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The widespread Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life for students and institutions worldwide. Such impacts may have affected the students' academic performance and mental health. In the current study, we aimed to explore the mediating role of mental health between fear of COVID-19 and academic stress among Gaza's university students during the COVID-19 outbreak. The sample consisted of 315 participants, of which 230 (73%) were females. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Symptoms Checklist-10 and Academic Stress Scale were used. Fear of COVID-19 was found to be significantly positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress and academic stress. Also, mental health was found to play a mediating role between fear of COVID-19 and academic stress.

Background: Children affected by war and political violence deploy agentic competencies to cope with trauma symptoms and psychological difficulties. However, it does not always act as a protective factor to help them adjust to potentially traumatic events. Aims: We expected to explore the association between agency, trauma symptoms and psychological difficulties and the mediating role of hope and life satisfaction in a group of child victims of military violence in Palestine. Methods: 965 children aged 8 to 14 were assessed with self-reported measures, War Child Agency Assessment Scale, Children Revised Impact of events scale, Strengths and difficulties scale, Child Hope Scale and Brief Multidimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale. Structural Equation Modelling was performed having Agency as a predictor, trauma symptoms, psychological difficulties as an outcome variable and life satisfaction and hope as a mediator. Results: We found a direct and positive effect of agency on trauma symptoms, psychological difficulties, and life satisfaction and hope on the two dependent variables. Life satisfaction and hope mediated the association between agency and the outcome variables. Conclusion: Agency can help defend children from trauma and psychological maladaptation when it acts on life satisfaction and hope. At the same time, it might worsen psychological dysfunctions when working directly on trauma symptoms and difficulties. Clinical interventions must help children to foster agentic resources in activating hope and life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between psychological distress and job satisfaction in a sample of Palestinian in-service primary and lower secondary teachers (N = 380). Specifically, we cross-sectionally tested the hypothesis that the association between teachers' job satisfaction and psychological distress would be fully mediated by their levels of work engagement. Participants completed the Arabic versions of the "Teacher Job Satisfaction Scale" (TJSS-9), "General Health Questionnaire" (GHQ-12) and "Utrecht Work Engagement" Short-form scale (UWE-SF). As is conventional in mediation studies, the data were analysed using structural equation modelling and decomposition of direct and indirect effects. The moderate positive relationship identified between job satisfaction and psychological distress was fully mediated by work engagement (F = 17.05, p < 0.001, R[superscript 2] = 0.16). This finding suggests that in order to reduce the effect of low job satisfaction on teachers' psychological distress, organisational policies and practices should include a focus on enhancing their level of engagement.

This study was designed to evaluate the dimensionality, internal consistency, and validity of scores on the Arabic Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory--Short Form (PTGI--SF). This brief 10-item form of the PTGI self-report measure was administered to a sample of Arabic-speaking professional helpers (N = 338) working in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. Scores were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. The findings suggest that the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the PTGI--SF make it appropriate for assessing posttraumatic growth in the broader Arabic-speaking population.

Traumatic experiences in childhood can lead to trauma symptoms and impaired mental health, especially when children are exposed to war and political violence. Despite significant attention to child's exposure to traumas, few instruments to detect potentially traumatic events have been validated psychometrically. Our study aimed to develop, adapt and validate a user-friendly traumatic events checklist in Palestinian children living in three areas affected by low-intensity war and ongoing political and military violence. 965 Palestinian children (494 males and 471 females) living in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem were administered with a tailor-made Traumatic Events checklist, Children Impact of Events scale, and Strengths and Difficulties Scale. Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis was run to detect the factorial structure of the checklist. Furthermore, ANOVA was performed to identify statistically significant demographic differences among participants. A three factors structure emerged with Political violence-related traumatic experiences (PVTE), military violence against individuals (MVI), and military violence against individuals and families (MVF). Gaza children and adolescents resulted in being the most exposed to potentially traumatic events. The instrument can clearly portray potentially traumatic experiences in children exposed to violent events and adverse childhood experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present mixed-method exploratory study aims at exploring how families' perceptions of education are influenced by the availability of resources promoting well-being and the ability to cope with political and military violence. A convenience sample of 120 households selected in the Gaza Strip was administered using two self-reported instruments: WHOQOL-BREF (WHO Quality of Life-BREF) adapted to the Palestinian context, and items adapted from the Teacher Involvement of Parents (TIP) Questionnaire. The quantitative results showed interactions between different domains of quality of life--namely, basic needs (B = 0.361, p < 0.01) and psychological distress (B = 0.307, p < 0.05)--while perceptions of education had a statistically significant effect on school satisfaction. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative survey: economic constraints, constraints on the school environment, and issues with the curriculum. The ongoing disruption of general economic, environmental, health, and living conditions affects the domain of education, contributing to further undermining opportunities for improvements in subjective well-being and familial quality of life.

The aim of this study was to analyse the phases of an innovative in vivo exposure intervention in which all family members were present at the scene of a traumatic incident. Clinical practice has borne out the efficacy of family intervention and its benefits for traumatised individuals and family groups. The intervention discussed here was conducted with a Palestinian family that had suffered trauma in a missile attack during the Israeli-Lebanese war of summer 2006. Narrative and meaning-reconstruction methods were combined with cognitive-behavioural techniques. The study highlights the limitations of the intervention as well as suggesting future directions for integrated models of crisis intervention; development of an evidence-based model is recommended.

The current study investigated the correlation between political violence and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and whether the sense of belongingness (SOB) and loneliness mediate the correlation between the two variables among Palestinians living in a society characterised by high political violence and prolonged traumatic events. The study sample consisted of 590 Palestinian adults, consisting of 360 men and 230 women, and were recruited using non‐probabilistic convenience sampling methods from a village in the northern region of the occupied Palestinian territories. This study suggests a positive correlation between political violence and PTSS, a positive correlation between loneliness and PTSS, and a negative correlation between SOB and PTSS. SOB and loneliness mediated the correlation between political violence and trauma‐related symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article, we aimed at construing a new quantitative measure of children's agency in Palestine. Within a socio-ecological and culturally and contextually informed perspective, the study introduces the development of a new instrument to investigate and evaluate children's agentic practices within their living contexts and their daily lives. First, we evaluated the model of measurement of WCAAS-Pal using a sequential exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Following the principles of testing a quantitative measure in the context of the dual-frame sampling method, the process of validating the quantitative measure was conducted on a group of 1166 Palestinian children aged 9 to 14 years (m = 11.58, sd = 1.54). Second, a sample of 251 Palestinian children aged between 9 and 14 years (m = 11.82, sd = 1.53) was used to compute the reliability of the instrument along with both convergent and divergent validity using the Children Hope Scale and the Children Revised Impact of Event Scale-Arabic Version measures, respectively. The results of the EFA suggested a baseline seven-factor structure to be further assessed via CFA. a complex web of agency domains that might contribute to the child psychological functioning when forced to leave in conditions of ongoing threat and military violence emerged from the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current investigation was conducted to test the correlation between fear due to coronavirus (COVID-19) and mental health outcomes (stress, depression, and anxiety) and the mediating role of social support during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Palestine. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test the conceptual model, where fear of Covid-19 was considered as a predictor, social support as a mediating variable, and mental health (stress, depression, and anxiety) as outcomes. The participants involved were 370 Palestinians, 266 females, and the remaining were males. Participants were recruited through online methods; Facebook advertising, Network email, and Twitter during the COVID-19 in Palestine. Results of the study showed that fear related to COVID-19 was positively and significantly correlated with mental health outcomes (anxiety; r =.29, p <.01, depression; r =.25, p <.01, and stress; r =.36, p <.01), while negatively correlated to perceived emotional support (r = -.30, p <.01), support seeking (r = -.29, p <.01), and received support (r = -.31, p <.01). Results of SEM indicated a standardized total effect of social support on mental health outcomes (βX, M = -.57; p <.001), and an indirect but statistically significant effect (via social support, βX, M, Y = -. 286; p <.01). These results indicate that social support fully mediated the relationship between fear associated with COVID-19 and mental health distress (stress, depression, and anxiety). The current study supported previous findings demonstrating that fear related to COVID-19 positively correlated with mental health distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). In addition, social support mediated the relationship between fear of COVID19 and mental health outcomes. However, further investigations are needed to test the correlation between current study variables and other associated factors and develop intervention programs targeting affected populations during crises to enhance mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The PERMA-Profiler is an international methods designed to test the general wellbeing of adults in terms of 5 pillars: positive and negative emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.In our study, we tested the psychometric properties and the factorial structure of PERMA-Profiler within the