An Investigation of the Effects of the Ukraine War on Children’s Mental Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i4.3582Keywords:
Ukraine War, Mental Health of Children, Lost Generation, PTSD, Ukrainian Children, Victims of War, Trauma, Child DevelopmentAbstract
Since the start of the Ukraine war, children that have fallen victim to the war have become a part of the “lost generation”. Many of them lost family members, educational opportunities, and their childhoods. After losing the most important aspects of lives, they only encountered more impediments: physical, mental, and moral injuries. In order to mitigate the destructive impacts of this war, charities are donating food, water, clothes, and money – basic necessities that humans need to survive. Although the Ukraine war has received global attention and countless charities and non-profit organizations have provided such tangible services, there are other significant issues regarding children’s mental health that are going unseen. Mental illnesses and psychological disorders have been more prevalent in children as a result of the war. Mental issues are much more impairing and serious than physical injuries.Yet, most of the focus is on the physical health of the victims. In conclusion, more humanitarian organizations must consider interventions that would relieve psychological distress and help the children overcome their hurdles.
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Attanayake, V., McKay, R., Joffres, M., Singh, S., Burkle, F., & Mills, E. (2009). Prevalence of mental
disorders among children exposed to war: a systematic review of 7,920 children. Medicine,
Conflict and Survival, 25(1), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13623690802568913
Bürgin, D., Anagnostopoulos, D., Anagnostopoulos, D., Doyle, M., Eliez, S., Fegert, J., Fuentes, J.,
Hebebrand, J., Hillegers, M., Karwautz, A., Kiss, E., Kotsis, K., Pejovic-Milovancevic, M.,
Räberg Christensen, A. M., Raynaud, J. P., Crommen, S., Çetin, F. U., Boricevic, V. M., Kehoe, L.,
. . . Fegert, J. M. (2022). Impact of war and forced displacement on children’s mental
health—multilevel, needs-oriented, and trauma-informed approaches. European Child &
Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(6), 845–853. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-01974-z
Chai, P. R., Berlyand, Y., Goralnick, E., Goldfine, C. E., VanRooyen, M. J., Hryhorczuk, D., & Erickson, T.
B. (2022). Wartime toxicology: the spectre of chemical and radiological warfare in Ukraine.
Toxicology Communications, 6(1), 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/24734306.2022.2056374
Conflict in Ukraine. (2022, May 12). Global Conflict Tracker.
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine
De Bellis, M. D. (2002). Developmental traumatology: a contributory mechanism for alcohol and substance
use disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27(1–2), 155–170.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4530(01)00042-7
Gonçalves Júnior, J., de Amorim, L. M., Neto, M. L. R., Uchida, R. R., de Moura, A. T. M. S., & Lima, N.
N. R. (2022). The impact of “the war that drags on” in Ukraine for the health of children and
adolescents: Old problems in a new conflict? Child Abuse & Neglect, 128, 105602.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105602
Head, Michael; Brackstone, Ken; Crane, Ksenia; Walker, Inna; Perelli-Harris, Brienna (2022):
Understanding health needs of Ukrainian refugees and displaced populations. figshare. Preprint.
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.20231346.v3
Helping Children in Ukraine | ChildFund. (2022). ChildFund. https://www.childfund.org/ukraine-response/
Hester, R. D. (2017). Lack of access to mental health services contributing to the high suicide rates among
veterans. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 11(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-017-0154-2
Kadir, A., Shenoda, S., Goldhagen, J., Pitterman, S., Suchdev, P. S., Chan, K. J., Howard, C. R., McGann,
P., St Clair, N. E., Yun, K., & Arnold, L. D. (2018). The Effects of Armed Conflict on Children.
Pediatrics, 142(6). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2586
Kalin, N. H. (2021). Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide in Youth. American Journal of Psychiatry, 178(4),
–279. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.21020186
Kekatos, M. (2022, March 3). Mental health effects of Ukraine war zone on children. ABC News.
Matthews, A. L., Stiles, M., Nagorski, T., & Rood, J. (2022, July 28). The Ukraine War in data: 869 attacks
on healthcare facilities. Grid News.
Nash, W. P., & Litz, B. T. (2013). Moral Injury: A Mechanism for War-Related Psychological Trauma in
Military Family Members. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16(4), 365–375.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-013-0146-y
Neglect. (2017, February 2). Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
OHCHR. (2022, August 8). Ukraine: civilian casualty update 8 August 2022.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2022/08/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-8-august-2022
Rizkalla, N., Mallat, N. K., Arafa, R., Adi, S., Soudi, L., & Segal, S. P. (2020). “Children Are Not Children
Anymore; They Are a Lost Generation”: Adverse Physical and Mental Health Consequences on
Syrian Refugee Children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,
(22), 8378. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228378
Save the Children International. (2022, August 24). At least 16% of children killed in six months of war in
Ukraine aged under 5.
https://www.savethechildren.net/news/least-16-children-killed-six-months-war-ukraine-aged-under-5
Smith, A. (2020, June 30). 14 types of therapy. Medical News Today.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/types-of-therapy
Tavares, T. (2015). Building Hope: Refuge Learner Narratives. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Manitoba
Education and Advanced Learning.
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/building_hope/building_hope_print.pdf
The IRC. (2022, July 13). Five ways the IRC helps people impacted by the war in Ukraine. International
Rescue Committee.
https://www.rescue.org/article/five-ways-irc-helps-people-impacted-war-ukraine
Ukraine: At least two children killed in war every day, says UNICEF. (2022, June 3). UN News.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/06/1119432
Ukrainian refugee children face long-term consequences from disrupted schooling. (2022, May 20).
Ukraine | World Vision International. https://www.wvi.org/newsroom/ukraine/ukrainian-refugee-children-face-long-term-consequences-disrupted-schooling
War in Ukraine: Support for children and families. (2022). UNICEF.
https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/war-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children
Zlotnick, C., Johnson, J., Kohn, R., Vicente, B., Rioseco, P., & Saldivia, S. (2008). Childhood trauma,
trauma in adulthood, and psychiatric diagnoses: results from a community sample. Comprehensive
Psychiatry, 49(2), 163–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.08.007
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2022 Seung Hee Rhew; Christine Salerno
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.