The body remembers what the mind forgets… How does war destroy children’s immunity?

Wars cause massive material damage to property and heavy loss of life, but the consequences they leave on the living are stronger and more severe, especially on children who are still growing.

According to studies, the ongoing, long-term wars and conflicts that children may be exposed to bring their devastating consequences upon them, making them vulnerable to a range of psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

These problems play a role in weakening the immune barrier, making the body susceptible to many acute or even chronic diseases, which settle in their bodies and have negative effects on their psychological state at a sensitive stage involving the formation of their personal and cognitive identity.

Children in war are exposed to psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is often associated with depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems, while others may suffer from depression or anxiety alone. The severity of the impact varies depending on factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, parental support, and spiritual connection.

Researchers from universities in Italy and Germany conducted a meta-analysis, published in early 2025 in the journal Global Pediatrics, examining the psychological impact of war on children in regions such as Palestine and Ukraine . The results showed that the psychological effects are more severe among children displaced to refugee camps compared to those who remained with their families in their areas despite the war.

According to the study’s findings, children in conflict zones exhibited unintentional behaviors, including aggressive actions, agitation, and impulsiveness, as a result of the trauma that caused them unbearable psychological stress.

Wars and children’s immunity

Prolonged and continuous exposure to the conditions and horrors of war leads to the destabilization of children’s internal immunity by disrupting the immune system or that associated with the nervous and endocrine glands and their related sensitive functions, in addition to causing sleep disturbances and hindering the growth and development of somatic cells.

Also mentioned in this regard is the indirect effect of wars and conflicts on the body’s immunity, as such conditions sometimes result in malnutrition, a tendency towards inactivity and lack of movement, which together lead to the weakening of the body’s immune defenses, leaving it vulnerable to chronic or temporary diseases.

Several studies, including those examined and reviewed in the aforementioned study, have shown that the severity of the negative psychological effects suffered by children in these circumstances is directly related to the frequency and intensity of the war conditions they experience.

The more violent and prolonged the conflict, the more damaging the consequences. Research has even shown that simply living near areas threatened by bombing within conflict zones is enough to cause clear psychological disturbances in young children.

Effects on memory and language

Chronic psychological stress that children are exposed to for a long time activates the axis that connects the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, and if this activation is prolonged, many important functions are disrupted, hindering the completion of brain growth and maturation as it should be at this stage, thus damaging memory and reducing the ability to concentrate and acquire language.

Cognitive abilities and the ability to perform related functions also deteriorate, and as a result, the child becomes more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders that may accompany him through adolescence and perhaps even adulthood, if left untreated.

How do we take care of our children’s mental health?

The recommendations that emerged from the study indicate that emotional support for children in war zones, and the warm, positive response that parents provide to their children during crises and conflicts, is one of the most important preventive means to alleviate the severity of problems that may affect them and hinder their development.

The study based its recommendations on how to provide care for children in conflict zones on the Betancourt model, which is attributed to researcher and university professor Teresa Betancourt from Boston University, who is in charge of the research program that aims to study the impact of crises and traumas on children. It is based on 3 foundations according to the target groups:

• Comprehensive interventions : These are concerned with promoting the mental health of children by educating and teaching them skills and means that enable them to cope with crises and wars that may occur around them, by enhancing their self-confidence, and enabling them to think positively, with optimism prevailing over pessimism, which may have a great impact on overcoming obstacles that arise. They are also concerned with ensuring that they are provided with the necessary food supplies during times of war, and providing them with housing and protection.
• Targeted interventions : These target children who are suffering under the weight of wars and their conditions, who have been displaced and changed their places of residence, or those who have begun to show symptoms of psychological disorders, by involving them in support programs that give them cognitive and emotional skills to deal with the problems they suffer from.
• Specialized interventions : These focus on helping children who suffer from severe disorders as a result of what they have been exposed to, either to treat them or to try to control the condition and prevent it from worsening, through sessions that include different methods of psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and others.

It should be noted that experts have identified 5 key elements that must be strengthened and developed among those affected by wars and traumas:

Feeling safe, having peace of mind, feeling valued and competent and reflecting on oneself and the surrounding community, connecting and communicating with those around you, feeling hopeful and overcoming frustration.

psychological resilience

In an effort to shed light on other ways of helping children in war zones, a group of researchers from Tampere University in Finland and others from the Islamic University in Gaza and elsewhere conducted an intervention study targeting children in Gaza after the 2008 war, aged between 10 and 13 years.

The study focused on what it called psychological resilience in dealing with difficult circumstances such as crises and wars. It showed the great role that the family can play through its harmony, warm relationships between parents and their children, and a sound upbringing method based on solid foundations, and what it can provide in terms of psychological resilience that builds solid barriers within children to protect them from the psychological danger that may be posed by loss or witnessing scenes of destruction and killing.

We cannot control the circumstances around us most of the time, especially if they are wars or global conflicts, but of course we can control our reactions and confront these circumstances to repel the psychological danger that may stand between us and many of the feelings that drive us towards achievement and happiness. These are undoubtedly shields that fathers and mothers can provide their children with so that they grow up psychologically healthy, regardless of what happens – and will happen – around them.