War-related and minority-related stressors and posttraumatic stress symptoms among Palestinian Arab grandmothers in Israel: a resource-based mediation model.

BACKGROUND

Exposure to armed conflict is associated with elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Ethnic minority groups may also face minority-related stressors, such as discrimination and silencing, that compound psychological vulnerability. Conservation of resources theory suggests that loss of valued personal and social resources may help explain PTSS under prolonged adversity. Palestinian Arab grandmothers in Israel remain understudied despite central roles in multigenerational collectivist family systems, which may intensify during collective threat and heighten vulnerability to posttraumatic stress.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined associations of grandchild caregiving, war-related trauma, and minority-related stressors with PTSS among Palestinian Arab grandmothers in Israel, and whether resource loss and gain mediated these associations.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 112 Palestinian Arab grandmothers (Mean age = 58.50, SD = 6.60) during a period of continuous war-related traumatic stress. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire.

RESULTS

Mean PTSS was 2.27 (SD = 1.41, range=0-4), indicating a moderate PTSS level. Most participants (93.7%) reported at least one war-related traumatic event, and 34.8% reported at least one minority-related stressor. Weekly grandchild caregiving hours were not associated with PTSS. In regression analyses, minority-related stress remained significantly associated with PTSS (β = .20, p<.05), whereas war-related exposure did not (β = .16, p >.05). Resource loss remained significant in the final model (β=.25, p<.05), which explained 22% of PTSS variance (R2=.22, p <.001). Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of minority-related stress on PTSS through resource loss (ab=.05, 95% CI [0.0012,0.1196]).

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions targeting minority-related stress and preserving psychosocial resources may benefit Palestinian Arab grandmothers in contexts of ongoing conflict.