Abstract
This study examined the role of parenting styles and parental warmth in moderating relations between exposure to political life events and mental health symptoms among 277 Israeli adolescents aged 12–14 and their parents, who had been exposed to protracted periods of war, missile bombardments, and terrorism. Adolescents completed the Political Life Events (PLE) scale, Brief Symptom Inventory and questionnaires regarding parenting style and parental warmth. The primary caregiver completed the Child Behavior Checklist for assessment of the child’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results confirmed that severity of PLE exposure was positively correlated with psychological distress and with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Maternal authoritativeness and warmth functioned as protective factors and had moderating effects on the relation between PLE exposure and mental health symptoms. In contrast, maternal authoritarianism exacerbated the relation between PLE exposure and children’s externalizing symptoms. Fathers’ parenting style and warmth had no significant relationship with children’s mental health outcomes. These findings have important clinical and practical implications for parental guidance and support during periods of war and armed conflict.
Highlights
Children who grow up during war, armed conflict and terrorism experience dangerous events that threaten their mental health and normative age-related transitions
Block 1, that investigated the main effect of Political Life Events (PLE), accounted for 24% of the variance in the Global Severity Index (GSI)
Greater severity of political life events was associated with higher GSI levels (β = 0.49, p < 0.001)
Summary
Children who grow up during war, armed conflict and terrorism experience dangerous events that threaten their mental health and normative age-related transitions. Children with positive perceptions of parental protection, support and monitoring frequently overcome the traumatic events involved in political conflict with no decline in mental health or functioning (Barber, 1999) This evidence for the important role of familial factors in moderating children’s symptoms after stressful exposure provides a compelling rationale for examining the function of parenting style and parental warmth in mitigating children’s post-trauma reactions. The present study aimed to examine the moderating role of parenting style between severe trauma exposure and children’s mental health symptoms, moving beyond a correlational description toward investigations of process This is relevant beyond the specific geo-political context of this study since it could contribute to our knowledge of the functioning of resilience factors in the lives of children who develop in environments of war and conflict. The difference in the level of the child’s internalizing, externalizing symptoms and general distress between high and low exposure will be greater for children with low parental warmth than for children with high parental warmth
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