Palestinian context using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The sample of the current study consisted of 582 Palestinian adults recruited from online advertisements, e-mail campaigns and social media. Results: The PERMA-Profiler showed good validity and reliability indicators in assessing general wellbeing among Palestinians, the CFA results revealed a stable five-factor construct of the PERMA-Profiler. Conclusions: More future studies validating the PERMA-Profiler with diverse groups in the Palestinian context are recommendable, which will enable mental health providers to develop clinical interventions targeting individuals who suffer from mental distress and low levels of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing occupation in Palestine involves structural colonial oppression over the native population, depriving Palestinians of fundamental human rights. The set of political, social, economic, and environmental factors that result from the occupation has a lasting direct and indirect effect on the well-being of the children exposed to systematic violence. In this study, we explored the effect of systematic violence and military oppression in a group of 22 school-aged youths (M = 12.2; SD = 2.69, 45.5% girls) living in the West Bank. We identified factors associated with children's maladjustment to potentially traumatic environments and survival skills following a socio-ecological lens. Data were collected through biographical participative interviews. The TCA identified six themes: the pervasiveness of the Israeli violence; the unexpected costs of the pandemic; victims and perpetrators of intra-community violence; everyday acts of happiness (or normalcy); support from families, peers, and community; subverting negative situations, and fighting back. Children emerged as continuously engaged in adjustment and readjustment to inhuman living conditions, making normal what is abnormal in their development. The study draws attention to the political antecedent and determinants of the Palestinian children's actions and reactions to violence, highlighting the impossibility of exploring children's growth while avoiding political and human rights implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) in the Palestinian context and the factorial structure of the instrument. The CSS, a newly emerging internationally standardized measure of stress related to being exposed to or contracting COVID-19, was translated and validated for a Palestinian context to ensure that it can be used to measure COVID-19 stress. The sample of the study consisted of 860 Palestinian adults living in the West Bank of Palestine. Participants' age ranged from 20 to 48 years old (M = 34.7, SD =13.46). They were all recruited from online advertisements, e-mail campaigns, blogs, social media, and SMS campaigns. The CSS was found to be valid in the Arabic language within a Palestinian context. The confirmatory factor analysis yielded six factors: (1) Fears about the dangerousness of COVID-19, (2) fears about the personal social, and economic consequences of COVID-19, fears of disruption in the supply chain, fears of looting or rioting, (3) COVID-19-xenophobia, fears that foreigners are sources of COVID-19, (4) fears about sources of COVID-19-related contamination,(5) traumatic stress symptoms related to COVID-19, and (6) COVID-19-related checking which is consisting with the ordinal structure the scale. The CSS demonstrated a high level of validity and reliability in a Palestinian context and therefore can be considered for future studies as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Further investigations using the Arabic Language of CSS may have far-reaching implications for measuring and combating the stress of COVID-19 at a personal and societal level for uniquely at-risk populations such as in the occupied territories of Palestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work sought to examine the relationship between stress of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disease, psychological trauma, and burnout, and whether subjective well-being (SWB), sense of coherence (SOC), and posttraumatic growth (PTG) mediated the relationship between the three constructs in a group of professional healthcare workers engaged on the frontline during the outbreak in Palestine. Results indicated that SWB, SOC, and PTG mediated the association between the stress of COVID, symptoms of trauma, and burnout. The psychological burdens of the ongoing military occupation have been exacerbated by the COVID outbreak, exposing health workers to additional stressors during their work and everyday life. However, a SOC associated with SWB and PTG might be a protective factor for trauma during the pandemic. Implications for health-care providers empowerment are discussed. Public Policy Relevance Statement: Mental health in Palestine poses serious concerns at community and societal levels, as this is an ongoing crisis context where people are struggling for everyday survival. COVID-19 poses serious challenges to the health sector and the survival skills of health workers who operate amidst a traumatic reality. Our study helps to explore the role of COVID-19 as an antecedent of mental health and burnout among health workers living and operating in contexts of poverty and military violence during the pandemic. The more COVID-19 stress affects health workers, the