Coping Resources of Druze and Bedouin Adolescents During the Iron Swords War

Abstract

Abstract

This study examined how social and cultural contexts influence coping resources of Druze and Bedouin in the Iron Swords War in Israel. The two Arab minority groups exposed to similar existential threats but with different cultural backgrounds and relations with the Israeli state were studied. A total of 210 adolescents (115 Druze, 95 Bedouin) aged 15–18 years filled out validated questionnaires on sense of coherence, social support, institutional trust, and post-traumatic growth. Findings indicated that compared to Bedouin adolescents, Druze adolescents demonstrated a higher sense of coherence and institutional trust. Family support served as a universal resource for both groups. Bedouin adolescents displayed stronger relationships between external resources and post-traumatic growth, while Druze adolescents seemed to benefit from internal processes of meaning-making. These findings reveal two distinct pathways to post-traumatic growth shaped by structural position: an externally driven pathway for marginalized populations involving resource mobilization against barriers and an internally driven pathway for integrated populations emphasizing meaning-making. The study demonstrates that resilience is not only individual achievement but a social product, requiring both psychological intervention and structural inclusion to support adolescents during wartime.