Sense of coherence, hope, and home demolition are differentially associated with anger and anxiety among Bedouin Arab adolescents in recognized and unrecognized villages.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

This research investigated how coping resources explain emotional reactions of anger and anxiety, in the context of threat of house demolition, among adolescents in three groups: Adolescents living in a recognized village with no demolition, adolescents living in an unrecognized village (by the Israeli government as legal) with no demolition, and adolescents living in an unrecognized village with demolition. The framework of this research is based on Antonovsky's salutogenic theory, which suggests examining ability to cope with stressful situations.

DESIGN

Multi-group cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The study was carried out during 2010-2011 and included 910 participants, of whom 411 adolescents lived in unrecognized villages where 193 of them experienced home demolition. Participants filled out a questionnaire including demographics, coping resources and emotional reactions.

RESULTS

Findings showed that stress reactions were the highest among adolescents from unrecognized villages with demolition. Personal sense of coherence (SOC) was related to fewer emotional reactions among the adolescents from recognized villages; among adolescents from unrecognized villages, especially adolescents living in an unrecognized village with demolition, a stronger SOC was linked to stronger emotional reactions.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have important implications for understanding the role of coping among youth from different cultural groups.