The Resilience Function of Character Strengths in the Face of War and Protracted Conflict.

Anat Shoshani,Michelle Slone

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02006

Anat Shoshani, Michelle Slone

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02006

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Abstract

This study investigated the role of character strengths and virtues in moderating relations between conflict exposure and psychiatric symptoms among 1078 adolescents aged 13–15 living in southern Israel, who were exposed to lengthy periods of war, terrorism and political conflict. Adolescents were assessed for character strengths and virtues, political violence exposure using the Political Life Events (PLE) scale, and psychiatric symptoms using the Brief Symptom Inventory and the UCLA PTSD Index. Results confirmed that political violence exposure was positively correlated with psychiatric symptoms. Interpersonal, temperance and transcendence strengths were negatively associated with psychiatric symptoms. Moderating effects of the interpersonal strengths on the relation between political violence exposure and the psychiatric and PTSD indices were confirmed. The findings extend existing knowledge about the resilience function of character strengths in exposure to protracted conflict and have important practical implications for applying strength-building practices for adolescents who grow up in war-affected environments.

Highlights

Increasing research on exposure to political violence, terrorism and war has led to significant advances in comprehension of the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological responses of youth to these environments (Betancourt and Khan, 2008)
In the first hierarchical linear regression analysis, the Global Severity Index (GSI) was entered as the dependent variable and in the second, PTSD symptoms were entered as the dependent variable
The high levels of psychological distress, psychiatric symptoms and PTSD symptoms found among the adolescents in this study attest to the deleterious effects of growing up under protracted conflict and war

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Increasing research on exposure to political violence, terrorism and war has led to significant advances in comprehension of the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological responses of youth to these environments (Betancourt and Khan, 2008). Among war-affected children in Sri Lanka, Fernando (2007) found that resilient orphans who identified with Buddhist religious practices were better able to make sense of, and accept, the traumatic past they had survived This array of strengths could transform negative emotions and thoughts into a more positive outlook, thereby increasing coping with the difficult circumstances. This area has been exposed for a long period to high levels of political violence, including rocket attacks and military operation in the context of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict (Golan and Shai, 2004). According to the presumed stressbuffering role of the strength factors, the exploratory question examined possible moderating effects of strength factors on the relation between PLEs exposure and the outcome variables

Participants

Procedure

RESULTS

DISCUSSION