Impact of traumatic events on coping strategies and their effectiveness among Kurdish children

Abstract

The aims were, first, to identify behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and social coping responses to traumatic and stressful situations, and second, to examine how the nature and severity of traumatic events are associated with coping dimensions. Third, the effectiveness of coping dimensions was evaluated for their ability to buffer the children’s mental health from negative trauma effects. The participants were 153 Kurdish girls and boys (Mean age 12.26 0.14) from Northern Iraq living in both orphanages and family homes. Coping strategies were measured by a cartoon test depicting traumatic and stressful situations to which children responded in their own words. Factor analyses identified Reconstructing, Active Affiliation, Passivity, and Denial as the coping dimensions. The nature of traumatic events determined their impact on coping strategies. Family-related hardships were associated with low Reconstructing, and economic hardships with low Active Affiliation, while military violence was not associated with coping dimensions. The effectiveness of coping dimensions was symptom specific. Active Affiliation moderated between exposure to traumatic events and post-traumatic symptoms and sleeping difficulties, and Denial between exposure to traumatic events and aggressive symptoms. Reconstructing was marginally directly associated with low levels of post-traumatic and aggressive symptoms, but showed no buffering effect. The results failed to substantiate the hypothesis of a wide coping repertoire buffering between exposure to traumatic events and psychological symptoms.