The effect of the Yom Kippur war on anxiety level in Israeli children

Peacetime and wartime anxiety levels in fifth and sixth grade Israeli boys and girls (N = 85) were compared as a function of sex, socioeconomic status, degree of war related stress, and self-concept. The Sarason General Anxiety Scale and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale had been administered to the children in May, 1973. The anxiety scale was readministered along with a war stress questionnaire during the Yom Kippur War in December, 1973. The general anxiety level of the children nearly doubled, with the children who reported the lowest peacetime anxiety levels reporting the highest wartime levels. Contrary to expectation, the rise in anxiety level was not related to personal war stress or to self-concept.