Cairo Arafat - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Cairo Arafat

Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 2013

Despite increasing evidence in the public health field about the prevalence of adverse childhood ... more Despite increasing evidence in the public health field about the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the general population, little is known about the prevalence of ACEs among social service providers. Trauma backgrounds may influence both worker susceptibility to vicarious traumatization as well as clinical decision making. Similarly, individuals with trauma backgrounds are vulnerable to re-enactment of their history. With pressure on social service agencies to demonstrate successful client outcomes, it is critical that agencies explore factors that influence high-quality care. This exploratory study is the first investigation of ACE prevalence among workers in an agency that provides residential treatment, day treatment, and schooling for children with histories of trauma. Study results suggest a high prevalence of ACEs among these workers.

A pre-and post-test study assessed the effects of Israeli and Palestinian children's viewing of R... more A pre-and post-test study assessed the effects of Israeli and Palestinian children's viewing of Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim, a television series presenting messages of mutual respect and understanding. Israeli-Jewish, Palestinian-Israeli, and Palestinian preschoolers (N ¼ 275) were interviewed about their social judgments. Results showed that although some of the children had negative conceptions about adult Arabs and Jews, children, on the whole, did not invoke these stereotypes when evaluating peer conflict situations between Israeli and Palestinian children. Exposure to the programme was linked to an increase in children's use of both prosocial justifications to resolve conflicts and positive attributes to describe members of the other group. Palestinian children's abilities to identify symbols of their own culture increased over time. The results indicate the effectiveness of media-based interventions such as Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim on countering negative stereotypes by building a peer-oriented context that introduces children to the everyday lives of people from different cultures.

Range, means, and standard deviations for mental suffering measures, by region and gende... more Range, means, and standard deviations for mental suffering measures, by region and gender, main sample.</p

Frequency distributions (presented as percentages) for mental suffering variables, main ... more Frequency distributions (presented as percentages) for mental suffering variables, main sample.</p

Inter-item consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for psychological functioning scales, by gende... more Inter-item consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for psychological functioning scales, by gender and region, within three datasets.</p

Bivariate correlations among mental suffering scales, by gender and region within three ... more Bivariate correlations among mental suffering scales, by gender and region within three datasets.</p

Journal of Palestine Studies, 2016

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The Lancet, 2017

Background Most studies of political conflict rely on imported measures of mental health. We iden... more Background Most studies of political conflict rely on imported measures of mental health. We identified and tested a local definition of suffering in the occupied Palestinian territory that we labelled "Feeling Broken or Destroyed". Methods The construct was identified in group interviews completed in Arabic in 2010, with 68 residents as the total sample size from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip aged 30-40 years. Survey items were then written and given to a representative sample of people (same age group in the same territories) in June 2011 (n=508; study 1), and November 2011 (n=1778; study 2). All data were collected with written consent by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, who purposively selected participants to represent key elements of diversity in Palestinian society.

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2015

Figure. Ultrasound image of superficial cervical plexus block. SCM: sternocleidomastoid muscle.

PloS one, 2016

This mixed-methods exploratory study identified and then developed and validated a quantitative m... more This mixed-methods exploratory study identified and then developed and validated a quantitative measure of a new construct of mental suffering in the occupied Palestinian territory: feeling broken or destroyed. Group interviews were conducted in 2011 with 68 Palestinians, most aged 30-40, in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip to discern local definitions of functioning. Interview participants articulated of a type of suffering not captured in existing mental health instruments used in regions of political conflict. In contrast to the specific difficulties measured by depression and PTSD (sleep, appetite, energy, flashbacks, avoidance, etc.), participants elaborated a more existential form of mental suffering: feeling that one's spirit, morale and/or future was broken or destroyed, and emotional and psychological exhaustion. Participants articulated these feelings when describing the rigors of the political and economic contexts in which they live. We wrote survey ...

Social science & medicine (1982), 2014

Too little is known about human functioning amidst chronic adversity. We addressed that need by s... more Too little is known about human functioning amidst chronic adversity. We addressed that need by studying adult Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), a population that has experienced longstanding economic and political hardships. Fourteen group interviews were conducted in February, 2010 in Arabic by local fieldworkers with 68 participants representing the main stratifications of Palestinian society: gender, region, refugee status, and political affiliation. Interview tasks included each participant: describing someone doing well and not well, free listing domains of functioning, and prioritizing domains to the three most important. Thematic analyses highlighted the dominating role of the political domain of functioning (e.g., political structures, constraints, effects, identity, and activism) and the degree to which political conditions impacted all other realms of functioning (economic, education, family, psychological, etc.). The discussion links the finding...

