Exploring Adolescent Community Violence Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Cross‐culturally in Israel

Abstract

Adolescent community violence exposure (CVE) has been linked to posttraumatic stress (PTS) and has been found to vary by race and ethnicity. Little is known about the relationship between adolescent CVE and PTS across ethnic groups in an international context. Arab and Jewish high school students (n = 1571) in Israel completed self‐report questionnaires. Jewish adolescents (n = 821) witnessed more community violence, while Arab adolescents (n = 750) were more likely to victimized in the community and endorse higher levels of PTS. Ethnicity was found to be a significant predictor of PTS when controlling for CVE using hierarchical multiple regression (accounting for 2% of the variance in PTS). Ethnic affiliation did not moderate the relationship between CVE and PTS. These findings add to the small body of literature exploring cross‐cultural differences in CVE and associated psychological distress. Further investigation of CVE and mental health cross‐ethnically is warranted given the disparities in CVE and PTS rates.

Community violence and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in urban youth: The moderating influence of friend and parent support

“…This may lead to avoidance of certain neighborhood areas and cause children to feel hypervigilant for threats and chronically hyperaroused. Although these reactions emerge from real threats that require ongoing vigilance, they can lead to chronic hyperarousal, which increases the risk of developing PTSD and severe PTSD symptoms in these youths (Kendall‐Tackett, ; Klodnick, Guterman, Haj‐Yahia, & Leshem, ; Thompson & Massat, ). Importantly, primary exposure to community violence may affect PTSD symptoms through other pathways, such as increased likelihood for traumatization (Margolin, Vickerman, Oliver, & Gordis, ).…”

Social, family and trauma risk factors for common disorders in Israeli youth

“…Political violence exposure in conflict environments is an important risk factor for behavioural disorders in young people. This finding has important implications for these young people given their general risk of delinquency and antisocial behaviour as a result of living in these environments (Harel-Fisch et al 2012;Klodnick et al 2014). Links between behavior disorders in conflict settings vary depending upon prior risk factors with higher-risk families requiring additional support to deal with the impacts of conflict.…”

“…There is substantial research into the high prevalence of trauma from political events in Israel and Palestine/Gaza. In just over a decade there were two major military offences -the Israel Hezbollah war in Northern Israel in the summer of 2006 and Cast Lead Operation in the winter of 2008 (Klodnick et al 2014;Ron 2014). Despite the volatile context, the incidence of Post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents is low e.g 3% (Dyregrov and Yule 2006;Ruth Pat-4 Horenczyk et al 2009).…”

“…Other Israel based studies have examined trauma impact on emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression (Baker and Shalhoub-Kevorkian 1999;Cohen and Eid 2007;Farbstein et al 2010), aggressive behaviour (Al-Krenawi, Graham, and Kanat-Maymon 2009;R. Pat-Horenczyk, Abramovitz, et al 2007;Yablon, Itzhaky, and Pagorek-Eshel 2011;Klodnick et al 2014;Marie-Alsana, Haj-Yahia, and Greenbaum 2006). Few have investigated behavior disorders such as conduct or attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (Farbstein et al 2010).…”

The characteristics of help seeking among Palestinian adolescents following exposure to community violence

“…Exposure to community violence (ECV) is a global major health problem, affecting the physical and mental wellbeing of adolescents (Haj-Yahia, Leshem, & Guterman, 2011;Klodnick, Guterman, Haj-Yahia, & Leshem, 2014;Vorhies, Guterman, & Haj-Yahia, 2011). ECV is a traumatic event and as such it has been correlated with a wide array of mental health and psychosocial consequences, including increased risk violence perpetration (Fowler et al, 2009), criminal involvement (Guerra, Huesmann, & Spindler, 2003), heightened anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and symptoms of PTSD (Fitzpatrick, Piko, Wright, & LaGory, 2005), risky sexual behavior (Voisin, 2003), greater use of illicit psychoactive substances, and lower academic achievements (Ratner et al, 2006).…”