Pediatric Nursing تمريض الأطفال

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https://dspace.alquds.edu/handle/20.500.12213/1074

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Browsing Pediatric Nursing تمريض الأطفال by Author "Abeer Ghassan Mohammad Nazzal"

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    Examining Trauma Exposure, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Anxiety, Depression and Coping Strategies among Early Adolescents Affected by War in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine
    (Al-Quds Univeersity, 2026-01-10) Abeer Ghassan Mohammad Nazzal; عبير غسان نزال
    Abstract Background: Early adolescents living in war zones are exposed to chronic and cumulative traumatic stressors that place them at high risk for psychological distress. Palestinian children residing in Jenin Refugee Camp have experienced repeated military incursions, forced displacement, and ongoing instability. Objectives: This study aimed to examine trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD symptoms, anxiety, depression and coping strategies among early adolescent aged 10-14-year-old affected by war in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-correlation design was employed using a purposive homogeneous sample of displaced children aged 10–14 years residing in Arab American University-Palestine AAUP temporary shelters. Data were collected between June 10 and September 10, 2025, using a war-related traumatic events checklist, the BIRLS Depression Self-Rating Scale, the Spence Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, a (DSM-5-TR) based PTSD assessment, and the Brief-COPE Scale. Descriptive statistics, inferential analyses, and post-hoc Tukey tests were conducted. Results: Early adolescent reported extremely high exposure to war-related traumatic events, particularly jet-fighter sonic sounds (99.1%), forced displacement (99.1%), and viewing images of injured or killed individuals through media (95.2%). High levels of depression (M = 67.43), anxiety (M = 65.79), and PTSD (M = 60.02) were observed. Intrusion was the most severe PTSD symptom cluster, followed by arousal and reactivity, negative cognitions and mood, and avoidance. Coping levels were high, with predominant emotion-focused and avoidance-based strategies, including self-distraction, venting, religious coping, active coping, and planning. Significant associations were found between intrusion and self-distraction, and between avoidance and positive reframing and humor. Sociodemographic differences emerged across several coping strategies, higher denial among children with fathers of lower educational levels, higher behavioral disengagement among children of employed mothers, higher positive reframing among older children (12–14 years) and higher self-blame among children from larger families and those with more highly educated mothers Conclusion: Palestinian early adolescents demonstrate remarkable coping efforts. However, persistent war-related trauma exposure within an oppressive ecological system limits the protective capacity of these strategies, resulting in high levels of psychological distress.