Through Their Eyes: Coping Strategies and Experiences of Palestinian Adolescents Facing Community Violence in Israel

Palestinian adolescents in Israel face endemic community violence within a context of systemic structural discrimination and political marginalization. Their subjective experiences and coping mechanisms, however, remain underexplored in qualitative research. This study used a developmentally-appropriate methodology to explore how Palestinian adolescents experience community violence and the coping strategies they employ, framed through Cicchetti and Lynch’s Ecological/Transactional Model. Qualitative and child-friendly methods, including drawing, photo elicitation activity, and selecting online photos, were used to interview 39 Palestinian adolescents (22 girls, 17 boys) aged 11–15. Interviews were conducted in person or via Zoom based on the participants’ preferences. Inductive thematic analysis guided the research. The analysis revealed that community violence inflicted profound psychological and physical impacts, including living in a state of pervasive insecurity and anxiety, a sense of confinement, and disturbances in sleep and concentration. A central theme was grappling with unanswered questions about the violence, exacerbated by a lack of dialogue from adults and institutions. Coping strategies were primarily disengagement-oriented (avoidance of spaces and news) and engagement-oriented (seeking peer support and shared dialogue online). The findings illustrate a transactional process where macrosystemic structural violence and institutional neglect necessitate microsystemic coping. Accordingly, interventions must be multi-systemic, targeting the root causes by demanding institutional accountability, co-designing community safety initiatives, equipping parents to foster open communication, and formally integrating adolescents’ peer support networks into public health and school-based programs.