ERIC Number: EJ994159
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1537-4416
EISSN: N/A
Exposure to Political Conflict and Violence and Posttraumatic Stress in Middle East Youth: Protective Factors
Dubow, Eric F.; Huesmann, L. Rowell; Boxer, Paul; Landau, Simha; Dvir, Shira; Shikaki, Khalil; Ginges, Jeremy
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, v41 n4 p402-416 2012
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. (Contains 3 tables, 3 figures and 3 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Conflict, Depression (Psychology), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Foreign Countries, Child Rearing, Intervals, Violence, Political Issues, Mental Health, Parenting Styles, Self Esteem, Academic Achievement, Children, Preadolescents, Early Adolescents, Parents, Ethnicity, Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel; Palestine
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A