title: In times of war, adolescents do not fall silent: Teacher-student social network communication in wartime.
abstract: Exposure to war is associated with psychological disturbances, but ongoing communication between adolescents and teachers may contribute to adolescents' resilience. This study examined the extent and nature of teacher-student communication on Social Network Sites (SNS) during the 2014 Israel-Gaza war. Israeli adolescents (N = 208, 13-18 yrs) completed information about SNS communication. A subset of these (N = 145) completed questionnaires on social rejection and distress sharing on SNS. More than a half (56%) of the respondents communicated with teachers via SNS. The main content category was 'emotional support'. Adolescents' perceived benefits from SNS communication with teachers were associated with distress sharing. Social rejection was negatively associated with emotional support and perceived benefits from SNS communication. We conclude that SNS communication between teachers and students may provide students with easy access to human connections and emotional support, which is likely to contribute to adolescents' resilience in times of war.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: yaakov.ophir@mail.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Yaakov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ophir
authors.affiliation: School of Communication, Ariel University, Israel; School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Hananel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Christa S C
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Asterhan
authors.affiliation: School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Baruch B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Schwarz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014857:Warfare
keywords: Adolescents; Emotional support; Social network sites; Teachers; Teacher–student communication; War