Conference Agenda

The set of political, social, economic, and environmental factors that result from the occupation has a lasting direct and indirect effect on the well-being of the children exposed to systematic violence. In this study, we explored the impact of systematic violence and military oppression on 22 school-aged youths (M = 12.2; SD =  2.69, 45.5% girls) living in the West Bank. We identified factors associated with children’s maladjustment to potentially traumatic environments and survival skills following a socio-ecological lens. Data were collected through biographical participative interviews. The TCA identified six themes: the pervasiveness of the Israeli violence; the unexpected costs of the pandemic; victims and perpetrators of intra-community violence; everyday acts of happiness (or normalcy); support from families, peers, and community; subverting negative situations and fighting back. Children emerged as continuously engaged in adjustment and readjustment to inhuman living conditions, making normal what is abnormal in their development. The study draws attention to the political antecedent and determinants of the Palestinian children’s actions and reactions to violence, highlighting the impossibility of exploring children’s growth while avoiding political and human rights implications.

The adjustment to civilian life after military retirement can be challenging. According to the literature, a significant number of Veterans find this transition difficult and readjusting to the civilian culture highly stressful. However, in the Indian context, there is still a paucity of research on this transition phenomenon. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the experiences of retired Indian Army officers transitioning from the military to the civilian culture. The study utilized a social constructivism paradigm and an interpretive phenomenological approach to analyze the semi-structured interviews carried out with six participants. Six superordinate themes evolved – ‘the army as a way of life’, ‘decisions to retire’, ‘civilian cultural mismatch’, ‘tribulations of transitioning’, ‘the deeply embedded military identity’, and ‘the transition-facilitating factors’. The results helped gain an indepth understanding of both the individual and collective participants’ transition experiences and revealed the challenges and factors that aided the participants in transitioning from the military and readjusting to civilian life. Findings can help in designing improved retirement modules for aiding veterans to transition holistically better. It also has implications for organizations to understand and employ veterans with multiple skills and contribute to policymaking for military veterans.

Background: Post-traumatic growth (PTG) (Tedeschi et al., 1998) has been defined as the subjective experience of positive psychological changes in the aftermath of a traumatic experience, and some people experience these positive changes besides traumatic stress (Tedeschi and Calhoun, 1999, 2004). However, there needs to be more qualitative study to explore the experiences of PTG with Ukraine war survivors in Hungary. Therefore, we aimed to explore Ukraine participants’ experiences of post-traumatic growth.

Method: Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze data from nine individual semi-structured interviews with Ukraine war survivors. Thematic analysis identified patterns and themes regarding survivors' PTG.

Results: We identified the following themes as post-traumatic growth: 1. relating to others (example of item: “ how wonderful, strange people are”), 2. new possibilities (example of item: “I developed new interests”), (3) personal strength (example of item: “I have a greater feeling of self-confidence, resiliency and self-compassionate”), 4. spiritual change (example: “I have a better understanding of spiritual matters through meditation”), and 5. appreciation of life (example: “I have supportive family members and community for the value of my own life.”

Conclusion: Posttraumatic growth, including a sense of security, autonomy, and self-worth, were significant findings in this study.

Trauma after torture, sexual violence, and others, represents a rupture in social relationships. The reparation of these and other human rights violations is necessarily connected to the restoration of trust and relationality. This epistemological positionality implies a revision of the traditional concepts of objectivity and neutrality in academia. Under the premise that research is ethical if it aims to transform the reality that investigates, my work intends to build bridges between academia and activism.

I study the deep subjective impacts that traumatic violence has on victims and the potential ways of recovery. Researching trauma is not only an academic task, is always a subjective encounter. The value of ethical emotional bonding and the effect of subjective recognition might have a restorative impact on both researchers and participants.

I revise critical social research concepts like positionality, reflexivity, and Psychology of Liberation Participatory Action Research (PAR) methods, both approaches emphasize the ethics of power relationships. Through this presentation, my broader aim is to suggest that active involvement with participants on their social and political realities not only provides additional and more reliable data but it may support qualitative research as a tool for profound subjective encounters beyond its academic goals.