Shocked resident after rocket lands in Haifa
צילום: אריאל בוקובזה
Northern residents suffer from anxiety
One year after Second Lebanon War, study shows significant amount of adults in north suffer from acute post-traumatic stress symptoms, third of children suffer from anxiety
One year after the Second Lebanon War, 23 percent of Jewish residents in the north suffer from acute post-traumatic stress symptoms, according to a study conducted by the Resources (Mashabim) Center and the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma.
Children in the north have been even more psychologically affected by the war; 30 percent of children in the Jewish sector, and 40 percent of children in the Arab sector, suffer from anxiety.
Of the 386 people questioned for the study, 35 percent of women said they suffered from post-traumatic stress symptoms, as opposed to 12 percent of men.
The study showed that 30 percent of Arab residents in the north suffered from acute post-traumatic symptoms. A similar study, conducted one month after the war ended, showed that 41 percent of Arab residents in the north suffered from the symptoms.
The study also found that 74 percent of residents in the north would stay at home in the event of another war. Nine percent said they would leave their homes, while 17 percent were undecided.
The study’s conductors were worried that symptoms among the north’s population were so severe one year after the war ended.
“A real effort must be made in order to re-establish an inner sense of security amongst the residents, showing that the government and the authorities are more prepared and able to help when necessary,” they concluded.