The Lancet, 2013

Background Research into the eff ects of political confl ict has focused predominantly on the ass... more Background Research into the eff ects of political confl ict has focused predominantly on the association between exposure to violence and psychological trauma. This focus was expanded by investigation of the association of a broad array of political and economic factors with four health outcomes in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Methods The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Ramallah, West Bank, oPt, undertook household interviews in 2011 with a representative sample of 508 people aged 30-40 years. Interviews included culturallyinformed questions about current wellbeing and past political and economic experiences. Health outcomes were assessed as limitations on functioning due to health (one item, 1 [never] to 5 [regularly]); feeling broken or destroyed (six items, α=0•81, range 1-5) such as the extent to which respondents felt emotionally exhausted or their spirits broken; feelings of depression (eight items, α=0•84, 0-3); and trauma-related stress (17 items on the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, α=0•92, 0-3). Political and economic conditions were assessed as 34 outcomes, including human insecurity (fi ve items, α=0•80, 1-5) such as the extent to which respondents felt fear for themselves or their family in their daily life and the extent to which they worry or fear for their and their family's future; resource inadequacy (six items, α=0•84, 1-5); heard or felt eff ects of a bomb (one item, 0-1); or was hit, kicked, shot at, or verbally abused (three items, α=0•83, 1-5). Data were analysed with ordered logit and ordinary least-squares regression models using Stata (version 12.1). The study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. All participants provided written informed consent. Findings 508 (97%) of 524 households took part in the interviews. When other covariates were controlled for, human insecurity and inadequacy of economic resources were positively associated with all four health outcomes: functional limitations (odds ratio 1•29, p=0•029, and 1•43, p<0•001, respectively), feeling broken or destroyed (β=0•29, p<0•001; and β=0•24, p<0•001, respectively), feelings of depression (β=0•11, p=0•001, and β=0•18, p<0•001, respectively), and trauma-related stress (β=0•18, p<0•001, and β=0•09, p=0•003, respectively). Direct personal exposure to political violence was related only to trauma-related stress (heard or felt eff ects of a bomb β=0•13, p=0•049); ever hit, kicked, shot at, or verbally abused by the Israeli Defense Forces (β=0•07, p=0•008). Interpretation These fi ndings support the increasing recognition that human insecurity and chronic economic constraints in the oPt threaten health, perhaps more so than does direct exposure to violence. Funding Jacobs Foundation. Contributors CM did the statistical analysis and wrote the Abstract with input from BKB, CS, and RG. BKB, CM, and CS designed the survey questionnaire with extensive input from RG, CA, EES, MD, and MAM. Confl icts of interest We declare that we have no confl icts of interest.

Global Public Health, 2014

The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with p... more The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

Journal of traumatic stress, 2015

Political imprisonment is a traumatic event, often accompanied by torture and deprivation. This s... more Political imprisonment is a traumatic event, often accompanied by torture and deprivation. This study explores the association of political imprisonment between 1987 and 2011 with political, economic, community, psychological, physical, and family functioning in a population-based sample of Palestinian men ages 32-43 years (N = 884) derived from a dataset collected in 2011. Twenty-six percent (n = 233) had been politically imprisoned. Men imprisoned between 1987 and 2005 reported functioning as well as never-imprisoned men in most domains, suggesting that men imprisoned as youth have moved forward with their lives in ways similar to their nonimprisoned counterparts. In an exception to this pattern, men imprisoned during the Oslo Accords period (1994-1999) reported higher levels of trauma-related stress (B = 0.24, p = .027) compared to never-imprisoned men. Men imprisoned since 2006 reported lower functioning in multiple domains: human insecurity (B = 0.33, p = .023), freedom of publ...

The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Parliament o... more The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to support research designed to adapt science and technology to the needs of developing countries. The Centre's activity is concentrated in six sectors: agriculture, food and nutrition sciences; health sciences; information sciences; social sciences; earth and engineering sciences; and communications. IDRC is financed solely by the Parliament of Canada; its policies, however, are set by an international Board of Governors. The Centre's headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada. Regional offices are located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Le Centre de recherches pour le développement international, société publique créée en 1970 par une loi du Parlement canadien, a pour mission d'appuyer des recherches visant à adapter la science et la technologie aux besoins des pays en développement; il concentre son activité dans six secteurs : agriculture, alimentation et nutrition; information; santé; sciences sociales; sciences de la terre et du génie et communications. Le CROI est financé entièrement par le Parlement canadien, mais c'est un Conseil des gouverneurs international qui en détermine l'orientation et les politiques. Établi à Ottawa (Canada), il a des bureaux régionaux en Afrique, en Asie, en Amérique latine et au Moyen-Orient. El Centro Internacional de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo es una corporaci6n publica creada en 1970 por el Parlamento de Canada con el objeto de apoyar la investigaci6n destinada a adaptar la ciencia y la tecnologia a las necesidades de los paises en desarrollo. Su actividad se concentra en seis sectores: ciencias agricolas, alimentos y nutrici6n; ciencias de la salud; ciencias de la informaci6n; ciencias sociales; ciencias de la tierra e ingenieria; y comunicaciones. El Centro es financiado exclusivamente por el Parlamento de Canada; sin embargo, sus politicas son trazadas por un Consejo de Gobernadores de caracter internacional.

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