Psychological symptomatology among Palestinian adolescents living with political violence

Background: The study examined the impact of the level of exposure to political violence on the psychological symptomatology of Palestinian adolescents in the West Bank, an area affected by the ongoing political violence between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Method: A random sample of 1775 participants (54.1% males, 45.9% females) between the ages of 12-18 was administered a self-report questionnaire consisting of three measures: demographic variables, domestic violence, political violence events and psychological symptomatology (BSI). Results: Results indicated that the average psychological symptomatology was higher among those who were exposed to political violence events compared to those who were not; the level of hostility was significantly higher in those who were exposed to each of the political violence events. However, the factors that contributed most to psychological symptomatology were parental violence toward children and violence among siblings.