The role of gender and living context in shaping Palestinian children's agency and well-being

Through a mixed-method design, the study investigated gender and context differences within the domains of agency, life satisfaction, affectivity, and symptoms of trauma. Two-hundred-fifty Palestinian children from cities, villages, and refugee camps (M = 11.58, SD = 1.49) completed four self-reported measures, Multilevel Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale, Children’s Hope Scale, Children’s Impact of Event Scale, and Positive and Negative Affect Scales. Based on drawings and walk-along interviews with 75 children (M = 10.27, SD = 1.38), thematic analysis was performed to detect gender and context-specific differences regarding all the variables, which assisted in the interpretation of quantitative findings. Findings showed higher girls’ satisfaction in the dimension of school (MD = 1.497, p< .05) and higher values of negative affect (MD = 1.192, p< .05). Correlation analysis revealed that older girls displayed lower levels of life satisfaction, positive emotions, arousal symptoms, and agency (p< .05). Children living in the West Bank reported higher levels of agency (MD = 1.898, p< .05) in comparison to those in Gaza. The comparison of urban, rural, and refugee camp participants yielded significant differences concerning children’s satisfaction with their lives (MSLSS: F (2, 245) = 10.69, p < .001) and positive emotions (F (2, 245) = 6.49, p = .002). Six themes emerged from the TA: girls’ feelings of insecurity and uncertainty; gender gaps in mobility and accessibility to public spaces; education as a means for equal rights; perceived gender inequality; environmental unpredictability in the context of Gaza; unstable social and environmental conditions in the refugee camps. We explored participants’ strategies of resistance to endure adverse living conditions.