Endurance is to be shown at the first blow: Social representations and reactions to traumatic experiences in the Gaza Strip.

Abstract

Research and clinical practice in the field of trauma has emphasized the construct of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, trauma has broader meanings that reflect its impact on the fabric of social life and that may be relevant to clinical understanding and intervention. This article illustrates the larger meanings of trauma with data from a pilot study designed to investigate the social representations of trauma and ways in which trauma is defined (i.e., meanings assigned to trauma) among Palestinians living in protracted conflict situations in the Gaza Strip. Ethnographic interviews conducted with key informants living in the Gaza Strip suggest that social representations and meaning of trauma can be classified into three main types according to the level and nature of the symptoms associated with the experience, severity, patterns of resort to treatment, and long-term effects: sadma (trauma as a sudden blow with immediate impact), faji’ah (tragedy), and musiba (calamity). Sadma is used metaphorically to refer to painful events that happen suddenly. Faji’ah is used to describe the reaction to an extraordinary event, mainly the loss of a loved one. Musiba is used when traumatic events are persistent and have long-term consequences. Popular descriptions and relationships among these terms and their meanings and relationships to common idioms of distress are illustrated. Examining cultural variations in the understanding and expression of trauma-related distress has implications for the definition of trauma-related disorders in psychiatric nosology, as well as for the design and delivery of culturally appropriate clinical and community interventions.

Documenting the complex relationship between self-efficacy, resiliency, and workplace empowerment: a case study of humanitarian workers in Palestine

“…The same authors also note differences regarding Western perspectives that emphasize individual experience and personal success whereas in Arab contexts, group membership and service is tied to personal well-being. Afana (2012) and colleagues (Afana et al 2010) cautioned the uncritical application of the Western understanding of trauma to Palestinians as they may ignore locally derived expressions of distress and cultural meanings applied to traumatic events. In the future, additional qualitative analyses of questions concerning resilience, self-efficacy, and sub-factors of workplace empowerment may provide further detail to the preliminary interpretations offered herein.…”

Conceptualizing the well-being of helpers living and working in war-like conditions: A mixed-method approach

“…For example, an intervention exclusively targeting the domain of subjective mental health would provide a limited and inadequate response to the complex demands of a country experiencing an ongoing, irresolvable political conflict (Afana et al, 2010). In contrast, participative programs aimed at enabling community and societal resources, can be useful tools for promoting global health, human rights and social justice in the OPT (Veronese et al, 2010).…”

Culturally shared metaphors expand contemporary concepts of resilience and post-traumatic growth: contrasting an indigenous Brazilian community and a Swiss rural community

“…Meaning-making can be understood as ‘a process in which people engage to reduce discrepancy’ (p259) or a search for comprehensibility and significance 68. Like this study, research conducted in the Gaza Strip revealed that severe adversity was described as musiba , meaning ‘a test by Allah’74 that requires endurance. Other studies have also shown that making meaning through aspects of religion can help people to overcome adversity, especially in the context of bereavement 75.…”