Background

Children affected by war and political violence deploy agentic competencies to cope with trauma symptoms and psychological difficulties. However, it does not always act as a protective factor to help them adjust to potentially traumatic events.

Aims

We expected to explore the association between agency, trauma symptoms and psychological difficulties and the mediating role of hope and life satisfaction in a group of child victims of military violence in Palestine.

Methods

965 children aged 8 to 14 were assessed with self-reported measures, War Child Agency Assessment Scale, Children Revised Impact of events scale, Strengths and difficulties scale, Child Hope Scale and Brief Multidimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale. Structural Equation Modelling was performed having Agency as a predictor, trauma symptoms, psychological difficulties as an outcome variable and life satisfaction and hope as a mediator.

Results

We found a direct and positive effect of agency on trauma symptoms, psychological difficulties, and life satisfaction and hope on the two dependent variables. Life satisfaction and hope mediated the association between agency and the outcome variables.

Conclusion

Agency can help defend children from trauma and psychological maladaptation when it acts on life satisfaction and hope. At the same time, it might worsen psychological dysfunctions when working directly on trauma symptoms and difficulties. Clinical interventions must help children to foster agentic resources in activating hope and life satisfaction.

Title

Journal of Mental Health,

Publisher

Taylor and Fancies

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

2.5

Publication Type

Prtinted only

Volume

33

Year

2024

Pages

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