title: A preliminary study of PTSD and grief among the children of Kuwait following the Gulf crisis.
abstract: This preliminary study of Kuwaiti children confirms the significant impact of exposure to war atrocities on children. This pilot sampling provided evidence that: (1) many children who remained in Kuwait during the occupation had multiple war-related exposures; (2) more than 70 per cent of the children reported moderate to severe post-traumatic stress reactions; and (3) witnessing death or injury and the viewing of explicit graphic images of mutilation on television had measurable influence on severity of reaction. The highest mean Child Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI) score was found for those children who reported hurting someone else. Older children had both greater exposure to atrocities and higher CPTSD-RI scores. Findings suggest the need for public policy to minimize children's exposure to graphic depictions of war-related injury, death and mutilation.
authors.affiliation: Program in Trauma, Violence and Sudden Bereavement, University of California, Los Angeles 90024.
authors.forename: K O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Nader
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Pynoos
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Fairbanks
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al-Ajeel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: al-Asfour
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013690:Television; D014754:Violence; D014857:Warfare; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology