity to missile impact, were significant predictors of symptomatic behavior.
- Inadequate family cohesion was associated with symptomatic reactions in 3- and 4-year-old children, but not older children.
Conclusions:
- Both human and environmental factors influence preschool children's coping mechanisms for stressful stimuli.
- Risk-modifying factors become more independent of caregivers as children age.
Background:
The devastating effects of traumatic events on children are modulated by risk and protective factors. This study examines the differential effects of traumatic displacement of preschool children and their families following Scud missile attacks on Israel during the Persian Gulf War.
Methods:
Three groups participated in the study: families displaced after their houses were damaged, undisplaced families from the same neighborhood (without home damage), and families from a distant city that was threatened but not directly attacked. Data concerning the traumatic event, the child (personality, internalizing, externalizing, and stress symptoms), the mother (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised), and the family (Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales) were gathered 6 months after the end of the war.
Results:
Displaced children and mothers showed higher externalizing and stress symptom levels compared with undisplaced and threatened subjects. Destruction of the house and displacement, but not mere distance from the missile impact, explained symptomatic behavior. Inadequate family cohesion predicted symptomatic reaction for 3- and 4-year-old children but not for older ones.
Conclusion:
Both human and nonhuman factors contribute to the preschool child's adaptive mechanisms that regulate environmental stressful stimuli. These risk-modifying factors become more autonomous of caretakers with increasing age.