The long shadow of accumulating adverse childhood experiences on mental health in the United Arab Emirates: implications for policy and practice.

Introduction: This study investigates the cumulative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adult depression, anxiety, and stress in Abu Dhabi, controlling for demographic factors, lifestyle, and known health and mental health diagnoses.

Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design and self-report measures, the research aims to fill a critical gap in understanding the specific impacts of ACEs in the UAE. Based on a multi-site, cross-sectional community sample of 697 residents of Abu Dhabi.

Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and their cumulative impact associated lifetime health outcomes in the Emirate of Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences have been associated with poor health outcomes later in life.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between cumulative ACEs, risky health behaviors, chronic diseases, and mental health among a large-scale sample from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Participants And Setting: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed with 922 participants over the age of 18, living in Abu Dhabi.

Mental Suffering in Protracted Political Conflict: Feeling Broken or Destroyed.

Purpose: This mixed-methods exploratory study identified and then developed and validated a quantitative measure of a new construct of mental suffering in the occupied Palestinian territory: feeling broken or destroyed.

Methods: Group interviews were conducted in 2011 with 68 Palestinians, most aged 30-40, in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip to discern local definitions of functioning. Interview participants articulated of a type of suffering not captured in existing mental health instruments used in regions of political conflict.

Political Imprisonment and Adult Functioning: A Life Event History Analysis of Palestinians.

Political imprisonment is a traumatic event, often accompanied by torture and deprivation. This study explores the association of political imprisonment between 1987 and 2011 with political, economic, community, psychological, physical, and family functioning in a population-based sample of Palestinian men ages 32-43 years (N = 884) derived from a dataset collected in 2011. Twenty-six percent (n = 233) had been politically imprisoned.

Politics drives human functioning, dignity, and quality of life.

Too little is known about human functioning amidst chronic adversity. We addressed that need by studying adult Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), a population that has experienced longstanding economic and political hardships. Fourteen group interviews were conducted in February, 2010 in Arabic by local fieldworkers with 68 participants representing the main stratifications of Palestinian society: gender, region, refugee status, and political affiliation.

Human insecurity, chronic economic constraints and health in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Research on the effects of political conflict has focused predominantly on the association between violence exposure and psychological trauma. This paper expands that focus. We broaden the assessment of health beyond the conventional spotlight on trauma-related stress to include culturally derived measures of health, and we assess the association between a broad array of political and economic conditions and health.