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Resiliency Factors Predicting Psychological Adjustment after Political Violence among Palestinian Children"; Samir Qouta, Raija-Leena Punamaki, and Eyad El-Sarraj; Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Behavioral Development in 2000.
The effects of cognitive capacity, perceived parenting, traumatic events and activity, which were first mentioned in the midst of the political violence of the Intifada in 1993, were examined on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotional disorders, school performance, and neuroticism three years later in more peaceful conditions among 86 Palestinian children of 14.04 ± .79 years of age. The results showed, first, that PTSD was high among the children who had been exposed to a high level of traumatic events and had responded passively (not actively) to Intifada violence. Discrepant perceived parenting was also decisive for adjustment: children who perceived their mothers as highly loving and caring but their fathers as not so showed a high level of PTSD. High intellectual but low creative performance was also characteristic of the children suffering from emotional disorders. Second, the hypothesis that cognitive capacity and activity serve a resilience function if children feel loved and non-rejected at home was confirmed. Third, neuroticism decreased significantly over the three years, especially among the children who had been exposed to a high number of traumatic events. |