Historical Trauma in Displaced Palestinians Outside of Israel: A Generational Comparative Investigation

Overview

This study examined the levels of Historical Loss Symptoms (HLS) in different generations of displaced Palestinians outside of Israel. I hypothesized that the levels of Historical Loss would dilute in younger generations born further from the Nakba, the mass displacement of Palestinians in the Arab -Israeli War of 1948. Using snowball sampling, I gathered 142 participants from 11 different countries. The participants fell into one of three self -identified groups as measured by their generational distance fro m the Nakba: second -generation (47), third -generation (62), and fourth-generation (33). Using a two -part HLS survey, adapted from one used in previous peer - reviewed studies, I tested for the frequency of perceived losses and for participants’ emotional responses to the perceived losses. HLS levels were prominent across all generations, with consistent scores on perceived losses and emotional responses. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no significant difference in levels of HLS across generations (p -value of 0.98 for perceived losses, and p-value of 0.57 for emotional responses to perceived loss). Furthermore, results indicated that HLS is high amongst the displaced Palestinians outside of Israel, even relative to measurements of other oppressed populat ions, including Iraqi Kurds and Native Americans. The three generations in comparison to one another don’t point to any notable differences, suggesting that historical trauma is not a problem that has gone away with time for this population.