Citation

Hadi FA, Llabre MM. J. Trauma. Stress 1998; 11(1): 45-56.

Affiliation

Educational Psychology Department, Kuwait University, Kuwait.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1023/A:1024453015176

PMID

9479675

Abstract

This study examined a stratified random sample of 233 Kuwaiti 8- to 12-year-old boys and girls, in order to assess their level of exposure to violence during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and its relation to psychological and cognitive performance 1 year after the crisis. Children were assessed on intelligence, posttraumatic stress, and depression, and were interviewed about their crisis experience. No significant decline in intelligence scores was detected after the crisis. A difference in level of parental depression was found between those who stayed in Kuwait as compared to those who were out for all or part of the crisis. Depression in children was low but associated with the level of exposure to violence as reported in the interview, and greater levels of posttraumatic stress. The results support the hypothesis that acute trauma resulting from exposure to violence is related to posttraumatic stress in children.

Language: en