Traumatic grief, health and mental health in Palestine: the mediating role of posttraumatic growth and resilience

Background: Palestinian youth have faced considerable mental health challenges due to the traumatic impact of war-related losses, prompting research into the psychological effects of such experiences. These challenges include impaired physical and psy-chological health, which are often exacerbated by grief from violent losses. Understanding the factors that influence their psychological well-being and recovery, such as posttraumatic growth and resilience, is crucial for developing effective inter-ventions. Participants and procedure: We administered the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, Traumatic Grief Inventory-Self Report Version, Resilience Scale for Adults, and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form to 520 Palestinian youth (240 males, 280 females). Participants’ age ranged from 23 to 58 years (M = 35.3, SD = 12.27). Structural equation modeling tested the mediating roles of posttraumatic growth and resilience on the relation-ship between traumatic grief and mental health symptoms. Results: Palestinians exposed to war-related losses exhibited impaired physical and psychological health, with traumatic grief nega-tively correlated with resilience (r = –.54), posttraumatic growth (r = –.36), mental health (r = –.55), and health (r = –.64) (all p < .01). Resilience and posttraumatic growth were positively correlated with mental health (r = .68, p < .01) and health (r = .56, p < .01). Structural equation modeling revealed a significant indirect effect of traumatic grief on both mental health (βX,M = –.55, p < .001) and health (βX,M = –.64, p < .001), mediated by resilience (βX,M = .12, p < .05) and posttraumatic growth (βX,M = .21, p < .01). Conclusions: Interventions should extend beyond symptom elimination, focusing on promoting the flourishing and well-being of individu-als affected by war and violence. Combining clinical work with well-being promotion is crucial to alleviate the burdens of violent loss among war and violence victims.