THE RELATIONS BETWEEN TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES, ACTIVITY, AND COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AMONG PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

The relations between the level of traumatic experiences, degree of ac tive participation in the Intifada, and cognitive and emotional respon ses were studied among 108 Palestinian children of 11-12 years of age in the Gaza Strip. The results showed that the more traumatic experien ces the children had and the more they participated in the Intifada, t he more concentration, attention, and memory problems they had. Trauma tic experiences also increased neuroticism and risk-taking, and Intifa da participation decreased self-esteem. Children's active participatio n in the Intifada could not protect children from developing emotional problems, as was originally assumed. The highest level of neuroticism was found among active boys who were exposed to many traumatic experi ences.