COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AS A COPING RESOURCE AMONG ADOLESCENTS LIVING UNDER ROCKETS FIRE: A SALUTOGENIC APPROACH

The study examines community perceptions as coping resources among youth living in areas under rocket fire in the south of Israel. Community variables were examined as potential moderators and mediators of emotional reactions to stress. Data were gathered during 2007-2009 from 284 Israeli adolescents. State anger and sense of hope were measured as stress reactions. Adolescent community perceptions were investigated using a measure which integrated sense of community coherence and sense of community, and included four dimensions: influence, meaningfulness, comprehensibility and belonging to community life (IMCB). Type of community and community perceptions (IMCB) were found to be significant in explaining state anger and hope. In addition, interviews were conducted with 10 key persons working with youth in Sderot and in the kibbutzim, which enable a better understanding of the community profiles in which teenagers were living under the ongoing stress situation. Community perceptions as coping resources among youth are discussed against the backdrop of the salutogenic and ecological theoretical frameworks.