title: Prolonged displacement may compromise resilience in Eritrean mothers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to assess the impact of prolonged displacement on the resilience of Eritrean mothers.
  
  
  METHODS
  an adapted SOC scale (short form) was administered. Complementary qualitative data were gathered from study participants' spontaneous reactions to and commentaries on the SOC scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Displaced women's SOC scores were significantly less than those of the non-displaced: Mean = 54.84; SD = 6.48 in internally displaced person (IDP) camps, compared to non-displaced urban and rural/pastoralist: Mean = 48. 94, SD = 11.99; t = 3.831, p < .001. Post hoc tests revealed that the main difference is between IDP camp dwellers and urban (non-displaced). Rural but traditionally mobile (pastoralist or transhumant) communities scored more or less the same as the urban non-displaced--i.e., significantly higher than those in IDP camps (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance confirmed that gender is critical: displacement has significantly negative effects on women compared to men: RR = .262, p < .001. SOC scores of urban and pastoralist/transhumant groups were similar, while women in IDP camps were lower scoring--RR = .268, p < .001.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The implications of these findings for health policy are critical. It is incumbent on the international health institutions including the World Health Organization and regional as well as local players to address the plight of internally displaced women, their families and communities in Eritrea and other places of dire conditions such as, for example Darfur in the Sudan.
authors.affiliation: Tufts University, Boston, MA 02155, USA. astier-m.almedom@tufts.edu
authors.forename: Astier
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almedom
authors.forename: Berhe
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tesfamichael
authors.forename: Zein
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mohammed
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mascie-Taylor
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Zemui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Alemu
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D019017:Eritrea; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D012036:Refugees; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires