Psychology Faculty Publications
Exposure to Political Conflict and Violence and Posttraumatic Stress in Middle East Youth: Protective Factors
Document Type
Article
Abstract
We examine the role of family- and individual-level protective factors in the relation between exposure to ethnic-political conflict and violence and posttraumatic stress among Israeli and Palestinian youth. Specifically, we examine whether parental mental health (lack of depression), positive parenting, children's self-esteem, and academic achievement moderate the relation between exposure to ethnic-political conflict/violence and subsequent posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. We collected three waves of data from 901 Israeli and 600 Palestinian youths (three age cohorts: 8, 11, and 14 years old; approximately half of each gender) and their parents at 1-year intervals. Greater cumulative exposure to ethnic-political conflict/violence across the first 2 waves of the study predicted higher subsequent PTS symptoms even when we controlled for the child's initial level of PTS symptoms. This relation was significantly moderated by a youth's self-esteem and by the positive parenting received by the youth. In particular, the longitudinal relation between exposure to violence and subsequent PTS symptoms was significant for low self-esteem youth and for youth receiving little positive parenting but was non-significant for children with high levels of these protective resources. Our findings show that youth most vulnerable to PTS symptoms as a result of exposure to ethnic-political violence are those with lower levels of self-esteem and who experience low levels of positive parenting. Interventions for war-exposed youth should test whether boosting self-esteem and positive parenting might reduce subsequent levels of PTS symptoms.
Copyright Statement
Publisher PDF
Publisher's Statement
Availability via databases maintained by the United States National Library of Medicine.
Repository Citation
Dubow, Eric F.; Huesmann, L R.; Boxer, P; Landau, S; Dvir, S; Shikaki, K; and Ginges, J, "Exposure to Political Conflict and Violence and Posttraumatic Stress in Middle East Youth: Protective Factors" (2012). Psychology Faculty Publications. 25.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/psych_pub/25
Publication Date
5-2012
Publication Title
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2012.684274
Start Page No.
402
End Page No.
416