Objective: The authors assessed the longterm consequences of the SCUD missi
le attack in Israel on children as a function of their mothers' psychologic
al functioning, family cohesion, and the event itself.
Method: Five years after the Gulf War, the authors assessed the internalizi
ng, externalizing, stress, and posttraumatic symptoms of 81 children aged 8
-10 years whose homes were damaged in the SCUD missile attack, as well as g
eneral and posttraumatic symptoms, defensive style, and object relations in
their mothers.
Results: There was a significant decrease in severity in most symptom domai
ns and an increase in avoidant symptoms in the children. Greater severity o
f symptoms was associated with being displaced, living in a family with ina
dequate cohesion, and having a mother with poor psychological functioning.
The association between the symptoms of children and mothers was stronger a
mong the younger children. Posttraumatic symptoms increased in one-third of
the children and decreased in one-third over the last 30 months of the stu
dy. Severe posttraumatic symptoms were reported in 8% of the children.
Conclusions: Despite a continuous decrease in symptom severity, risk factor
s identified shortly after the Gulf War continued to exert their influence
on children 5 years after the traumatic exposure.