more they can be exposed to trauma-related burdens, work exhaustion, and burnout. Living experiences in health workers reflect a traumatic reality, made of violence, individual, and collective threat where COVID played the role of an additional stressor. Active, self-motivated, and psychologically functioning health workers contribute to alleviating the suffering of Palestinians during COVID-19 but cannot remove antecedents and determinants of their suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In a geopolitically at-risk environment, such as Palestine, gender-based violence (GBV) is still a crucial problem rooted in discriminatory laws and traditional habits exacerbated by the ongoing Israeli military occupation. Moreover, the lack of updated data makes it difficult to grasp the magnitude of the phenomenon entirely; the purpose of the current study was to explore mental health professionals' perceptions and concerns on GBV among Palestinian women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Participants in the study were 30 Mental Health Professionals (MHP) selected using convenience and snowball sampling techniques from among MHP in northern West Bank, Palestine. Results: A thematic content analysis revealed seven main themes of GBV during the pandemic. Palestinian MHP reported that the increased number of GBV cases among women during the COVID-19, quarantine, physical distancing measures, and closure of non-essential services significantly heightened the risks of GBV among Palestinian women. Moreover, Palestinian women involved with or married to older men or married at a very young age were at risk of GBV more than others. Results of qualitative analysis also showed that Israeli occupation and the political violence characterizing the area for decades (including restriction of movement, house demolitions, separation of family members, etc.) have also exacerbated and increased GBV in the occupied Palestinian territories. Conclusions: Improving intervention skills and supervision services among Palestinian MHP to help women who face GBV is recommended. Moreover, additional research should be conducted to explore the risk and potential factors of GBV, agency, and coping strategies to deal with GBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current study was designed to test the correlation between quality of life, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness, and whether sense of belonging and resilience mediating the correlation between quality of life, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness in a society characterized by high level of political violence and prolonged trauma. Methods: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test the conceptual model, where quality of life was identified as a predictor variable, sense of belonging and resilience as mediating variables, and depressive symptoms and hopelessness as outcome variables. The participants of the study were 437 Palestinian adults: 190 males and 247 females, they were recruited using online methods; emails, Facebook, and Twitter. Findings: Results indicated that quality of life negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = −0.603; p < 0.01), and hopelessness (r = −0.453; p < 0.01), and positively correlated with resilience (r = 0.534; p < 0.05), and sense of belonging (r = 0.428; p < 0.01). Results of SEM indicated the correlation between quality of life, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness was fully mediated by the sense of belonging and resilience. Conclusions: Our study sheds light on resilience and sense of belonging as protective factors against ongoing traumatic experiences among Palestinians. Future research should be addressed to understand better the features of resilience and sense of belonging that can help maintain psychological functioning in conditions of chronic and ongoing violence, the personal and historical antecedents of such protective factors, and the factors that can directly or indirectly undermine them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore mental health workers' perceptions and concerns about the psychosocial interventions provided to third-generation Palestinian refugee children. Our sample comprised 30 mental health practitioners aged 26–35 years, who were purposively selected at five Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank of Palestine. Thematic content analysis was applied to transcripts of interviews with the practitioners, with a view to identifying key themes. It emerged that psychosocial service providers typically deliver consultation, group, and individual counselling, debriefing, and life skills training to children in Palestinian camps. The main challenges faced by the psychosocial service providers in the camps include a lack of qualified specialist staff, insufficient funding, the political conflict, and poor community awareness of psychosocial services, as well as low salaries and unemployment among psychosocial practitioners. The participants suggested that improving psychosocial services in the future will require investment in the sector, working alongside families and schools, establishing permanent psychosocial centres, and offering professional development opportunities to Palestinian psychosocial service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND We tested the association between the stress of COVID-19 and mental