[pcthrowaway]

I think for some questions of resource scarcity, it can. Specifically this would apply to housing and material possessions (because war can decrease the population)

When the resources which are scarce are young, able-bodied workers who can caretake for the elderly while tilling the fields, I imagine war would exacerbate the problem.

Well, traditionally this would be the case anyway. In the modern age of warfare where civilians are killed with impunity, I imagine the casualty among non-combatants tracks population demographics more generally. So if there are twice as many people over the age of 60 as there are under 20 (for context, the population of these two groups was roughly equal starting in 2024 in the U.S.[1]), then one could imagine twice as many people in that age group dying. Perhaps more if population groups are required to relocate periodically to avoid bombings (as we've seen in Gaza) where the elderly are less capable of walking distances than the young.

[1]: https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/2...