A study of a correlation between post war trauma symptoms and the attribution to God's control in a Syrian population directly exposed to war events

Abstract

The long traumatic war in Syria, has put a lot of impact on the Syrian people especially on the ones who did not flee but rather endured and experienced the dangers and fears of a war situation. At times of war, the exposure to the traumatic events leads to a range of psychological consequences most prevailing is Post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. In addition, most existing social and financial resources were deteriorated. People in Syria were mostly finding refuge by holding on to their belief in God and relying on his control. This study examined the war events people were exposed to, and the severity of their PTSD symptoms in relation to their attribution to Gods control, with an aim of finding future ways of coping with war traumas. The assessment of these constructs was done using reliable instruments and based on valid theories, most important is the locus of control theory. A sample population of 235 Christian and Muslim adults who were directly exposed to war events in two Syrian cities - Aleppo and Homs - have participated in the study completing an online survey questionnaire. Results of the study have shown that a most frequency of participants were exposed to eight events. No difference in severity of PTSD symptoms in relation to variables of age, gender, and religion was found, while a difference in attribution to Gods control was found to be greater in women than in men, and greater for Muslims than for Christians. Results also showed a positive correlation between the severity of PTSD symptoms and the attribution to Gods control leading to various interpretations of coping.