Hope and life satisfaction in Palestinian children victim of military violence: The predictive role of agency, potentially traumatic experiences and symptoms of trauma

Background: Children exposed political violence deploy resources to maintain functioning, hope and life satisfaction. Objective: We sought to explore whether or not children promote hope and life satisfaction trough agency, psychological difficulties, potentially traumatic experiences and symptoms in Palestine. Participants and setting: 965 children (494 males and 471 females) in multiple geographical contexts, and areas were involved. Methods: We administered the War Child Agency Assessment Scale, Child Hope Scale, Multilevel Students'Life Satisfaction Scale-Bref, the Strength and difficulties scale, the Child Revised Impact of events Scale, and Trauma Checklist, and performed regression analysis; hope and life satisfaction were dependent and agency, strength and difficulties, trauma symptoms and traumatic events independent variables. Results: Specific forms of agency predicted life satisfaction (β = 0.219; ** p < .01, social agency; β = 0.11; ** p < .01, with agency in education) and hope (β = 0.07; ** p < .05, agency on free movement), while mental difficulties (conduct problems, β = −0.09; ** p < .01; hyperactivity, β = −0.07; ** p < .05; β = −0.15; ** p < .01 with life satisfaction) (conduct problems, β = −0.06; ** p < .05, and difficulties in pro-social behaviour, β = −0.21; ** p < .01 with hope), traumatic events (β = −0.16; ** p < .01, with life satisfaction; β = −0.15; ** p < .01, with hope) and trauma symptoms (β = −0.09; ** p < .05, with hope) were negatively associated with the dependents variables. Conclusions: We found a positive role of social, educational, and freedom of movement agentic behaviours in fostering hope and life satisfaction.