I have been involved in collaborative research on the impact of trauma on children’s mental health in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 years. There have been many studies since, but when I sighted the first data back in 1997, it was one of the first attempts to capture childrens’ own recollections of experiencing war trauma and then relating them to their mental health.
It is now well established that the proximity to and severity of trauma exposure is directly associated to different types of distress and emotional problems, predominantly post-traumatic stress reactions. These can include reminders of a traumatic experience through sensations, physical reactions or nightmares.
