Abstract

Children of Gaza have been subject to a wide range of traumatic and violent events over the last few decades, which, when considered alongside other risk factors such as gender, socio-economic status and previous mental health history, have led to significant psychosocial problems. This paper provides a review of research findings from across the territories to reveal high levels of mental health problems, including PTSD, depression and anxiety. These mental health problems are predicted by exposure to war trauma, and mediated by socioeconomic adversity and parental responses. A substantial proportion of children continued to experience these problems in the absence of intervention, even following the discontinuation of political conflict. There is less evidence on which interventions can help children under these adverse circumstances, but early findings indicate that universal or targeted programs of psychodynamic, behavioural or psychodynamic frameworks, and applied within schools and communities, can alleviate children’s distress and enhance their resilience.

Key words: Child, mental health, trauma, war, political conflict, Gaza.