Mental Health and the Threat of Nuclear War—A Suitable Case for Treatment?

Abstract

It has been established in several studies [1 ,2] that young people worry about war and that many experience anxiety. Very little is known about how they master the situation and cope with the anxiety and fear. The nature of the anxiety is not clear, or how it is related to the mental health of the young. Arguments on the impact of the threat of war on young people range from none at all to a causative role in mental breakdowns, behavioral disturbances, and suicides. Very few studies have probed this issue directly. Reference to mental problems was made in a study by Sommers and co-workers [3]. In a sample of over 1,000 young Canadians, 16% of the respondents had sought counseling or advice from a school counselor, and 9% from a counselor or therapist outside school, because of worries about nuclear war. The study was carried out by means of a classroom questionnaire. In the relevant question, the respondents were given a choice of eight different reasons for concern, including problems with a teacher, problems at home, and personal problems, among others. The figures suggest a mental health problem related to the nuclear issue. More subtle but deleterious effects on personality development have been suggested by researchers who have found that young people in the United States experience feelings of loneliness and helplessness because of the nuclear war issue [4-6].