Children in the Heart of Wars: Psychological Effects Extending to the Body

SadaNews - Wars leave serious material damage to property and devastating losses of life, but the consequences they leave on the living are stronger and more severe, especially for children who are still in the growth phase.

According to studies, long-term ongoing wars and conflicts that children may be exposed to bring their hardships upon them, making them susceptible to a range of psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

These problems play a role in weakening the immune barrier, making the body vulnerable to many acute or even chronic diseases, which settle in their bodies and negatively impact their psychological side during a sensitive stage involving the formation of their personal and cognitive identity.

During wars, children are exposed to psychological disturbances such as post-traumatic stress disorder, which is often associated with depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems, while others may suffer only from depression or anxiety. The severity of the impact varies depending on factors such as age, sex, social and financial conditions, in addition to parental support and spiritual attachment.

Researchers from universities in Italy and Germany conducted a meta-analysis published in early 2025 in the journal Global Pediatrics to study the psychological impact of wars on children in areas such as Palestine and Ukraine. The results showed that the psychological effects are stronger in children displaced to refugee camps compared to those who remained with their families in their regions despite the war.

According to the study's findings, it was observed that children in conflict areas exhibited unintended behaviors, dominated by aggressive actions, states of agitation, and impulsivity due to the trauma that created an unbearable psychological stress for them.

Wars and Children's Immunity

Prolonged and continued exposure to war conditions and their calamities disrupt children's internal immunity by destabilizing the immune system or that associated with the nervous and endocrine systems and their linked sensitive functions, in addition to what they cause of sleep disturbances, obstructing the growth and development of bodily cells.

It is also noted in this context the indirect effect of wars and conflicts on the body's immunity, as such conditions sometimes lead to malnutrition and a tendency to lethargy and lack of movement, collectively leading to a collapse of the body's immune defenses, leaving it vulnerable to chronic or temporary diseases.

Several studies among those scrutinized and reviewed in the aforementioned study showed that the severity of the negative psychological effects suffered by children in these conditions is directly related to the frequency and intensity of the wartime conditions they experience.

The more violent and prolonged the wars are, the more harmful the consequences. In fact, research has indicated that merely living next to areas threatened by bombardment within conflict zones is enough to cause clear psychological disturbances in young children.

Effects on Memory and Language

The chronic psychological stress that children are exposed to for extended periods activates the axis that connects the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands, which in turn, if prolonged, disrupts many important functions which impede the completion of the brain's growth and maturation as it should at this stage, damaging memory and reducing the ability to concentrate and acquire language.

Cognitive abilities and the ability to perform related functions deteriorate, resulting in the child becoming more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders that may accompany them through adolescence and possibly into adulthood, if not treated.

How Do We Care for Our Children's Mental Health?

The recommendations that emerged from the study indicate that emotional support for children in war areas, along with the warm positive response provided by parents during crises and conflicts, is one of the most important preventive measures to mitigate the intensity of problems they may face that hinder their growth.

The study based its recommendations on how to care for children in conflict and war areas on what was proposed by the Betancourt model, attributed to researcher and university professor Teresa Betancourt from Boston University, who is responsible for the research program aimed at studying the impact of crises and trauma on children. It is based on three foundations according to the targeted groups:

Comprehensive interventions: They aim to enhance psychological health among children by educating them and teaching them skills and means that enable them to cope with crises and wars that may arise around them, enhancing their self-confidence and empowering them to adopt positive thinking where optimism overshadows pessimism, which can have a significant impact on overcoming obstacles that may arise. It also includes ensuring that they are provided with necessary food supplies during wars and providing them with shelter and protection.

Targeted interventions: These target children who are enduring the weight of wars and their conditions, who have been displaced or have begun to exhibit signs of psychological disorders, by involving them in support programs that equip them with cognitive and emotional skills to deal with the problems they face.

Specialized interventions: These are focused on helping children who suffer from severe disorders due to what they have experienced, either to treat them or to try to control their condition and prevent its worsening, through sessions that include different methods of psychotherapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and others.

It is important to note that experts have identified five essential elements that must be enhanced and developed among those affected by wars and trauma:

A sense of safety, psychological calmness, a sense of value and competence reflected in the self and the surrounding community, connection and communication with those around them, and a sense of hope and dispelling frustration.

Psychological Resilience

In an attempt to shed light on other ways of assistance that can be provided to children in war areas, a group of scholars from Tampere University in Finland and others from the Islamic University in Gaza conducted an interventional study targeting children in Gaza after the 2008 war, aged between 10 and 13 years.

The study focused on what it called psychological resilience in dealing with difficult circumstances such as crises and wars, demonstrating the great role that family cohesion and warm relationships between parents and their children play, as well as a wise upbringing based on sound principles, and what it can provide in terms of building psychological resilience within children that shields them from the psychological dangers that loss or witnessing scenes of destruction and killing may pose.

We cannot control the circumstances around us most of the time, especially when it is about global wars or conflicts, but we can certainly control our reactions and confront these circumstances to dispel the psychological dangers that may stand between us and many feelings that drive us toward achievement and happiness. These are undoubtedly shields that parents can equip their children with to grow up psychologically healthy, regardless of what is happening - and will happen - around them.

Source: Al Jazeera + Websites