Attitudes toward war and peace and their relations with anxiety reactions among adolescents living in a conflictual area

The present study examined attitudes toward war and peace during a violent conflict and their relationships with anxiety reactions. We aimed to find out if attitudes toward the conflict in general or attitudes toward the specific operation are linked to anxiety reactions during a stressful situation and if a personal coping resource mediates the relationships between these attitudes and anxiety. Data were gathered on November 2012 from 78 Jewish adolescents living in southern Israel who were exposed to missile attacks during a military operation. Adolescents filled out self-report questionnaires which included socio-demographic characteristics; attitudes toward the military operation; ways to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; and sense of coherence and state anxiety. Results showed that most of the adolescents believed that a military operation would diminish the missile attacks to some extent or totally. Overall, adolescents who believed that a military operation would resolve the situation for a limited time were more anxious, while those who believed that it would open the opportunity for negotiation with the enemy, socialization, education, and mutual interest were less anxious. Results are discussed against the background of the meanings of growing up in the shadow of intractable violent conflict.     

Work-related factors associated with psychological distress among social workers

The current study assesses the association between several work-related factors and psychological distress among social workers (SWs) in Israel. The data were collected through structured questionnaires, administered to a sample of 494 SWs. The findings suggest that most of the examined work-related factors (namely, years of professional experience, personal work-related subjection to violence, burnout, compassion fatigue, and sense of coherence), with the exception of compassion satisfaction, significantly predicted psychological distress among SWs. The conclusion is that it is important to embed within the social work practice strategies for reducing sources of psychological distress (job demands) and increasing material, professional, and personal resources. Reducing the levels of psychological distress experienced by SWs will benefit not only themselves, but also their families and colleagues, as well as their clients. Moreover, this has potential benefits for the social work profession and for the general community.     

德鲁兹社团与以色列国家的关系

在以色列生活着13万德鲁兹人,与境内其他阿拉伯人不同,早在英国委任统治时期德鲁兹社团就跟犹太社团有着比较友好的关系,以色列建国后这种关系得到持续发展。从1956年起德鲁兹社团被正式纳入以色列义务兵役制内,与以色列国家结成“血盟”。作为回报,政府向德鲁兹社团承诺了平等和一体化,并利用国家机器,从历史、宗教、教育、习俗等方面促进独立的德鲁兹民族建设,帮助德鲁兹社团构建“以色列一德鲁兹”的身份认同。但由于以色列犹太国家的性质所限,德鲁兹社团的一体化进程面临诸多挑战。     

The Effectiveness of a Computerized Self-Help Stress Coping Program with Adult Males

The purpose of this study was to determine if a computerized self-help stress coping program, based upon cognitive learning theory, is effective in reducing stress in adult males. Thirty adult male juvenile counselors were randomly assigned to an experimental or non-participating control group. A computerized self-help stress coping was used over a five week period by those in the experimental group. As hypothesized, no differences were found between the groups on the variables of occupational stress and trait anxiety. However, decreases in personal strain and state anxiety were found along with increases in personal resources. The factor of social support was found to account for the greatest amount of variance in all dependent variables. It was concluded that stress coping computer programs can provide some relief for situational types of stress.     

Evaluation of the Stress Adjustment and Adaptation Model Among Families Reporting Economic Pressure

ABSTRACT

This research evaluates the Stress Adjustment and Adaptation Model (double ABCX model) examining the effects resiliency resources on family functioning when families experience economic pressure. Families (N = 128) with incomes at or below the poverty line from a rural area of a southern state completed measures of perceived economic pressure, family hardiness, social support, and the McMaster Family Assessment device. The family resiliency model was evaluated using regression and two path analyses. Results of the model evaluation indicate that when family resiliency resources are introduced economic pressure is not a significant stressor influencing family functioning. Family resiliency is a key to the healthy functioning of the family unit moderating distress and decreasing the negative effects associated with economic pressure. Implications for social work practice to enhance family resiliency using community and personal supports are discussed.     

Patterns of Adolescent Regulatory Responses During Family Conflict and Mental Health Trajectories

Four distinct patterns of adolescents' behavioral, emotional, and physiological responses to family conflict were identified during mother–father–adolescent (M = 13.08 years) interactions. Most youth displayed adaptively regulated patterns comprised of low overt and subjective distress. Under‐controlled adolescents exhibited elevated observable and subjective anger. Over‐controlled adolescents were withdrawn and reported heightened subjective distress. Physiologically reactive adolescents had elevated cortisol coupled with low overt and subjective distress. Regulation patterns were associated with unique mental health trajectories. Under‐controlled adolescents had elevated conduct and peer problems whereas over‐controlled adolescents had higher anxiety and depressive symptoms. Physiologically reactive adolescents had low concurrent, but increasing levels of depressive, anxiety, and peer problem symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of examining organizations of regulatory strategies in contributing to adolescent mental health.     

Anger Expression Mode,Depressive Symptoms,Hopelessness, and Decision Coping among African American Adolescents

This study examined the relationship between anger expression mode, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and decision coping patterns among a non-clinical community sample of 276 low-income African American adolescents (mean age = 14.47). Participants were students in sixth through tenth grades enrolled in health and wellness classes in two public schools in West Tennessee. They were asked to complete a battery of instruments including the Anger Style Inventory, Children's Depression Inventory, Hopelessness Scale for Children, and Flinders Adolescent Decision Making Questionnaire. Findings indicate a significant association between anger expression mode, depressive symptomatology, hopelessness, and decision coping pattern among study participants. Gender and screening positive for depressive symptoms predicted participant's anger response mode. Using multiple assessment scales may provide useful information toward preventing the onset of clinically significant emotional disorders among adolescents.     

Toddlers' Empathy‐Related Responding to Distress: Predictions From Negative Emotionality and Maternal Behavior in Infancy

This study focused on the predictive contributions of infants' temperamental negative emotionality (proneness to fear, anger), sex, maternal responsivity, and their interaction on toddlers' empathy‐related responding to distress in 3 contexts. Ninety‐eight infants and their mothers participated in a longitudinal study. When the infants were 10 months of age, mothers completed assessments of infant temperamental anger and fear, and maternal behaviors were observed in a free‐play setting. At 18 months of age, toddlers' empathy‐related responding to the distress of a stranger, a crying baby doll, and the mother was assessed. A series of hierarchical and logistic regressions were performed, and results indicated that infant fear predicted higher concerned awareness toward adults and higher personal distress reactions toward the mother. In addition, maternal responsivity predicted higher concerned attention and lower personal distress reactions toward the baby doll and mother. Findings also revealed several interaction effects to predict toddlers' empathy‐related responding to distress.     

Coping with Family Conflict and Economic Strain: The Adolescent Perspective

This study tested two models of family economic problems and adolescent psychological adjustment. Using adolescents’ survey data and information regarding school lunch program enrollment, the associations among family SES, perceived economic strain, family conflict, and coping responses were examined in a sample of 364 adolescents from rural New England. Two theoretical models were tested using structural equation modeling — one tested coping as a mediator of the stress – psychopathology relation and the other tested coping as a moderator. Results revealed that family economic hardship was related to aggression and anxiety/depression primarily through two proximal stressors: perceived economic strain and conflict among family members. Family conflict partially mediated the relation between economic strain and adolescent adjustment, and coping further mediated the relation between family conflict and adjustment. These analyses identified two types of coping that were associated with fewer anxiety/depression and aggression problems in the face of these stressors — primary and secondary control coping. Although primary and secondary control coping were associated with fewer adjustment problems, youth who were experiencing higher amounts of stress tended to use less of these potentially helpful coping strategies and used more of the potentially detrimental disengagement coping. The models did not differ according to the age or gender of the adolescents, nor whether they lived with two parents or fewer. No support was found for coping as a moderator of stress. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research involving coping with economic stressors are reviewed.     

Post-migratory milieu and the wellbeing of adolescent immigrants

Viewed from a psychoanalytic-developmental perspective, migration recaptures separation individuation conflicts and therefore may hinder or facilitate the personal development of adolescents. One of the factors that determine the outcome of migration in adolescents is the post-migratory milieu. The focus of this study is on an educational-residential program for unaccompanied adolescent immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel that provides a structured and supportive post-migratory milieu. The respondents were 573 students in the program, aged 14–18. They reported a lower level of psychological distress than that previously found among their peers who immigrated with their parents and were living in the community. Group support and positive relationships with surrogate parental figures were among the strongest predictors of psychological wellbeing. These results and implications of the study, beyond the specific program and setting, are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Emotion Expression in Low-Income Adolescents Under Stress

Gender roles in mainstream US culture suggest that girls express more happiness, sadness, anxiety, and shame/embarrassment than boys, while boys express more anger and externalizing emotions, such as contempt. However, gender roles and emotion expression may be different in low-income and ethnically diverse families, as children and parents are often faced with greater environmental stressors and may have different gender expectations. This study examined gender differences in emotion expression in low-income adolescents, an understudied population. One hundred and seventy nine adolescents (aged 14–17) participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Trained coders rated adolescents’ expressions of happiness, sadness, anxiety, shame/embarrassment, anger, and contempt during the TSST using a micro-analytic coding system. Analyses showed that, consistent with gender roles, girls expressed higher levels of happiness and shame than boys; however, contrary to traditional gender roles, girls showed higher levels of contempt than boys. Also, in contrast to cultural stereotypes, there were no differences in anger between boys and girls. Findings suggest gender-role inconsistent displays of externalizing emotions in low-income adolescents under acute stress, and may reflect different emotion socialization experiences in this group.     

Therapeutic Use of Fact Sheets in Family Therapy with Children and Adolescents With Functional Somatic Symptoms

Functional somatic symptoms signal distress and reflect an activation of the body's stress‐regulation systems. Many different types of stressors – physical, emotional or both – may activate the body's stress‐regulation systems. If stress‐related disruptions are extreme or are not limited in time, functional somatic symptoms may emerge, signalling that the body remains in a state of activation and somatic distress. In this paper, we describe the development of therapeutic fact sheets, which are used as part of our multimodal, family‐based, rehabilitation intervention for children and adolescents presenting with functional somatic symptoms. The fact sheets provide information about functional somatic symptoms – including their assessment and treatment – from a stress‐system framework. They are used in the context of a family intervention to facilitate engagement with the family and to reduce parental anxiety and reactivity. Whilst the fact sheets were initially developed for parents, over time we found that the sheets were also useful in managing anxiety in the medical and school systems. A key goal of this article is to share this resource with other clinicians working with children/adolescents with functional somatic symptoms.     

Quality of life among U.S. Army spouses during the Iraq war

ABSTRACT

During the course of previous military conflicts, attention has been focused on separations experienced by service members and their loved ones. This study utilized the ABC-X model of Family Stress and Resiliency Theory to provide information about specific family and parental stressors, family coping, appraisal of stress and coping abilities, and quality of life for spouses at various stages of a recent military deployment. Three groups of spouses differed primarily for levels of family stress and quality of life. In addition to comparative analysis, path analyses were conducted for each group to determine the influence of stressors, coping, wellbeing, and sense of coherence on quality of life. The model for the group of spouses with service members deployed longest accounted for the greatest amount of variability in quality of life. Implications for family counseling, social work practice, and community policy have been provided.     

Microaggressions and Islamophobia: Experiences of Muslims Across the United States and Clinical Implications

This mixed methods exploratory study illustrates the influence of pervasive misconceptions about Islam on the experiences of 314 adult Muslims across the United States. Quantitative results suggest that Muslim stress levels are comparable to the stress levels of other marginalized groups in the United States. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes that highlight the challenges faced by Muslims as well as their resiliency in the face of microaggressions and marginalization. Family therapists may utilize these personal accounts to expand their understanding of Muslim experiences, and to reflect on their own implicit biases toward Muslims in order to reduce chances of premature termination. Clinical implications include using resiliency‐based models and creating collaborative partnerships with community leaders when working with this religious minority group.     

Personal Characteristics, Unemployment, and Anxiety among Highly Educated Immigrants

This exploratory study examines the relationship between personal resources (sense of potency, marital quality, social support from family and friends), the duration of unemployment, and the level of state anxiety experienced by highly educated, unemployed, middle‐aged immigrants. Studying the anxiety levels among populations at‐risk such as unemployed immigrants is particularly important in the context of situations of military conflict. In such situations, when formal support systems are in the process of erosion, the unemployed must increasingly rely on social and familial support. The following measures were examined in an anonymous, self‐report questionnaire: potency (defined as a person's enduring confidence in his/her own capacities and confidence in, and commitment to, his/her social environment which is perceived as being characterized by a basically meaningful order and just distribution of rewards), social support from friends and family, marital quality, and state anxiety. Results indicate that personal resources – particularly potency and social support from family – predicted the level of state anxiety among immigrants. Duration of unemployment was also positively correlated with state anxiety. A major recommendation that emerges is the need to foster the development of social support groups consisting of both veterans and new immigrants in order to broaden the social ties of the immigrants. This may assist newcomers not only in finding jobs, but also in coping with political and economic uncertainties in a new cultural context.     

Proactive coping with discrimination: A mediator between ethnic-racial socialization and Latinx youth's internalizing symptoms

There is a dearth of knowledge in the coping literature on how minoritized youth cope with racism-related stressors and the predictors of effective coping responses. This two-wave study examined the direct and indirect effects of ethnic-racial socialization on depressive and anxiety symptoms via proactive coping with discrimination in a community sample of 135 Latinx adolescents (M_age = 16, SD = 1.27; 59% female). Results indicate that cultural socialization was related to higher use of proactive coping with discrimination 6 months later, which in turn, was related to fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. There were no direct or indirect effects between preparation for bias and mental health outcomes.     

Education and the activation, course, and management of anger

Using data from the 1996 General Social Survey, I examine education's association with the activation, course, and management of anger. I argue that education--as a source of stratification (status) and as a personal resource (human capital)--organizes the conditions that influence anger-related processes. In analyses of anger activation, education is associated with lower odds of family-related anger. The well educated have fewer children and more income--factors associated with a lower risk of family anger. Conversely, education is associated with higher odds of work-related anger, but income and personal control account for that association. In analyses of the course of anger, I document a nonlinear association between education and anger duration. Adjustment for the sense of control--which is negatively associated with anger duration--sharpens that parabolic association. Education is positively associated with perceived appropriateness of anger and negatively associated with the display of anger. In both cases, adjustment for control accounts for education's effect. The sense of control also suppresses education's significant positive effect on anger processing. In analyses of anger management, education increases the odds of cognitive flexibility and problem solving, but its effect on communication depends on the sense of control. In sum, education organizes personal and social circumstances that influence anger-related processes.     

Attributions and coping in sexually abused adolescents referred for group treatment

This study aims to assess the predictive value of two sets of variables, self-attributions, and coping behaviors, on sexually abused (SA) teenagers' functioning, while controlling for abuse-related and family variables. A total of 103 female adolescents completed self-report measures to assess their psychological functioning in terms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, sexual concerns, dissociation, anger, their self-injurious behaviors, antisocial behaviors, and drug use. After controlling for SA and family characteristics, final regression models indicate that attributions and coping behaviors explained between 22% and 39% of additional unique variance for seven out of the nine measures of adolescent functioning. Attributions and coping behaviors did not significantly explain additional variance for scores of antisocial behaviors and drug use. Personal attributions of blame for negative events were the strongest predictors of adolescents' functioning. Implications for future research and interventions are highlighted.     

Negative situation appraisal and mental well-being among refugees in Germany: Serial mediation by religious coping and sense of coherence

It has been widely demonstrated that pre- and post-migration experiences can be highly traumatic for refugees. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating effects of religious coping and sense of coherence on the association of negative dysfunctional situation appraisal and mental well-being among refugees. Paper surveys were completed by 600 people representing various refugee groups (mostly from Mashreq Countries) in German Bavaria, aged 18–65. Mediation analysis revealed that negative religious coping and sense of coherence singly and serially mediated the relationship between negative dysfunctional situation appraisal and well-being, whereas positive religious coping did not have statistically significant relationships with these variables. The data obtained suggest that the negative religious coping style and sense of coherence are two important targets for future experimental studies, and interventions on them may bring the synergistic effect on improving mental well-being in refugees.     

Collective threat, trust, and the sense of personal control

A threatening and dangerous neighborhood may produce distressing emotions of anxiety, anger, and depression among the individuals who live there because residents find these neighborhoods subjectively alienating. The author introduces the idea that neighborhood disorder indicates collective threat, which is alienating-shaping perceptions of powerlessness and mistrust. The author presents a theory of trust that posits that mistrust develops in places where resources are scarce and threat is common and among individuals with few resources and who feel powerless to avoid or manage the threat. Perceived powerlessness develops with exposure to uncontrollable, negative conditions such as crime, danger, and threat in one's neighborhood. Thus, neighborhood disorder, common in disadvantaged neighborhoods, influences mistrust directly and indirectly by increasing perceptions of powerlessness among residents, which amplify disorder's effect on mistrust. The very thing needed to protect disadvantaged residents from the negative effects of their environment-a sense of personal control-is eroded by that environment in a process that the author calls structural amplification. Powerlessness and mistrust in turn are distressing, increasing levels of anxiety, anger, and depression.