Resiliency, a Mediator between War Experience and Internalising and Externalising Behaviour: The case of Lebanon post July 2006 war

During the Lebanese-Israeli war of July 2006, Lebanese adolescents have been exposed to a large number of traumatic events such as shelling, displacement, witnessing violence, injuries, and the loss of family members and friends. This said, very few studies have been found that look at the relation between war experience and children's and adolescents' aggressive behaviours. This study investigated the post-traumatic-growth of Lebanese after the war in 2006 and its relation to resiliency, and internalising and externalising behaviour in a sample of 549 Lebanese adolescents from four main regions in Lebanon (Beirut, South, BekaaValley and the North of Lebanon). Resiliency was found to mediate between war traumas and internalising behaviours in a sample of Lebanese adolescents from the South of Lebanon and the BekaaValley. More specifically, emotional reactivity was found to mediate the relation between shelling and internalising behaviour in a sample of Lebanese adolescents from the South of Lebanon, whereas sense of relatedness was found to mediate the relation between involvement in hostilities and internalising behaviours in a sample of Lebanese adolescents from the BekaaValley. 1. Introduction Research around the impact of armed conflict on children and adolescents' psychological state has increased in recent years, 1 yet the issue is still minimally addressed. Children and adolescents have been murdered, raped, and exposed to all sort of brutality. 2 In the midst of the Lebanese-Israeli war of July 2006, Lebanese adolescents were exposed to shelling, displacement, witnessing violence, injuries, and the loss of family members and friends. Despite that, adolescents during and after war still rarely receive the attention and assistance needed to cope with such traumatic experiences. Furthermore, very few studies have been found that explicitly examine the relation between war experience and children's and adolescents' aggressive behaviours. Children and adolescents who have experienced war are sometimes described as aggressive and revengeful. However evidence supporting the claim about aggressiveness among war-traumatised adolescents is sparse and contradictory. The argument that the