Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Dec;5(4):310-4.
doi: 10.5555/afhs.2005.5.4.310.

Prolonged displacement may compromise resilience in Eritrean mothers

Astier Almedom  1 , Berhe Tesfamichael, Zein Mohammed, Nick Mascie-Taylor, Jocelyn Muller, Zemui Alemu
Affiliations

Prolonged displacement may compromise resilience in Eritrean mothers

Astier Almedom et al. Afr Health Sci. 2005 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: to assess the impact of prolonged displacement on the resilience of Eritrean mothers.

Methods: an adapted SOC scale (short form) was administered. Complementary qualitative data were gathered from study participants' spontaneous reactions to and commentaries on the SOC scale.

Results: Displaced women's SOC scores were significantly less than those of the non-displaced: Mean = 54.84; SD = 6.48 in internally displaced person (IDP) camps, compared to non-displaced urban and rural/pastoralist: Mean = 48. 94, SD = 11.99; t = 3.831, p < .001. Post hoc tests revealed that the main difference is between IDP camp dwellers and urban (non-displaced). Rural but traditionally mobile (pastoralist or transhumant) communities scored more or less the same as the urban non-displaced--i.e., significantly higher than those in IDP camps (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance confirmed that gender is critical: displacement has significantly negative effects on women compared to men: RR = .262, p < .001. SOC scores of urban and pastoralist/transhumant groups were similar, while women in IDP camps were lower scoring--RR = .268, p < .001.

Conclusions: The implications of these findings for health policy are critical. It is incumbent on the international health institutions including the World Health Organization and regional as well as local players to address the plight of internally displaced women, their families and communities in Eritrea and other places of dire conditions such as, for example Darfur in the Sudan.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Figure showing Mean SOC scores by location nested in settlement type (N=157 women)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Almedom A M. ‘Resilience’, ‘hardiness’, ‘sense of coherence’, and ‘posttraumatic growth’: All paths leading to ‘light at the end of the tunnel’? Journal of Loss and Trauma. 2005;10:253–265.
    1. Almedom AM, Tesfamichael B, Mohammed Z, Mascie-Taylor N, Alemu Z. Use of the ‘Sense of Coherence (SOC)’ scale to measure resilience in Eritrea: Interrogating both the data and the scale. Journal of Biosocial Science. 2005 (in press) - PubMed
    1. Carballo M, Smajkic A, Zeric D, Dzidowska M, Gebre-Medhin J, van Halem J. Mental health and coping in a war situation: The case of Bosnia Herzegovina. Journal of Biosocial Science. 2004;36:463–477. - PubMed
    1. Almedom AM. Factors that mitigate war-induced anxiety and mental distress. Journal of Biosocial Science. 2004;36:445–461. - PubMed
    1. Longrigg S. A Short History of Eritrea. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 1945.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources