Suchergebnisse

The article discusses the impact of political violence and personal factors on psychological stress responses. The sample consists of three groups of Palestinian women: (1) a West Bank/Gaza group of 174 women from the Israeli-occupied areas; (2) a Beirut group of 30 women from the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila; and (3) a comparison group of 35 Palestinian women living in Israel proper who were not exposed to direct political violence. As the determinants of psychological stress responses, worries, appraisal of availability of resources to cope (helplessness-controllability), coping modes and mental health problems were assessed. The hypothesized determinants of the stress process are place of residence, personal exposure to political hardships, economic stand and the age of the woman. The results showed significant differences between the three groups in their stress responses. The women of the Beirut group were the most traumatized, but psychologically this was reflected only in their showing more helplessness and lack of control in their personal lives than the women of the other Palestinian groups. The Beirut group expressed the lowest and the comparison group the highest level of political and personal worries. Furthermore, the Beirut group suffered less from mental health problems than the West Bank/Gaza group. These results accord with observations that in war and conflict situations, mental health problems tend to be more common in threatened areas, where fighting is expected to occur, than in the actual fighting areas. They also refer to people's general tendency to delay or modify their psychological symptoms in an extremely painful situation. In the West Bank/Gaza group, exposure to political hardships was related to a low level of passive and to a high level of socially-politically active coping modes. Yet, exposure to political hardships also increased mental health problems, which is a reminder of the price which people are forced to pay in order to cope with political violence.

This study describes the psychological process initiated by exposure to torture in a group of Palestinian political ex-prisoners living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The occurence of physical and psychological torture and sexual abuse during the interrogation and imprisonment is assessed. The study further inquires about the coping resources and actual coping modes that the Palestinian political prisoners employed in order to protect their dignity in face of prison hardships, and analyzes the occurence of the "torture syndrome" and the factors related to the level of symptoms. (DÜI-Hns)

Abundant research has shown that traumatic war experiences can interfere with the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents, but less is known about the subjective experiences and views of war survivors. The present study identified and described the different types of war experiences of young refugees in an African context and analyzed how they perceived the meanings and impact of war on their lives. The participants were 13 Liberian 25–35-year-old male and female refugees living in Ghana who agreed to take part in semi-structured interviews based on the life history approach. The transcripts were analyzed using a phenomenological method to detect themes incorporating multiple subthemes. The results revealed five main themes about war experiences, all negative in nature: pain and humiliation, loss of close relationships, horrific scenes, threats to life, and fleeing for one's life. Concerning the perceived meanings and impact of war, the results identified six main themes. Three of them were positive in nature: increased awareness of life, compassion for life, and identification with those suffering. The negative main themes incorporated vivid horrific memories, deprivation of age-appropriate opportunities, and self-harm and destructive behavior. Our findings suggest that young war survivors may be highly motivated to participate in nation- and peace-building and should be provided opportunities to contribute to broader political and civic life.

Families mobilize psychosocial resources to attune negative consequences of economic hardship, but research is lacking among youth. We propose an Economic Stress Model in Emerging Adulthood ( ESM-EA) conceptualizing age-salient social relationships and financial capability as mediators between economic hardship and well-being. The ESM-EA was tested in a three-wave prospective study following the 2008 economic recession, as part of the Finnish Educational Transitions studies. The sample consisted of 551 emerging adults (55.5% female) who participated at ages 23, 25, and 28. Economic pressures and financial capability mediated the effect of economic hardship on well-being, whereas social relationships did not. Individuals with an unfavorable financial situation at age 25 were more likely to show lower life satisfaction and higher depressive symptoms at 28 when they reported a higher level of economic pressures and a lower level of financial capability. Findings emphasize emerging adults' age-salient financial adjustments and management in enhancing well-being.