Acoping

Name: Salem E.S. Al –arjani B.S.N, MPH, Community Mental Health Job: Psychologist; European Gaza Hospital Work: Researcher and Lecturer in Al Quds Open-University Gaza Strip Mobile: 00970598-880594 Email: [email protected], [email protected] Publication: Al arjani, S., Thabet, A. and Vostanis, P. (2008). Coping strategies of traumatized children lost their father in the current conflict. Arabpsynet Journal,5 (18-19):226232.

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Coping strategies among Palestinian health sector staff during Israel aggression (war) on Gaza between 27 December, 2008 until 22January, 2009. Salem Al arjani Abstract: The study aimed to examine and investigate the types of coping strategies among Palestinian health sector staff during the war in Gaza and the influences of the war on the ways of coping. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine the most traumatic events that encountered them during this aggression. The researcher used descriptive analytical design to represent the entire sample of the population. The sample consisted of 330 health sector staff (213 male, and 117 female) who was in the work during the war. The instrument that used were socioeconomic questionnaire developed by the researcher; A COPE inventory Arabic version (Al arjani, 2005), and Gaza Traumatic Event Checklist (Thabet, 2004). The major findings were: The most used coping strategies were (1) Planning (85.5%); (2) positive reinterpretation and growth (78.9%); (3) Restraint (75.7%); (4) acceptance (75.6%); (5) active coping (75.2%); (6) religious coping (73.9%); (7) use of emotional social support (73.3%); (8) suppression of competing activities (68.8%); (9) use of instrumental social support (67.6%); (10) focus on and venting of emotions (63.3%); (11) behavioral disengagement (54.2%); (12) mental disengagement (50.4%); (13) denial (49.9%); (14) humor (42.2%); and (15) substance use (27.6%). The most traumatic events were (1) Witnessing photos of martyrs' and injured in TV (86.7%); (2) Witnessing raids attack of houses and streets by missiles (85.5%); (3) Hearing of killing of friend (77.6%); (4) Witnessing neighbors' houses attack by heavy artillery(72.1%); (5) Witnessing friend's house demolition (67.9%); (6) Hearing of killing of close relative (67.0%); (7) Witnessing house attack by heavy artillery (55.2%); (8) Witnessing house demolition (54.2%); and (9) Witnessing shooting of friend by bullets (54.2%). The result found significant differences between levels of religious coping ; positive reinterpretation and growth; mental disengagement; use of instrumental social support; active coping; suppression of competing activities; and planning according to sex with an actual probability (t = 4.29; P<0.001); (t = 5.27; P< 0.001); (t = 2.18; P< 0.05); (t = 2.92; P< 0.05); (t = 5.24; P< 0.001); (t = 4.55; P< 0.001); (t = 9.81; P< 0.001); respectively toward males. But there were significant differences between focus on and venting emotions (t = 3.86-; P< 0.001); denial (t = 4.69-; P< 0.001); behavioral disengagement (t = 2.14-; P< 0.05); and restraint (t = 2.66-; P< 0. 01) according to sex toward female. The results found significant differences between levels of trauma according to sex toward males among health sector staff. Health sector staff reported a variety of traumatic events (mean =10.63; SD=4.11 for male) and (mean= 8.15; SD= 4.72 for females). The result found significant differences between the means of religious coping; mental disengagement; use of instrumental social support; denial; humor; behavioral disengagement; restraint; substance use; acceptance; and planning according to trauma level.

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