Post-traumatic stress and psychiatric disorders in Palestinian adolescents following intifada-related injuries

This study was designed to assess the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric disorders (i.e., anxiety and depression) in Palestinian adolescents following intifada-related injuries. It was hypothesized that a combination of pre-trauma variables (e.g., age, geographic location), trauma-specific variables such as trauma recency, type of trauma (deliberately violent vs. accidental), and post-trauma variables (e.g., social support, coping strategies, belief in fate) would be predictive of these psychological sequelae. The participants were 179 boys who were injured during Al-Aqsa intifada and as a result sustained a permanent physical disability. They ranged in age from 12 to 18 years (M = 16.30, SD = 1.64). Questionnaires were administered in an interview format with adolescents at home. Approximately 76.5% of the injured victims qualify as having PTSD and that the disorder had a heterogeneous course, with excess risk for chronic symptoms and comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression. Among all the predictors in the PTSD, anxiety and depression models, only geographical location, fatalism, and negative coping were significant predictors. In conclusion, post-traumatic reactions and psychiatric disorders in adolescents involved in armed conflict injuries can persist for several months. Given the apparent significant relationship between psychological sequelae of intifada-related injuries and certain predictors (i.e., negative coping style and fatalism), treatments such as trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy may yield positive results. Negative coping and fatalism should be addressed more directly during therapy.