By Karen Shaheen
...Tayara found that teenagers (click here) who had certain war experiences showed greater resiliency and were better able to cope with stress and anxiety later in life.
In the study published in the International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Tayara investigated the impact of war on “resilience” – the ability of youths to cope with stress, be self-reliant and move on with their lives after conflict.
Resilience was measured by assessing multiple factors including emotional control, empathy and sensitivity.
The war experiences that Tayara examined spanned the spectrum from loss, which includes death of a loved one or displacement from home, to involvement in war, whether active or passive, such as witnessing shelling.
Teenagers who experienced the loss of a loved one suffered, while those who were injured or witnessed violence showed greater resiliency after the war.
Tayara’s findings confirmed some long-standing beliefs held by scientists who study the impact of war: Cultural background and environment have much to do with how adolescents cope with violence.
For instance, she said, children were able to cope better if they were surrounded by a community that saw war as having a cause. Religion can also provide a measure of relief.
Adolescents in Tripoli, where more people considered the 2006 war pointless, were more likely to be traumatized by it than teenagers in south Beirut....
Most Americans were unaware this occurred. It may have been covered, but, was seen as a nuisance to Israel and not a sincere war. Lebanon viewed it as a war and seven years later continues to worry about it's children.
The 2006 War with Israel (click here)
Israel had had experience of modern missile warfare in 1991, when Iraq fired Scud missiles at it during the war over Kuwait.
In 2006, it was under rocket attack again and had an ineffective response.
After eight Israeli soldiers had been killed and two captured by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a 33-day war in which Hezbollah fired a hail of rockets into Israel and the Israelis bombed Lebanese towns, villages and infrastructure but made little headway in ground operations.
The war ended inconculsively but with Hezbollah largely intact. A new element had also been introduced into Israel's wars. It accused Iran of arming Hezbollah (and Hamas).
