Level of Anxiety in Gaza
Before and After the Intifada
ABSTRACT:

This study is based on field research work to estimate the level of anxiety among the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip, as a measure of the effect of stress. In comparison with a similar study which was conducted in 1984, significant differences were observed in the level of anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms and rigidity and significant rise of anxiety among the citizens of Gaza. The refugee camps however did not show any signigicant changes.

THE PROBLEM:

For over 25 years of Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank the Palestinian community has been subjected to live in a chronically stressful environment.

750,000 Palestinian live in Gaza Strip, two thirds of them are refugees who left their original homes in Palestine (now Israel) in 1948. 350,000 of them are housed in eight refugee camps. 57,937 are living in Gaza town and 20,000 were resettled in 1985 in new buildings as part of the Israeli government policy of resettling the Palestinian refugees.
In December 1987, the Palestinian uprising (Intifada) erupted as a spontaneous mass civil movement against the continuation of the occupation. The Israeli reaction was characterized by harsh measures which included detention without trial, shooting to kill policy, house raids, and torture (Amnesty International 1992).
Samir Quta- a coauther presneted a dissertation for the degree of M.A. psychology based on field research to Ein Shams University in 1984. The results showed significant differences in the level of anxiety between four groups; the camp refugees, the town refugees, the resettled refugees and the citizens of Gaza (Qouta 1985) The camps refugees then scored the highest on all the tests. In this present study the same work is repeated by using only TMAS in order to find answers to the following questions :
 
1. Did the events of the Intifada produce a new level of anxiety among the Palestinian population in Gaza Strip?
2. What are the differences - if any - in the level of anxiety between the four groups?
Methodology:
1. The Sample:
 A sample of 160 people (80 males, 80 females) were randomly selected to represent the four groups:
a. Camp Refugees: N=40, age 23.2 + 1.7
b. Re-settled refugees: N=40, age 22.5 +.1.9
c. Town refugees: N=40, age 22.5 + 1.15
d. Citizens: N=40, age 21 + 1.8
The sample was selected from the middle social class and 50% of the sample were females in each group.
 
2. The Hypothesis:
a. The four groups are expected to show higher degree of anxiety in comparison to that in 1984.
b. Camp and resettled refugee are expected to show higher degree of anxiety if compared to town refugees and citizens of Gaza following the events of the Intifada.

3. Tools:

 
A battery of six tests that measure anxiety degree from different aspects were employed:
a. Friendship test:
This test consists of 70 qualities that people like or don't to be attributes of their friends. Every participant was asked to decide in degrees the extent he/she prefers or rejects these qualities:
 - (+2) is the degree given to qualities that are essential for friendship.
 - (+1) is the degree given to qualities that are preferable.
 - (0) is the degree given to qualities that are of no significance to friendship.
 - (-1) is the degree given to qualities that are undesired.
 - (-2) is the degree given to qualities that are anethma to friendship.
The reliability of this test was found to be between 0.6 to 0.85 by many workers. (Souif 1968)
b. The psychosomatic symptoms test:
Consists of 14 psychosomatic symptoms. Each participant is asked to mark the item which he/she feels it corresponds with his/her state of health. (Inkles & Smith 1976)
c. Taylor manifest anxiety scale: (TMAS)
This is a questionnaire of 50 sentences each describes certain type of behavior or symptom. (Souif 1976).
d. Rigidity tests:

1. The triangle-circle test:

It consists of eight cards, the first has a picture of a triangle that gradually changes on other cards to a full circle.

The score of this test is measured by the number of answers the participant continues to see only a triangle with no further addition. (Hefni 1971)

2. The cat-dog test:

 It consists of eight cards, the first has a picture of a cat that gradually changes to be a dog in the last one.

The degree of this test is measured by the number of answers the participant continues to see only a cat with no further addition. (Ibid 1971).

3. The tree house test:

It consists of eight cards, the first has a picture of a tree that gradually changes to a house in the last card.

The degree in this test is measured by the number of answers the participant continues to see only a tree with no further addition. (Ibid 1971).

 
These tests are modified form of Zazlo's test that measure perceptional rigidity through the resistance to realizing gradual changes. (Hefni 1971)
 
There is a general agreement that high degrees of rigidity reflect a state of anxiety. (Cowen 1952, French 1955, Farraj 1971)
Results:
Statistical analysis revealed the following results:
1. The level of anxiety as measured by TMAS and psychosomatic symptoms have increased among the citizens compared to their previous state in 1984. The difference is significant at (P=>.05).
2. There were no significant differences in all the three groups of refugees in the tests of friendship, psychosomatic and TMAS between 1984 and 1991. However camp refugee scored higher than their score in 1984 score on rigidity tests (tree-home, triangle-circle, dog-cat) with significance at (p>.01). Resettled and town refugees scored lower than their score in 1984 on rigidity tests (tree-home, dog-cat) with significance at (P=>.01). (Table 1)
 
