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: salem.alarjani@gmail.com, salem@easy.com

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):226-
232.

1
 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.