High levels of stress may physically scar a child's brain (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6411351.stm)

Scientists discovered a brain structure involved with memory and emotion had shrunk in children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A withered hippocampus may make a child less able to deal with stress and raise anxiety, Pediatrics journal reports.


Some background: As some of you may know neurogenesis occurs in this area of the brain - the hippocampus . It's also found to shrink with age (maybe a reason for grumpy old people). This part of the limbic system expands with mediation and thus people who meditate tend to feel happier. When people take Prozac this is the area that is effected and it works by increasing neurogenesis.


Anyway, I was thinking about the present generation of children born in Iraq during the 5+ years there has been war there. These children are going to grow up with a physically smaller hippocampus and thus be much more susceptible towards depression. As we all know – people that are depressed and feel helpless may be easily coerced into doing something to alleviate this feeling. Thus the Billion dollar self-help industry. Well, long before there were self-help books there was religion with it’s self-help books.

I worry that many children growing up in Iraq at the moment may seek martyrdom as a means to reach happiness simply by assuming the next life will be better than this.

This is yet another example of how counterproductive War is.
Especially this sort of War.
Something we should think about again when looking at this cookie chart I like to post:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Truemajority_oreos_video.png

There are other more overt effects of PTSD in stressed children:

This study examined symptoms of posttraumatic stress in 252 school-aged children from Osijek, Croatia, which was subjected to massive military attacks from Yugoslavian forces. The children's symptoms were assessed in 1994 while the war was still going on and 30 months later when the war was over. In addition to changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms over time, the study examined the predictive power of (a) different types and number of war traumata, (b) loss of social community, (c) the children's demographic characteristics (age and gender), (d) types of coping strategies and locus of control, and (e) the perceived availability of different kinds of social support. Although symptoms of posttraumatic stress declined over time, 10% of the children reported a severe level of symptomatology 30 months after the war. The results supported the hypothesized predictive power of all investigated factors for predicting short- and long-term posttraumatic stress reactions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 9-25, 2003.

Citing studies and surveys carried out separately by academic institutions, NGOs and the Palestinian Authority, UNICEF reported that 75 per cent of Palestinian adults think children are experiencing greater emotional problems and changes in behaviour compared with a year ago. Sleep-related problems are the most common form of psychological distress among children reporting problems. These include nightmares, bed-wetting, insomnia, and irregular sleeping patterns.

"Fear is also common," said Poupard. "Fear of darkness, fear of sleeping alone, leaving the house, strangers, loud noises and sudden movements. Children find it difficult to concentrate. Some are more anxious and irritable. Children are experiencing psychosomatic symptoms, such as headaches, stomach cramps and skin problems. And others are withdrawing from friends and family, rebelling or becoming aggressive themselves."

Studies show that children in refugee camps, poor children and girls between the ages of 5 and 14 are among the most vulnerable. Among very young children (up to age 5) the most common signs of distress are crying and clinging to parents. For children ages 6-12, aggression and rebellion are more common signs of fear and anxiety. Older children, ages 13-18, are more likely to suffer from risk-taking behaviour, a sense of helplessness, frustration and withdrawal.

The increase in psychological distress is directly linked to the current conflict, UNICEF reported. Repeated exposure to the sound of shooting and shelling is the major cause of psychological problems for 73% of affected children, according to the studies. Watching violent scenes on television plays a role in 46% of cases. And 27% of the reported cases of distress are linked to direct exposure to the conflict.


http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr87.htm
http://www.jstor.org/view/00093920/ap030286/03a00040/0

War is it's own best friend... if there ever was a perpetual motion device this'll be it....