Iraqi adolescents: self-regard, self-derogation, and perceived threat in war.
A year into the 2003 US-Iraq war, how were adolescents in Baghdad faring? Conflict-related events typically lower psychological well-being; in contrast, investment in and protection of threatened identities should lead to self-esteem striving and, presumably, better well-being. How threatened do Iraqi adolescents feel? Is their self-esteem related to their sense of threat? Do age, religion, ethnicity, and gender alter the link between perceived threat and self-esteem? We use data from 1000 randomly selected adolescents living in Baghdad during July 2004. Iraqi adolescents reported high levels of threat; those feeling more threatened reported higher levels of self-esteem. Social background correlates with both self-esteem and perceived threat, but controlling for social background does not eliminate the relationship between self-esteem and perceived threat. We interpret our results in light of theory and research concerning social identity, mortality threats, and war trauma.
Carlton-Ford
Steve
S
Department of Sociology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0378, USA. carltosl@uc.edu
Ender
Morten G
MG
Tabatabai
Ahoo
A
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude / Q000208:ethnology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014857:Warfare