Measuring Well-Being in Israel and Palestine: The Subjective Well-Being Assessment Scale

Trajectories of quality of life and mental health during the Covid-19 lockdown and six months after in Italy. A longitudinal exploration

Aim

Covid-19 pandemic and its relative containment measures have affected populations' quality of life and psychological well-being worldwide. The fear related to the pandemic and the imposed containment measures has acted as a trigger causing a global increase in negative mental health states. Thus, we aimed to explore the relationship between fear of covid-19 and mental health via QoL (the first and the second lockdown in Italy, 2020).

Subject and methods

Through a quantitative cross-lagged path model research design, the study investigates people's fear of Covid-19, quality of life, and negative mental states in a population of 444 Italian adults (Mean=40.7; Standard Deviation=16.9; 80% women), in the period between the first and the second waves of the pandemic.

Results

Results show that participants' Covid-19 fear decreased between waves, contributing to a decrease in negative mental states (stress, anxiety and depression), thus improving the perceived quality of life. Furthermore, quality of life emerged as able to buffer the impact of fear of Covid on people's psychological distress in short and medium terms, confirming its central role in regulating mental distress.

Conclusion

The study suggests important guidelines for developing interventions to support the populations' well-being and mental health.

Measuring Traumatic Reactions in Palestinian Children: A Psychometric Assessment of the Children Revised Impact of Event Scale-Arabic Version (CRIES-13A)

The aim of the present study was to test the measurement model and measurement invariance of the Impact of Event Scale (Arabic version) in a large sample of Palestinian children. We estimated (Study 1; n = 610) the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis. In Study 2 (n = 864), we conducted multigroup (girls and boys) tests of measurement invariance. We pooled the data collected from the participants in the first two studies (Study 3, N = 1474) to assess overall score reliability, as well as the IES' convergent and divergent validity vis-à-vis other measures of child wellbeing and mental health. The outcomes of the statistical analyses supported an invariant 13-item measurement model (intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal) for CRIES-13A. Intrusion and hyper-arousal together made up a first-order domain of symptoms (re-experiencing). The combined findings of these studies suggest that the CRIES-13A displays robust psychometric properties and may be used in contexts of military violence.

Measuring agency in children: The development and validation of the War Child Agency Assessment Scale - Palestinian version (WCAAS-Pal)

In the present article, we aimed at construing a new quantitative measure of children's agency in Palestine. Within a socio-ecological and culturally and contextually informed perspective, the study introduces the development of a new instrument to investigate and evaluate children's agentic practices within their living contexts and their daily lives. First, we evaluated the model of measurement of WCAAS-Pal using a sequential exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Following the principles of testing a quantitative measure in the context of the dual-frame sampling method, the process of validating the quantitative measure was conducted on a group of 1166 Palestinian children aged 9 to 14 years (m = 11.58, sd = 1.54). Second, a sample of 251 Palestinian children aged between 9 and 14 years (m = 11.82, sd = 1.53) was used to compute the reliability of the instrument along with both convergent and divergent validity using the Children Hope Scale and the Children Revised Impact of Event Scale-Arabic Version measures, respectively. The results of the EFA suggested a baseline seven-factor structure to be further assessed via CFA. a complex web of agency domains that might contribute to the child psychological functioning when forced to leave in conditions of ongoing threat and military violence emerged from the analysis.

Teacher Confidence in Professional Training: The Predictive Roles of Engagement and Burnout

Teachers’ work engagement positively impacts teachers’ attitudes towards their job. Nevertheless, teachers may experience burnout during their career, which negatively impacts their professional learning opportunities. In this study we investigated the relationship between teachers’ levels of burnout, work engagement, and their confidence in in-service training in a sample of Italian teachers. We expected that burnout mediated the relationship between work engagement and teachers’ confidence in training. A total of 481 teachers completed self-report questionnaires about engagement and burnout, with an ad hoc Confidence in Training Index developed to assess their attitudes towards professional development courses. The mediation analysis confirmed that the teachers’ levels of burnout mediated the relationship between their work engagement and their confidence in in-service training. Findings suggest that teacher confidence in policies about professional training should be evaluated by taking into account their level of engagement and burnout.

Psychometric Properties of the Subjective Wellbeing Assessment Scale—French Version (SWBAS-18F): A Study With Young Refugees and Internally Displaced People in Nigerien Refugee Camps

The aim of our research was to identify an easy-to-administer instrument for evaluating wellbeing in an at-risk population of young internal displaced people and young refugees in sub-Saharan Africa ( N = 462). To this end, we adapted the French-language 17-item version of the Subjective Wellbeing Assessment Scale (SWBAS—French version) and evaluated its factor structure, using a combination of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. We observed five underlying factors (positive functioning, negative functioning, human insecurity, school domain, and social domain) and 17 items. Participants’ scores on the positive functioning, negative functioning, and social domain subscales were associated with their levels of psychological distress, and the statistical outcomes provided support for practical adoption of the instrument. The SWBAS-17F may, therefore, represent user-friendly instruments that practitioners might use alongside adaptations of more traditional diagnostic tools to obtain a complete and holistic assessment of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people.

Measuring subjective well-being in an understudied population of young Western-African IDPs and refugees

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report a real-life empirical case and discuss some caveats emerged in measuring subjective well-being (SWB) in an understudied population of adolescents refugees from West Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

During the process of translation and cultural adaptation of the subjective well-being assessment scale in the target population, the model of measurement presented some weakness with regard to content validity criteria.

Findings

This leads to a partial revision of the model and the development of new locally-based domains of SWB.

Originality/value

Context-specific factors’ robustness showed the dynamic and culture-informed nature of the SWB construct. Practical and theoretical implications of using quantitative questionnaires in non-western contexts characterized by high grades of insecurity and instability will be discussed.

Cultural Predictors of Resilience in a Multinational Sample of Trauma Survivors

The present study aims to fill a gap in the study of resilience to trauma by examining resilience in a culturally diverse population. Approximately 70% of adults across the globe experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, yet resilience is a common response trajectory. This pilot study explored reactions to trauma and psychological resilience in an international sample of trauma-exposed participants. Participants were recruited online using the Amazon Mechanical Turk software and after completing an informed consent, were determined eligible to participate if they endorsed experiencing at least one traumatic event. Eligible participants then completed The Stressful Life Events Questionnaire, Brief Resiliency Scale, Ego Resiliency Scale, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version, Brief Religious Coping Scale, and Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. The final sample included 200 trauma exposed adults from nineteen different countries worldwide, with a majority hailing from the United States, India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Results revealed that Asian participants scored significantly higher on resilience scales and endorsed higher levels of spiritually focused coping than other subgroups. Multivariate analyses revealed that these differences in resilience remained significant even after controlling for sense of ethnic identity and spiritual coping, suggesting that there may be culturally specific predictors of resilience within the Asian subgroup. Understanding variations in resilience will aid in developing culturally tailored interventions and pursuing a strengths-based approach to recovery from trauma. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Perspectives on Social Suffering in Interviews and Drawings of Palestinian Adults Crossing the Qalandia Checkpoint: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

The current study examined the psychological experience of Palestinians who daily cross an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint to reach their schools or places of employment. The study employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews and drawings to capture a depth insight regarding the psychological meaning of crossing the Qalandia checkpoint on a daily basis among 20 adult participants (10 males, 10 females). Three themes emerged. The first theme described deep feelings of distress and desperation and included the categories of humiliation and dehumanization, non-existence, rage, and pessimism and helplessness. The second theme concentrated on the participants’ coping strategies of avoidance and dissociation, which usually characterize maladaptive trauma coping style, as well as exhibited aggressiveness toward their fellow community members, while the third theme described the social fragmentation of the Palestinians’ solidarity. Furthermore, three pictorial phenomena emerged from the participants’ drawings: squared restricted drawings, the use of multiple black tiny objects, and the use of split drawings. These phenomena supported and validated participants’ verbal expressions. We suggest understanding these findings in light of the term “social suffering.”