title: Political Imprisonment and Adult Functioning: A Life Event History Analysis of Palestinians.
abstract: Political imprisonment is a traumatic event, often accompanied by torture and deprivation. This study explores the association of political imprisonment between 1987 and 2011 with political, economic, community, psychological, physical, and family functioning in a population-based sample of Palestinian men ages 32-43 years (N = 884) derived from a dataset collected in 2011. Twenty-six percent (n = 233) had been politically imprisoned. Men imprisoned between 1987 and 2005 reported functioning as well as never-imprisoned men in most domains, suggesting that men imprisoned as youth have moved forward with their lives in ways similar to their nonimprisoned counterparts. In an exception to this pattern, men imprisoned during the Oslo Accords period (1994-1999) reported higher levels of trauma-related stress (B = 0.24, p = .027) compared to never-imprisoned men. Men imprisoned since 2006 reported lower functioning in multiple domains: human insecurity (B = 0.33, p = .023), freedom of public expression (B = -0.48, p = .017), perceived government stability (B = -0.38, p = .009), feeling broken or destroyed (B = 0.59, p = .001), physical limitations (B = 0.55, p = .002), and community belonging (B = -0.33, p = .048). Findings pointed to the value of examining the effects of imprisonment on functioning in multiple domains.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Clea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McNeely
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.|New America, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spellings
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University, Birzeit, West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giacaman
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, Ramallah, West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
authors.forename: Cairo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arafat
authors.affiliation: Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.affiliation: Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Gaza City, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
authors.forename: Eyad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: El Sarraj
authors.affiliation: Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
authors.forename: Mohammed Abu
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mallouh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008603:Mental Health; D011057:Politics; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012929:Psychological Distance; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology