Abstract
The applicability of Western concepts regarding the treatment of trauma in soldiers from indigenous ethnic minority backgrounds has scarcely been researched. This study explored the subjective meaning of living with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among indigenous Bedouin veterans of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who are of Arab ethnicity and Muslim faith. In-depth, semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 Bedouin veterans suffering from PTSD and three Bedouin mental health clinicians working with this population. Two themes emerged: “I wanted to be like everyone else,” referring to participants’ experiences during their military service, and “Fluctuating between belonging and abandonment,” referring to veterans’ experiences of living with mental health problems in a traditional minority community. These findings highlight the importance of conducting a comprehensive inquiry into the complex cultural and social backgrounds of indigenous minority veterans suffering from PTSD, and the interplay between the conflicted identities and multiple “realities” they experience.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 766-777 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Qualitative Health Research |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Apr 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a research scholarship from the Center of Training and Research of Resilience and Coping With Trauma, Sapir College, Israel.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © The Author(s) 2018.
Keywords
- Bedouins
- Israel
- cross-cultural
- minorities
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- qualitative
- qualitative research
- veterans
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