distress manifested by anxiety, depression, and stress, and whether well-being and resilience mediate the relationship between the two variables in a population of Palestinian adults. Namely, we hypothesized that stress of COVID-19 will be positively associated with mental health problems (anxiety, depression, and stress); well-being and resilience will be negatively associated with mental health problems (anxiety, depression, and stress); and well-being and resilience will mediate the association between the stress of COVID-19 and mental health problems (anxiety, depression, and stress). PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, the Resilience Scale for Adults, the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, and the COVID-19 Stress Scales were administered to 860 participants via online survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to address the study hypothesis. RESULTS Participants recorded a mild level of stress of COVID-19 and high scores for resilience and well-being. A conceptual model depicting COVID-19 stress as a predictor, mental distress as an outcome variable, and resilience and subjective well-being as mediators was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS Palestinians are exposed to mental distress in an environment characterized by ongoing stressors. Conversely, the capability of Palestinians to conserve good levels of wellbeing and resilience protects them from mental distress even in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. On the other hand, COVID-19 can be considered a new critical event demanding and diminishing the people's resiliency recourses in Palestine. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We undertook a systematic review of the literature to explore the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Palestinian children and adolescents exposed to political violence. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of PTSD in this population. Methods: PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were searched until June 2020. To estimate the prevalence of PTSD, sub-group and meta-analysis were conducted. Results: The search resulted in 2786 studies, of which 28 articles representing 32 samples with a total of 15,121 participants from Gaza Strip and West Bank met either the DSM-4 or DSM-5 criteria and were included. The pooled prevalence of PTSD was 36% (95% CI 30–41%; I2 98.6%) and ranged from 6% to 70%. Sub-group analysis showed that the PTSD prevalence did not differ according to region (West Bank, Gaza Strip) and tended to decrease after including only studies using a representative sample (p<0.001), and among those with low risk of bias (p<0.001). Visual inspection of the included studies revealed significant discrepancies in study design and assessment measures. Conclusion: We identified high prevalence of PTSD among Palestinian children and adolescents exposed to political violence. However, the pooled results should be interpreted with caution, due to the high heterogeneity and risk of bias in the included studies. These limitations also reflect the challenge in conceptualizing and measuring PTSD in the Palestinian context with a background of continuous and cumulative trauma. Understanding the contextual factors and developing locally adapted survey measures are of relevance to future research, public health planning, and the provision of mental healthcare in Palestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of critical psychology and socio-constructionist theories, the present work aims at analyzing attitudes of political agency, psychological adjustment to trauma, and resistance, as protective factors against political violence in 122 children living in refugee camps in Palestine: Aida and Dheisheh camps in the West Bank and Jabalia camp on the Gaza Strip. Data were collected over 3 months, during summer camps that lasted at least 6 days. We conducted a comparative analysis of the use of drawing as a diagnostic tool for children who have experienced severe trauma and its use as a narrative instrument. Two strikingly different portraits emerge from a diagnostic perspective on the inner states of trauma-impacted children versus a narrative child-centered perspective that values children's own efforts to construct meaning. The former type of analysis is underpinned by an image of vulnerable children, afflicted by symptoms and at risk of losing emotional and behavioral control. In contrast, the analysis of children's narratives reveals abundant sources of functioning, coping abilities and agency in facing adversity. We discuss the fact that the first of these approaches fails to capture the protective and functioning factors underlying aspects of dysfunction and maladaptation. Diagnosis-oriented approaches risk to victimize and pathologize children living in contexts of ongoing trauma. The results of this preliminary survey on children's activism and agency show and confirm the crucial role of context in shaping children's suffering and reactions to war and ongoing violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting an ecological perspective on children's functioning and psychological well-being, we investigated the association between agency and life satisfaction, and its bearing on trauma symptoms and negative emotions in a group of Bedouin children living in the occupied Palestinian territories. Specifically, we