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
. 2012;41(4):402-16.
doi: 10.1080/15374416.2012.684274. Epub 2012 May 17.

Exposure to political conflict and violence and posttraumatic stress in Middle East youth: protective factors

Eric F Dubow  1 , L Rowell Huesmann, Paul Boxer, Simha Landau, Shira Dvir, Khalil Shikaki, Jeremy Ginges
Affiliations

Exposure to political conflict and violence and posttraumatic stress in Middle East youth: protective factors

Eric F Dubow et al. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2012.

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Self Esteem as a Moderator of the Relation between Exposure to Ethnic-Political Conflict/Violence and Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms
Figure 2
Figure 2
Parent’s Depression as a Moderator of the Relation between Exposure to Ethnic-Political Conflict/Violence and Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms
Figure 3
Figure 3
Positive Parenting as a Moderator of the Relation between Exposure to Ethnic-Political Conflict/Violence and Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdeen Z, Qaswari R, Nabil S, Shaheen M. Psychological reactions to Israeli occupation: Findings from the national study of school-based screening in Palestine. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 2008;32:290–297.
    1. Aiken LA, West SG. Testing and interpreting interactions in multiple regressions. Sage; Newbury Park, CA: 1991.
    1. Allison PD. Missing data. Sage; Thousand Oaks, CA: 2001.
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fourth edition: Text revision Author; Washington, D.C.: 2000.
    1. Barber BK. Political violence, family relations, and Palestinian youth functioning. Journal of Adolescent Research. 1999;14:206–230.

Publication types