A study on displacement stress and its relationship to psychological and social problems among adults in displaced families

92.20% suffer from security pressures and 90.07% suffer from personal pressures

86.50% suffer from social pressures and 87.86% suffer from economic pressures.

90.80% suffer from service pressures and 83.31% suffer from family pressures

Problems related to anxiety (85.16%), pessimism (82.92%), post-traumatic stress disorder (81.75%), alienation (81.15%), depression (80.41%), anormativity (78.35%), psychosomatic symptoms (78.27%), and social withdrawal (77.39%)

A scientific study entitled “Displacement pressures and their relationship to psychological and social problems among adults in displaced families in the governorates of the Gaza Strip” was prepared by a research team consisting of: (Prof. Dr. Jultan Hijazi, Dr. Tamara Musleh, Dr. Hamouda Abdel Aal)

92.20% suffer from security pressures, which are represented in: the lack of a sense of security in the place of displacement due to unsafe and unstable security conditions (random shelling by planes, tanks and watchtowers - shooting - .....), the prevalence of community violence, the spread of theft, and thus the feeling of a threat to the safety of family members due to unsafe housing conditions, and the lack of food security.

The study, which was conducted on a cluster sample consisting of (238) individuals from a complete cluster of displacement camps in Khan Younis Governorate who were randomly selected, noting that each displacement camp includes different segments of Palestinian society living under the same displacement conditions, which were and continue to be exposed to all forms of Israeli violence, indicated that 90.07% suffer from personal pressures represented in: loss of stability and dispersion, inability to make any decision related to life and destiny, feeling anxious about the future and its ambiguity, fear of losing life, people and resources, loss of property and repeated displacement, working constantly under pressure to accomplish matters related to life’s demands and needs, constant regret for not being able to work within the job or specialty, suffering from insomnia and loss of sleep quality, self-neglect and loss of interest in personal appearance.

The study results also showed that 86.50% suffer from social pressures represented in: difficulty in forming new social relationships in the place of displacement, loss of the ability to adapt to new behaviors in the place of displacement, feeling alienated and separated from society due to the violence prevailing everywhere, loss of support and assistance and feeling let down, feeling nostalgic for home, family, neighbors, friends and relatives who formed the social world before displacement, loss of peace due to noise, screaming, street vendors and generators, and life turning into a jungle that is not governed by the values and customs of Palestinian society.

It showed that 87.86% suffer from economic pressures represented by: low or no income (53% reported that their monthly income is less than 1,000 shekels), the many requirements of life and the exorbitant rise in prices, the difficulty of obtaining job opportunities, and thus the difficulty of securing a suitable source of income, and the inability to provide basic needs such as food, shelter, and health care, especially in light of the starvation policy that Israel used during this war, and the exploitation of aid, injustice in distribution, and monopolization of goods, which led to the inability to provide the family’s requirements of clothing, health services, and education.

She pointed out that 90.80% suffer from service pressures represented in: the unsuitability of the place of residence in displacement and the difficulty of reaching the necessary health service centers, the shortage of medicines and treatment, the lack of appropriate sewage networks, the accumulation of waste, the lack of potable water, the permanent power outages and the lack of alternative energy, the weakness of the Internet and communications networks, the lack of safe and comfortable means of transportation, the cessation of the educational process and the difficulty of its return under the current circumstances, and the lack of educational services and capabilities.

The results of the study revealed that 83.31% suffer from family pressures, which are represented in: tension in relationships between family members, lack of family support, frequent quarrels within the family, lack of emotional communication and physical presence of some family members, prevalence of emotional numbness and lack of emotional stability among family members, and feeling helpless to protect the family.

The results showed a positive correlation between exposure to displacement pressures and psychological and social problems, as the degree of suffering from psychological and social problems was very high according to the criterion adopted in the study. The most important problems suffered by the sample members were:

Anxiety (85.16%), pessimism (82.92%), post-traumatic stress disorder (81.75%), alienation (81.15%), depression (80.41%), anormativism (78.35%), psychosomatic symptoms (78.27%), social withdrawal (77.39%).

Prof. Dr. Goultan Hassan Hijazi, Professor of Psychology and one of the study’s authors, said: “These results constitute indicators of the psychological and social realities of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a result of the war that has been going on for fourteen months. We are placing them in the hands of official, unofficial and international institutions, perhaps as a message to sense the danger of the suffering of a defenceless people left to face the horrors of war without protection or any means of life.”

He added: There is no doubt that the circumstances of war, with the political, social and economic reality they impose through oppression, pressure and threats, constitute an assault on human dignity, freedom and values, and become part of the components of the collective mind of peoples, whose tragedies are borne by individuals over a long period of time, and are part of their experiences whose effects are reflected in all aspects of the human personality and the lives of societies.

Hijazi continued: The circumstances of the war waged by the Israeli occupation on the citizens of the Gaza Strip have led to the creation of violent, tense situations and events, and have created a harsh reality that was and will be the effective element in shaping the psychological reality of the Palestinians. The results of this war will constitute a shock that will be added to the series of shocks that the Palestinians have been exposed to during the long years of occupation, which have left personal and collective accumulations that will inevitably return to the memory of the events of the 1948 Nakba, in which the Palestinians lost their land, homes, and hope for a better future.