Exposure of Palestinian Youth to Political Violence and Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: The Role of Gender, Self-Esteem, and Social Support

This study adopts a resource-oriented approach to examine the direct, indirect, and moderating effects of self-esteem (SE), perceived social support (PSS), and gender on the relationship between exposure to political violence (EPV) and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Previous research has shown that despite being less frequently exposed to political violence than males, females, including adolescent girls, tend to report higher levels of mental health problems. Building on these findings, the present study explores gender differences in the mediating and moderating pathways linking EPV to mental health outcomes. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of 2,721 Palestinian adolescents ( M age = 16.01, SD = 0.94; 58% girls) residing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Findings indicated that EPV was associated with both internalizing and externalizing symptoms across the sample. Girls reported higher levels of internalizing symptoms than boys following EPV. Moderation analyses revealed that SE mitigated the effects of EPV on symptoms among both genders, particularly among girls. In contrast, PSS did not significantly moderate these relationships. A sequential mediation pathway emerged, showing that low SE was associated with lower levels of PSS among girls. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for gender differences in understanding resilience to political violence. They highlight the complex interplay of protective and risk factors shaping the psychological functioning of youth in politically unstable environments.