Coping Strategies and Personal Growth: The Case of Palestinian Refugees in Shatila Camp, Lebanon

Abstract

This study adopted a mixed research design in order to find out the coping strategies that Palestinian adolescent refugees use in Shatila camp and explore the relationship between the coping strategies they utilize and their personal growth post experiencing stressful events. The purpose of this study was to: (a) determine what coping strategies are prevalent and mostly used by adolescent Palestinian refugees who have faced stressful events (b) explore the relation between coping strategies used by these refugees and their posttraumatic growth, and (c) identify the predictors of posttraumatic growth factors among refugees. Data was collected using two questionnaires and a checklist: (a) LEC-5 checklist as an assessment tool to make sure that all the participants have faced or experienced stressful events; (b) questionnaires including the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) in order to find out the style of coping refugees used, and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) in order to identify the factors of growth refugees developed as a result of using different coping strategies. The sample consisted of 60 adolescents at one of the centers in the camp (31 females and 29 males) who have benefited from counseling services at the Center. Adolescent refugees’ performance on the checklist and questionnaires revealed prevalence of stressors among the refugees. As for WCQ, the coping strategies mostly utilized were problem focused coping strategies. As for PTGI, there was a correlation among its factors and some coping strategies, and there were coping strategies used that predict the development of growth among. Finally, as for the counseling and training programs and services, interventions and guidance services seems to better prepare refugees to handle and cope with stress that they might encounter in order to develop personal growth. Keywords: coping strategies, growth, stressors, emotion-based strategies, problem-based strategies.