3. Comparison of the level of anxiety between the four groups in 1991 revealed the following observations:
 a. The psychosomatic symptoms were higher among the resettled than the other groups with significance at (P=>.05).
b. Anxiety level as tested by TMAS show higher scores of the resettled refugees and the camp refugees than the two other groups with significance at (P=>.05).
 
c. Camp refugees scored higher on the tests which measure tension through rigidity (dog-cat, tree-house) in comparison with other groups with significance of (P=>.01).
 Table (2)
Discussion
 
Many observers agree that the spontaneous eruption of the Intifada has acted as a therapeutic process for many social and psychological problems which were manifested in the Palestinian community (El Sarraj 1988). Indeed, the Intifada is viewed as being the most dramatic political upheaval in the history of the Palestinian - Israeli conflict which affected both sides of the conflict.
 
The Israeli occupation policies before the Intifada were behind the clear high level of anxiety among the Palestinians in our first study in 1984. In that study there was a clear difference in the level of anxiety among the four groups of the population with the highest level between the camp refugees and the resettled. The camp refugees are subjected to a style of life and environment which is different from the kind of life the citizen enjoy. The refugees harbor a deep feeling of insecurity which transmits through generations following their uprooting in 1948. Their life in an overcrowded camps, in poor environment, and low standard of living have added to their frustration, humiliation, and resentment. Little wonder why did the Intifada start in these refugee camps.
In our recent study we found that the anxiety level has generally increased in the four groups (as shown in table 2) following the events of the Intifada with significantly higher levels of anxiety among the camp refugees and the resettled groups than in the citizens and the town refugees. These two areas are in fact the site of continuous confrontations. Almost every house was raided , most adults were arrested , detained or injured. The Palestinian refugees in these two areas in keeping the flames of the Intifada are heavily punished for that.
We also found that the anxietylevel among the citizen group, although still lower than in the camp refugees, was significantly higher if compared to their level in 1984.
This phenomenon can be probably explained in two ways :
On one hand, it seems that the active involvement in the Intifada has allowed the camp refugees to release all feelings of anger and frustration outwardly. In contrast, the relatively protected citizens - mostly middle class families - lagged behind and participated less in the activities of the Intifada and in most cases were left to hear and witness from a distance what was occurring in the refugee camps. This explanation goes along with Lewin tension system theory and Maslow theory (El Mola 1976, Hilgard 1975)) which proposes that human beings always try to minimize the tension through various forms of activity.
This group of people then were captives to their fear and anxiety for which they found no outlet. In consequence we expect that there will be more behavioral antisocial problems in this group.

Again, it seems that the social support system was more available to the communities of the camp refugees through the close family and tribal structure and through the newly formed groups of activists. This corresponds with the studies of social support and stress through protection (Broun, Harris 1978, Eaton 1978, Nucholls, Cassell, Kaplan 1972, Wheely 1982, Wilox 1981) and through lessening of the effects of stress (Brown, Harris 1978, Core 1978, House, McMichael, Wells, Kaplan, Landerman 1979, Kessler, Essex 1980, Husaini 1982).

DISCUSSION:

Looking to table (2), we obseve that refugees sometimes got higher scores than citizen , however it is not fair to do comparison between citizen and refugees , here some questions appeared. Can we consider Palestinian in the camps as a refugee after 44 years of their migration? . Can we say that they adapted to the new environment? Memories of lost home and property left behind and the social upheaval that accompanied their flight are indelibly attached in the refugees mind.

For the Palestinian the past also recorded in legal documents like land registration.

Palestinian refugees still introduce themselves from their country in Palestinian.

Similar experiences have been reported of other refugees , Harshen has shown that Greeks evaluated from Asia in 1920 still consider themselves refugees , although they returned to their mother country (Emanuel Marx).

Baskauskas 1981 described the grief felt by lithuanians in American after 40 years of their exile , as the traumatic experience can not be forgotten (Ibid).

However what we must take in our consideration that the migration of Palestinian people is completely different from other migration in history , it was up-rooting for the Palestinian who fled or were expelled to neighboring arab countries , and the results are 2,2 million Palestinian refugees of whom 770,000 living in camps.

Walsh 1979 said that migration has self and symbolic implications (Walsh, 1977).

Also Ross emphasized on the social and political aspects of migration (Rossi ,1977).

References:

1. Amnesty International, Yearly Book, 1992, P. 56.

2. El Mola, Salwa Creativity and Psycho tension, Cairo, Dar El-Ma'aref 1975, P. 156.

 
3. El Mola, Salwa and others, Human Behavior, Cairo University Books House 1975, P. 102.
4. El Sarraj, Eyad, The psycho-political state of Palestinian before and after the Intifada, Truman Institute, Hebrew University, 1988.
5. Farraj, M. Extremeness and Moderation of Mental Illness, Cairo, Egyptian General Corporation for editing and publishing 1971, P. 30.
6. Hilgard, E.R. & others, Introduction to Psychology, New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich inck, 1975, P. 333.
7. Husaini, B.A. & others, The Stress Buffering, the roll of social support and personal competence among rural married, J. of Community Psychology, vol. 10, 1987, P. 409.
8. Inkles, Alex & Smith, D.H., Becoming Modern, Cambridge Harvard University Press, 1976, P. 346.

9. Qadri Hefni, Experimental Study on the effect of perceptional and Kinetic rigidity in the Exposure to accidents in Industry, M.A. paper, Ein Shams University 1971 not published, P. 199-200.

10. Samir Quta, Acculturation and Tension Among Palestinians in Gaza Strip M. A. Paper, Ain Shams University, Cairo 1985, not published, P. 111.

11. Souif, M., Extreme Response, Cairo, The Anglo, 1968, P. 62.
 
 Samples
Variable
T. score
D.F. significant
Camp refugee with New building R.
Psychosomatic
1.93
39 sig. at .05
New building R. with town (R.)
Psychosomatic
2.15
39 sig. at .05
New building with citizen
Psychosomatic 
2.78
39 sig. at .05
Camp R. with new building
Anxiety
  
39 not sig.
New building R. with town R.
Anxiety
2.7 
39 sig. at .05
New building with Citizen
Anxiety
2.48
39 sig. at .05
Camp R. with new building R.
Triangle circle
6.21
39 sig. at .01
New building with town R.
Triangle circle
7.2
39 sig. at .01
New building with citizen
Triangle circle
7.2
39 sig. at .01
Camp R. with new building R.
Dog - Cat
8.24
39 Sig. at .01
New building R. with town R.
Dog - Cat
6.7
39 sig. at .01
New building R. with citizen
Dog - Cat
7.9
39 sig. at .01
Camp with new building
Tree - Home
6
39 sig. at .01
New building with town R.
Tree - Home
6.7
39 sig. at .01

 
Table No. (1) showed results of T. tests (after analysis of variance) (study 1991.
 
1984 Study 1991 Study
 
XBAR1
ST.
DEV1
XBAR2
ST.
DEV2
T - VALU
P
Friendship Test (+2) 
Camp R.
 
 
32.12
 
 
8.96
 
 
32.2
 
 
9.46
 
 
0.03883
 
 NS
Resettled R.
36.2
9.19
32.9
9.59
1.571320
NS
Town R.
32.6
7.92
29.4
9.55
1.631247
NS
Citizen
33
8.81
30.22
7.87
1.488350
NS
 MR (+1) 
Camp R.
 
26
 
9.06
 
24.67
 
6.92
 
0.737836
 
NS
Resettled R.
21 
8.34
22.35
8.11
0.73395
NS
Town R.
23
6.78
23.7
9.11
0.38985
NS
Citizen
24
7.66
24.77
6.96
0.47053
NS
 ZERO Response
Camp R.
 
12
 
5.5
 
13.17
 
6.22
 
0.89122
 
NS
Resettled R.
12.6
5.7
14.4
6.1
1.36359
NS
Town R.
13.8
6.5
15.87
5.16
1.57749
NS
Citizen
11.75
5.23
13.9
6.14
1.68591
S. at .05
 PSYCHOSOMATIC T. Camp R.
 
4.2
 
2.4
 
4.45
 
2.12
 
0.49375
 
NS
Resettled R.
4.4
2.2
5.6
3.11
1.99226
S. at .05
Town R.
3.9
1.8
4.27
2.35
0.79052
NS
Citizen
3.1
1.7
3.95
2.11
1.984
S. at .05
 TMAS
Camp R.
 
19.12
 
6.8
 
20.42
 
5.09
 
0.96796
 
NS
Resettled R.
19.3
5.7
20.65
6.82
0.96060
NS
Town R.
18
6.2
17.15
5.73
0.636776
NS
Citizen
16
4.9
19,02
6.,3
2.393
S. at .05
 TREE HOME 
Camp R. 
 
4.2
 
0.77
 
5
 
0.93
 
4.19054
S. above .01
Resettled R.
4.37
0.82
3.77
0.89
3.135714
S. at .05
Town R.
4.17
0.73
3.9
0.63
1.770920
NS
Citizen 
4.1
0.62
3.8
0.63
2.146556
S. at .05
 TRIANGLE CIRCLE Camp R.
 
3.9
 
0.82
 
5.32
 
1.09
 
6.58420
S. above .01
Resettled R.
3.97
0.55
3.85
1.02
0.654921
NS
Town R.
3.9
0.66
3.87
0.64
0.206381
NS
Citizen
3.8
0.74
3.72
0.87
0.442994
NS
 DOG CAT 
Camp R.
 
4.15
 
0.86
 
5.2
 
1.22
 
4.44899
S. above .01
Resettled R.
4.4
0.8
3.17
0.95
6.263578
S. above .01
Town R.
4.77
0.9
3.57
0.9
5.962847
S. above .01
Citizen
4.5
0.9
3.4
0.9
5.465943
S. above .01
Table No.(2) showed results of T. Tests to explore significant
differences pre and after Intifada (1984,1991)

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