hypothesized that the more children were agentic, the more they would be satisfied with their lives; and that greater life satisfaction would be associated with better affect balance, and reduced trauma symptoms. A sample of 286 Bedouin children attending primary schools in four different villages in the Jordan Valley completed the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale (MSLSS) , positive affect and negative affect scale for children (PANAS-C), Children's Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-13), and the children's hope scale (CHS). Structural equation modeling was performed to evaluate the cumulative network of direct and indirect effects between children's agency, life satisfaction, and trauma symptoms. The findings confirmed the key role of life satisfaction in mitigating traumatic reactions. Higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with reduced negative emotions and trauma symptoms, suggesting that agency may be viewed as a pre-determining factor with the potential to protect children from trauma symptoms. We discuss the implications for research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children exposed political violence deploy resources to maintain functioning, hope and life satisfaction. We sought to explore whether or not children promote hope and life satisfaction trough agency, psychological difficulties, potentially traumatic experiences and symptoms in Palestine. 965 children (494 males and 471 females) in multiple geographical contexts, and areas were involved. We administered the War Child Agency Assessment Scale , Child Hope Scale , Multilevel Students'Life Satisfaction Scale-Bref , the Strength and difficulties scale , the Child Revised Impact of events Scale , and Trauma Checklist , and performed regression analysis; hope and life satisfaction were dependent and agency, strength and difficulties, trauma symptoms and traumatic events independent variables. Specific forms of agency predicted life satisfaction (β = 0.219; ** p <.01, social agency; β = 0.11; ** p <.01, with agency in education) and hope (β = 0.07; ** p <. 05, agency on free movement), while mental difficulties (conduct problems, β = −0.09; ** p <.01; hyperactivity, β = −0.07; ** p <.05; β = −0.15; ** p <.01 with life satisfaction) (conduct problems, β = −0.06; ** p <.05, and difficulties in pro-social behaviour, β = −0.21; ** p <.01 with hope), traumatic events (β = −0.16; ** p <.01, with life satisfaction; β = −0.15; ** p <.01, with hope) and trauma symptoms (β = −0.09; ** p <.05, with hope) were negatively associated with the dependents variables. We found a positive role of social, educational, and freedom of movement agentic behaviours in fostering hope and life satisfaction. • Children's hope and life satisfaction are crucial constructs to be studied in contexts characterized by war and political violence. • Agency is a multifaceted construct that can help children in coping with adversities • Behavioural, personality and emotional difficulties can undermine hope and satisfaction with life in war-affected children • Younger Palestinian children were more satisfied, while girls were more hopeful than males. • Psychosocial interventions must be directed at fostering pro-social and agentic behaviours in war affected-children [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by a perspective centred on psychological health and well-being, the present research investigated whether teachers' overall well-being was influenced by their affect balance, as well as the extent to which both affect and well-being are influenced by social capital, in conflict-ridden areas such as the occupied Palestinian Territories (Gaza Strip and West Bank). The study involved three cohorts of Palestinian teachers working in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, respectively (N = 153). Dynamics of social exclusion, religious difference, educational disparity, poor educational standards and a lack of opportunity are factors affecting Palestinian teachers in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. The results supported the hypothesis that emotional balance directly influences teachers' well-being. Teachers with higher levels of positive affect reported greater personal well-being than those with higher levels of negative affect. Social capital also positively influenced teachers' personal well-being, both directly, and indirectly by fostering positive emotions. These results suggest that availability of community resources plays a key role in promoting teachers' well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents the psychometric properties of the Subjective Well-Being Assessment Scale in a sample of 423 participants composed of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians from the West Bank/Gaza Strip. Psychometric assessment of the instrument was based on confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent and discriminant validity of Subjective Well-Being Assessment Scale were also tested via administration of the General Health Questionnaire and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. The results suggest that Subjective Well-Being Assessment Scale is valid, reliable, and solid from a psychometric point of view and provides an accurate assessment of respondents' well-being. The questionnaire is therefore recommended for practical use in the psychological and health-care fields, whether locally or in international contexts with migrants and refugees from Arabic-speaking countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to war and ongoing political violence increases mental health risks among children, especially in terms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depressive or somatic symptoms. However, an exclusive focus on negative functioning can lead to underestimating the coping abilities and natural potential for adjusting to trauma of war-affected children at different developmental phases. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the extent to which data gathered in a predominantly nonclinical sample of Palestinian children (N = 1276) living in refugee camps supported a conceptual model in which the relationship between subjective wellbeing and the effects of trauma is mainly top-down in direction. The cross-sectional design adopted showed that feelings of life satisfaction contributed to better affect balance in children (aged 6–11 years), which in turn, mitigated the impact of traumatic events. These findings point up the importance of dimensions of subjective well-being in children involved in traumatic events and may inspire intervention and treatment focused on the ability to activate positive emotions as a crucial resource for dealing with traumatic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has widely documented the effects of war and political violence on the functioning and well-being of children. Yet, children's agency in the face of political violence remains underexplored. The present study aimed at exploring the sources of spatial agency that children draw on to counteract the harmful consequences of ongoing exposure to trauma. Based on drawings and walk-along interviews with 29 Palestinian children from Dheisheh refugee camp, we offer an analysis on how children use domestic and social spaces to actively maintain positive function and subjective well-being. Five themes were identified: the mosque as a place of spiritual resistance, the school as a source of happiness and personal improvement, internal spaces as a safe place for growing and developing, community spaces as places where children have fun and play an active role, and inhabiting the outdoor spaces in the camp despite environmental dangers and the Occupation. The study draws attention to spatial activities as forms of embodied resistance through which children promote their subjective well-being and maintain positive functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Palestine, the ongoing Israeli occupation shapes and endangers all spaces that are used by children in their everyday lives. In this study, Palestinian children were considered active agents in their lives, both affecting and being affected by the world around them. Our research aimed to explore the role of resources, competencies, and attitudes of spatial agency in the lives of children in the occupied Palestinian territory. Specifically, we investigated how children use domestic and social spaces to actively maintain positive function and wellbeing despite an environmental backdrop of military violence.Methods: A convenience sample of 29 children aged 7-13 years (mean 9·66, SD 1·63) attending the primary school in Dheisheh refugee camp, West Bank, was selected. 17% (5 of 29) were boys and 83% (24) were girls. All children were asked to draw and describe a map of safe and unsafe places in the camp. Ten children were asked to continue the conversation outdoors using a "walk-along" technique, showing familiar places and narrating their experiences. Data were collected in April, 2018. All of the children's narratives were audiotaped, transcribed, and translated by a local bilingual researcher. Thematic content analysis was applied. Children who have been diagnosed with a physical or psychological disease were excluded from the sample. The study was approved by the ethical board of the University of Milano-Bicocca. Written informed consent was obtained from children and their families, who were informed of the scope of the research.Findings: Five themes emerged: using the mosque and the school to access spiritual and educational resources for subjective wellbeing; internal spaces as a safe place for growth and development (including domestic spaces to experience a sense of protection and security); community spaces to have fun and play an active part in the social and political life of the camp; enjoying the outdoor spaces of the camp despite environmental dangers and the violence of the occupation. Some children perceived risks and lack of safety in their lives. Children's narratives made plain the ways in which their ability to mobilise functioning resources (such as playing and socialising) were constrained by military and community violence, and environmental degradation. Overall, social and external places as spaces to restore a sense of normality and happiness were valorised more by boys than by girls, and girls were more active in internal spaces than in external spaces.Interpretation: Spatial agency is a key factor that potentiates wellbeing in children. Psychosocial interventions should aim to promote children's participation in transforming and reshaping spaces and places for their own protection and to improve the psychological wellbeing of the community.Funding: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]