Being Child of Prisoners of War: The Case of Mental Health Status



Najafi M^{1, 2} ; Akochkian S² ; Nikyar HR³
Source: Iranian Journal of Pediatrics Published:2008

Abstract

Objective: Captivity has political, mental and social on captives. According to stress severity, captivity duration, religious idea, resistance and affective susceptibility captivity causes significant mental and neurological effects. Present study was aimed to evaluate mental situation and captives' children in Isfahan Province. Material & Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytic observational study. Strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SQD) was used for mental evaluation of captives' children. We selected 384 objective by random sampling. Findings: There was a significant difference between emotional signs, disruptive and communicational problems and social behaviors related with the age of children. A significant difference was also seen between emotional signs and educational level of children. Conclusions: Captivity of the father in long term has unsuitable physical and mental effects onchildren. Rate of these effects depends on mother's reaction to loss of spouses as well as age, and the social support provided for children.