Sense of coherence, hope and values among adolescents under missile attacks: a longitudinal study

This study aimed to explore measures of spirituality - sense of coherence (SOC), hope and values - among adolescents living in a violent political area and experiencing missile attacks. The three variables represent attributes of spirituality, such as searching for meaning and purpose in life, hope and feelings about the future, as well as values and beliefs. Adolescence seems to be an important developmental stage where many structures, such as SOC, hope and values, are formed and stabilised. We asked about the impact of living in an area of violence on this development. Data were gathered during two periods of time. The first sample was drawn in August 2006 in Sderot and other communities in the area which had suffered missile attacks since 2001. The second sample was drawn from the same area that had continued to suffer from missile attacks, during January 2009. Adolescents aged 12-18 filled out self-reported questionnaires. Results suggest that all variables were weakened during the prolonged violent events. It seems that the continuous chaos and stress of missile attacks had significant consequences in terms of spirituality for youngsters who had been growing up under these conditions. The difficulties were manifested by reports of weaker hopes and SOC, and by a decrease in attributing importance to collective values. These results are discussed in terms of experiencing the world as less comprehensible, less manageable and especially less meaningful.