Background: In Gaza children have been identified as those most affected by ongoing warfare and military violence. In 2014, Unicef reported that over 400,000 children needed immediate psychosocial and child protection support following the last Israeli attack. This exploratory qualitative study investigated self-perceived risk and protection factors that may reinforce the ability of children living in refugee camps on the Gaza Strip to adjust to a traumatic and risky life context. Methods: 200 Palestinian children were recruited at primary schools in four refugee camps in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Israeli military operation “Pillar of Defence” in 2012. Gender distribution was 104 boys (M = 8.6 years; SD = 2.3 years; age range 6–11 years), 96 girls (M = 9.6 years; SD = 2.7 years; age range 6–11 years). A cluster sampling procedure was used to represent refugee children from five administrative and geographical areas of the Strip. The children were engaged in experiential activities aimed at drawing out spontaneously their narratives of military violence and traumatic experiences and the resources they had used during the war. The main working theme proposed was ‘what makes you afraid’ or ‘talk about an episode that made you feel afraid”. Narrative sessions lasted about two hours, with individual speaking time of 15–20 mins per child. Thematic content analysis (TCA) was applied to written materials and narratives produced by the children using Nvivo10 software, a data management program that assists in creating interpretive codes. The encoding process involved selecting phrases, sentences and paragraphs expressing themes emerging from the texts. The main objective was to identify in detail the dimensions of wellbeing present in the narratives, as well as the way in which the children tended to perceive risks and protective factors. Results: Both boys (77. 41%) and girls (52. 46%) reported having directly experienced traumatic events related to war, episodes of political violence (40. 22% of the boys and 34. 30% of the girls), domestic violence (30. 1 % of boys; 3. 3% of girls), or community violence (5. 3% boys, 2. 2% girls). Other episodes narrated by the children mostly related to environmental hazards such as fire or car accidents (boys 33. 18% and girls 21. 19%). The inter-rater agreement was satisfactory and ranged from 74% to 95%. Environment, friends, emotions, family, play, self, sociality, health, school, and spirituality were the dimensions that emerged from the narrative texts. In boys, the most severe self-reported risks related to the environmental and emotional dimensions, followed by family and health. Play, myself, sociality and school were perceived as providing protection. Girls reported perceiving friends, family, personal resources, sociality, school and spirituality as protective factors, mentioning more sources of protection than risks. Conversely, boys perceived themselves more at risk than protected. Interpretation: Palestinian children’s psychological adaptability is underpinned by constant political agency and activism guiding sense-making activities in a traumatizing environment. We recommend a politically-informed focus, both assessing and designing intervention for children in contexts of chronic political violence and war.

Veronese, G., Pepe, A., Jaradah, A., Murannak, F., Hamdouna, H. (2018). Agency and activism in school-aged children as protective factors against ongoing war trauma and political violence in the Gaza Strip: a qualitative study. Intervento presentato a: 9th Annual Conference of the Lancet-Palestinian-Health-Alliance (LPHA) - MAR 23-24, 2018, Amer Univ Beirut, Beirut, LEBANON.

Agency and activism in school-aged children as protective factors against ongoing war trauma and political violence in the Gaza Strip: a qualitative study

Guido Veronese
Primo
;
Alessandro Pepe
Secondo
;
2018

Abstract

Background: In Gaza children have been identified as those most affected by ongoing warfare and military violence. In 2014, Unicef reported that over 400,000 children needed immediate psychosocial and child protection support following the last Israeli attack. This exploratory qualitative study investigated self-perceived risk and protection factors that may reinforce the ability of children living in refugee camps on the Gaza Strip to adjust to a traumatic and risky life context. Methods: 200 Palestinian children were recruited at primary schools in four refugee camps in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Israeli military operation “Pillar of Defence” in 2012. Gender distribution was 104 boys (M = 8.6 years; SD = 2.3 years; age range 6–11 years), 96 girls (M = 9.6 years; SD = 2.7 years; age range 6–11 years). A cluster sampling procedure was used to represent refugee children from five administrative and geographical areas of the Strip. The children were engaged in experiential activities aimed at drawing out spontaneously their narratives of military violence and traumatic experiences and the resources they had used during the war. The main working theme proposed was ‘what makes you afraid’ or ‘talk about an episode that made you feel afraid”. Narrative sessions lasted about two hours, with individual speaking time of 15–20 mins per child. Thematic content analysis (TCA) was applied to written materials and narratives produced by the children using Nvivo10 software, a data management program that assists in creating interpretive codes. The encoding process involved selecting phrases, sentences and paragraphs expressing themes emerging from the texts. The main objective was to identify in detail the dimensions of wellbeing present in the narratives, as well as the way in which the children tended to perceive risks and protective factors. Results: Both boys (77. 41%) and girls (52. 46%) reported having directly experienced traumatic events related to war, episodes of political violence (40. 22% of the boys and 34. 30% of the girls), domestic violence (30. 1 % of boys; 3. 3% of girls), or community violence (5. 3% boys, 2. 2% girls). Other episodes narrated by the children mostly related to environmental hazards such as fire or car accidents (boys 33. 18% and girls 21. 19%). The inter-rater agreement was satisfactory and ranged from 74% to 95%. Environment, friends, emotions, family, play, self, sociality, health, school, and spirituality were the dimensions that emerged from the narrative texts. In boys, the most severe self-reported risks related to the environmental and emotional dimensions, followed by family and health. Play, myself, sociality and school were perceived as providing protection. Girls reported perceiving friends, family, personal resources, sociality, school and spirituality as protective factors, mentioning more sources of protection than risks. Conversely, boys perceived themselves more at risk than protected. Interpretation: Palestinian children’s psychological adaptability is underpinned by constant political agency and activism guiding sense-making activities in a traumatizing environment. We recommend a politically-informed focus, both assessing and designing intervention for children in contexts of chronic political violence and war.
poster
children, war, political violence, trauma, activism, agency, risk and protective factors
English
9th Annual Conference of the Lancet-Palestinian-Health-Alliance (LPHA) - MAR 23-24, 2018
2018
2018
none
Veronese, G., Pepe, A., Jaradah, A., Murannak, F., Hamdouna, H. (2018). Agency and activism in school-aged children as protective factors against ongoing war trauma and political violence in the Gaza Strip: a qualitative study. Intervento presentato a: 9th Annual Conference of the Lancet-Palestinian-Health-Alliance (LPHA) - MAR 23-24, 2018, Amer Univ Beirut, Beirut, LEBANON.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/193036
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