The Impact of Psychosocial Support Activities on the Resilience of Conflict-Affected Adolescents in Iraq: A Sample of Nineveh Governorate

Abstract

UNHCR has reported that the number of displaced people around the world reached 65 million by the end of 2015, while IOM has reported that the number of displaced individuals in Iraq between 2014 and 2016 reached 3.4 million. Among those individuals affected by conflict and/or crisis, resilience has been proven essential to their survival and well-being. One mode of strengthening this resilience is psychosocial support activities, which provide them with numerous chances to recover, feel better, and thrive. This study examines the resilience of adolescents affected by ongoing crises in Iraq as well the effect of psychosocial support activities on their resilience levels. Employing a quantitative model, this study was conducted by measuring the resilience of participants on two different occasions, before and after their participation in psychosocial support sessions in schools and centers both in camp and non-camp settings.  The results indicate that the participants possessed medium levels of resilience and that the psychosocial support activities had positively affected their resilience levels. Moreover, female participants exhibited higher levels of resilience than did males.

Keywords: Iraq crises, Resilience; Psychosocial support