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"Child psychology West Bank"
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“On the Sidelines”: Access to Autism-Related Services in the West Bank
We examined access to autism-related services among Palestinians (
N
= 24) raising children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the West Bank. Using qualitative methods, we identified five primary interview themes. Poor screening, diagnostic, and psychoeducational practices were prevalent, as parents reported service providers minimized parental concerns and communicated ineffectively with the caregivers regarding treatment options. Geographic barriers and financial burdens prevented many families from seeking or maintaining services. Limited service availability was a dominant barrier: parents reported limited or denied access to education, community-based services, and ASD-specific interventions. Consequently, several families noted their children did not receive any services whatsoever. Research, practices and policies to address the shortage of services for children with ASD are urgently needed in the West Bank.
Journal Article
Lived Experiences of Coping With Type 1 Diabetes Among Palestinian Youth: A Qualitative Study
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in adolescents requires continuous self-care and emotional adjustment. Palestinian youth with T1DM face unique challenges within the context of the West Bank healthcare system, where political instability, resource limitations, and cultural factors create additional barriers to optimal diabetes management. These youth experience heightened social stigma, cultural dietary pressures, and restricted access to specialized healthcare services.
To explore the lived experiences, challenges, and coping strategies of Palestinian youth with T1DM in the West Bank.
This qualitative content analysis study was conducted from May-June 2025. Eighteen Palestinian adolescents (12-18 years) with T1DM were recruited through purposive sampling from West Bank diabetes clinics. Participants were approached directly at clinics by trained researchers who explained the study's voluntary nature and ensured understanding that participation would not affect clinical care. For minors under 16, guardians were present during consent, and all participants provided appropriate consent/assent. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews (45-90 min) and analyzed using conventional content analysis methods. Credibility was established through prolonged engagement, peer debriefing, and member checking with five participants.
Four main themes emerged from the analysis: challenges from social and cultural pressures, including stigma and dietary expectations; reliance on support systems involving family, peers, and healthcare access; emotional and spiritual coping through resilience, anxiety management, and faith-based strategies; daily self-management focused on insulin routines and food planning. Participants described significant barriers, including limited healthcare resources, medication shortages, cultural food pressures during religious fasting periods, and social misunderstandings about diabetes. Despite these challenges, many demonstrated remarkable resilience through family support, religious coping, and adaptive self-care routines.
Palestinian adolescents with T1DM navigate complex challenges that extend beyond medical management to include cultural, social, and political barriers. Their coping strategies are deeply embedded in family support systems and religious faith. The findings highlight the critical need for culturally responsive, family-centered diabetes care that addresses both medical and psychosocial needs while considering the unique context of life in the West Bank.
Journal Article
Prevalence and factors associated with nocturnal enuresis and social anxiety among Palestinian primary school children: a cross-sectional study
Background
Nocturnal enuresis (NE) is a prevalent pediatric condition with significant physical, psychological, and social impacts. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of NE among primary school children in Palestine and investigate its demographic and biopsychosocial associates.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2023 to January 2024 in primary schools across the West Bank, Palestine. A sample of 1003 children from grades one to six were recruited using convenient sampling. Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to parents, covering sociodemographic variables, NE, social anxiety and separational anxiety. Statistical analyses including Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were performed.
Results
The study reports a 27.9% prevalence of NE among 1,003 primary school children in the West Bank. The sample included 42.6% males and 57.4% females, with most attending public schools (65.3%) and 70.9% achieving excellent academic performance. Most fathers (79.3%) and mothers (94.9%) had higher education, and 37% of families reported a monthly income between 1,000 and 1,600 USD. NE was more prevalent in males (32.8%), children with lower academic performance (40.5%), and those from lower-income families. Significant factors associated with NE include being male (aOR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1–2.2), family history of NE (aOR: 6.1; 95% CI: 4.3–8.5), high fluid intake before bedtime (aOR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2–2.2), lower academic performance (aOR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1–2.1), daytime incontinence (aOR: 3.5; 95% CI: 1.4–8.5), and severe to extreme social anxiety (aOR: 7.4; 95% CI: 1.2–49.0).
Conclusions
Considering the high prevalence of NE in the current study and its strong link with social anxiety, it underscores the need for integrated psychological support alongside medical management. Therefore, cooperation between health policymakers, healthcare providers, school staff, and families is essential to develop targeted interventions addressing both the physical and psychological impacts of NE, ultimately improving the quality of life for affected children and their families.
Journal Article
Palestinian Children’s Experiences of Drug Abuse in the Home in the Occupied Territories of Palestine: a Scoping Review of Extant Literature
The Occupied Territories of Palestine (OtP) consists of the non-contiguous West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Its dense population with political and economic tensions is affected by a rise in drug trafficking, abuse and addiction. A scoping review mapped what is known about Palestinian children’s experiences of drug abuse in the home. Following application of exclusion measures, six records remained. Charting and analysis resulted in three themes:
the consequences of being a child with a drug-using parent
,
causal factors of drug use in Palestinian families
and
prevalence rates of parental drug use are unknown.
The review paints a concerning picture of stigma, family dysfunction, school drop-out, child and family isolation and maladaptive child development. Exposure to drugs, trauma and abuse contributes to strong potential for Palestinian child drug use, sexual exploitation, overdose, psychiatric illness and infectious disease acquisition. The review will inform the urgent strategic response.
Journal Article
Assessment of parental nurturing and associated social, economic, and political factors among children in the West Bank of the occupied Palestinian territory (WB/oPt)
Background
Parental nurturing expressed through love and affection is a broad concept that entails caring for children and their activities, encouraging them and praising their achievements. Lack of love and affection makes children more susceptible to psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and depression across their life time. This study aims to evaluate parental nurturing and associated social, economic, and political factors among Palestinian children living in the West Bank (WB).
Methods
Secondary data representative of the Palestinian children living in the WB was used to estimate parental nurturing for children aged 0–12 years as reported by their mothers. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted, followed by multivariate analysis for all predictors found significant in the bivariate analysis using SPSS® version 20.
Results
19.90% (231/1162) of children experienced low levels of parental nurturing. No statistically significant differences were detected by the child’s gender. Children with high levels of parental nurturing were those aged 0–6 years, children who were last in the family index, children with no disability, children exposed to low to medium levels of disciplinary methods, children from urban areas, children living in North WB, and children whose families were not subjected to political violence.
Conclusions
Overall, Palestinian mothers reported high levels of parental nurturing towards their children. However, about one-fifth of Palestinian children are at risk of experiencing low levels of parental nurturing. Efforts should be placed in addressing the health and welfare needs of these high-risk children’s groups.
Journal Article
Perspectives of Frontline Professionals on Palestinian Children Living with Sibling and Parental Drug Use in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
The Occupied Territories of Palestine (OtP) consists of the non-contiguous West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Political and economic tensions and its dense populations compound the impact of drug abuse and addiction in the home. A qualitative study using four focus groups (
n
= 42) was conducted in West Bank and Gaza Strip explored the experiences of professionals working with Palestinian families and children affected by substance use and addiction in the home. Data were analysed using thematic analysis (TA), and four themes emerged. These were ‘The rising and shifting problem of drug use in Palestine’; ‘Psychosocial causal factors of drug use in Palestine’; ‘The consequences for children and families living with drug use’; and ‘Potential solutions to the problem are complex and multi-faceted.’ The study paints a concerning picture of how drug abuse impacts on Palestinian families subjected to multiple pressures, stigmas, risks and harms relating to their situation.
Journal Article
The Effects of Political Violence on Palestinian Children's Behavior Problems: A Risk Accumulation Model
Interviews with 150 Palestinian mothers and their children living amidst the Intifada in the West Bank were conducted to assess exposure to political violence and family negativity as risk factors associated with behavioral problems as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist. The number of risks present in the child's life was significantly correlated with the number of behavioral problems the child exhibited (R = .53, p < .001). The analysis further examined the role of gender, age, and community context in moderating the impact of high levels of accumulated risk on children's behavioral problems. Under conditions of high accumulated risk, boys evidenced more problems than girls, and younger children exhibited more problems than older children. Community context (as indicated by a high or low level of political violence) was a significant factor for girls but not for boys.
Journal Article
Providers’ Perspectives on Autism Service Access in the West Bank: an Application of the Three Delays Model
Little is known about autism service barriers in the West Bank. The current study elicited the perspectives of Palestinian service providers (n = 7) at West Bank agencies serving children with autism and other special needs. Data were analyzed using qualitative grounded theory methods. Using the Three Delays Model as an organizing framework, we identified complex, interrelated themes related to children’s access to autism services. Providers reported stigma, gender-based caregiving disparities, and social isolation increased family burden and impacted parents’ willingness to seek services. However, once parents sought professional assistance, they often faced a second delay of economic and physical barriers to reach disability service agencies. Themes related to the third delay, the quality of services, were the most commonly reported and included nonexistent screening practices, inappropriate diagnostic procedures, limited availability of autism-related therapies and other services, and insufficient service coordination and staff training. Additionally, providers reported children with autism were routinely denied access to schools, exacerbating stigma and other challenges faced by these children and their families. Our findings suggest improvements in provider training and overall autism service quality will positively impact parents’ willingness to engage in services and build family-provider partnerships. Eliminating educational barriers can potentially create opportunities to improve overall service quality. Providers offered suggestions to decrease the impact of delays relating to physical barriers such as military checkpoints, including increasing community-based and in-home services. Other novel applications of the Three Delays Model to frame barriers to disability services in resource-poor regions are discussed.
Journal Article
Dietary habits of Palestinian adolescents and associated sociodemographic characteristics in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates
To describe food habits and associated sociodemographic factors.
Cross-sectional survey in 2005.
Ninety-six school classes in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Grade 8 and 9 students aged 13-15 years (n 2952).
Self-administered student and parent questionnaires.
High standard of living (STL) index and residence in Ramallah were positively associated with intake of animal foods, Western-style foods, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, sweets and salty snacks. Only 26.1 % of the students ate three main meals daily; 26.2 % of the boys and 51.0 % of the girls had breakfast one to two times per week or less often (P < 0.001). Only one-quarter of students drank milk daily (32.9 % of boys and 18.3 % of girls, P < 0.001). The majority of students, boys and girls in similar proportions, consumed vegetables daily (72.8 % v. 73.8 %, respectively). Daily fruit consumption was also equally common among boys and girls (58.9 % v. 55.2 %, respectively), but with clear differences by STL, region and parents' education. Daily intake of sweets and salty snacks was common among girls, and daily intake of soft drinks was common among boys.
Irregular meal patterns were common among Palestinian adolescents. High STL and residence in Ramallah were associated with frequent intake of foods high in sugar and fat, but also with frequent intake of fruits and vegetables. Effective interventions are needed to establish healthy dietary habits.
Journal Article