Effect of incredible years autism spectrum and language delays (IY-ASD) program on stress and behavioral management skills among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Palestine.

PURPOSE: This study purposed to evaluate the effect of the Incredible Years Autism Spectrum and Language Delays (IY-ASD) program in reducing parents' stress and improving aggressive and disruptive behaviors in the parents among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Palestine. DESIGN AND METHODS: A one-group pre-posttest design was used. Thirty-four parents who enrolled in the Palestinian Child Institute in Nablus were recruited. RESULTS: Findings revealed a significant difference between parents' total stress pre and post-IY-ASD (t = 1.2, p < 0.01 and parents' behavioral management skills toward their children with autism spectrum disorder. The study demonstrated that the IY-ASD program for 16 sessions reduced stress among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Palestine and improved aggressive and disruptive behaviors in the parents. CONCLUSION: The IY-ASD program can be successfully implemented for parents of this cohort group. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare providers can adopt such a program for enhancing parenting roles with their children experiencing autism spectrum disorder.

Palestinian law to protect family and prevent violence: challenges with public opinion.

The Palestinian Family Protection Law was submitted for ratification in November 2020 after much collaboration between advocates, attorneys and governmental officials, as well as community and international organizations. The draft bill addresses a myriad of social issues affecting vulnerable populations in the West Bank of Palestine, including: the legal age for marriage; gender inequality in inheritance; divorce; gender-based violence; and domestic violence. However, immediate feedback from local religious scholars, with increasing pressure from the general Palestinian population, was deeply divided, with negative perceptions relating to the perceived 'foreign' nature of the regulations and criticism that the law was not in accordance with Palestinian culture and Islamic Law. This criticism led to two years of inactivity regarding the bill. The current study sought to evaluate the attitudes, behavior and beliefs regarding the underlying human rights issues and assumptions concerning gender, marriage, and domestic violence that could be found in the codices of the proposed legislation as well as among the general population of Palestine. The data demonstrates that the population sampled viewed the underlying premise of the Family Protection Bill negatively. Individuals with a graduate degree or above tended to view the bill with less negativity, whilst females viewed the bill more positively than males. The results of this study illustrate that, with regard to legislation that relates to family life in Palestine, there is a wide gap between the points of view held by human rights advocates and NGO's and those held by the general population. To further the agenda of family protection community education relating to social issues, the fundamentals of Sharia law and national sovereignty may be needed so as to clarify the core Islamic beliefs in relation to human rights and oppression, as well as to increase Palestinian ownership of the family protection agenda.

Problematic internet use and its association with sleep disturbance and life satisfaction among Palestinians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current study was conducted to test the relationship between problematic internet use, sleep disturbance, and life satisfaction among Palestinians during the Covid-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 366 Palestinian adults (129 males and 237 females), recruited from online advertisements, e-mail campaigns, social media, and SMS campaigns. Results of the correlational analysis showed that problematic internet use positively correlated with sleep disturbance (r = .19, p < .01), and negatively correlated with life satisfaction (r = -.17, p < .01). Moreover, life satisfaction negatively correlated to sleep disturbance (r = -.25, p < .01). The regression analysis for predicting problematic internet use found that life satisfaction contributes in a way that was statistically significant towards explaining variance in problematic Internet use (B = -.15, SE = .05, ß = -.15), in addition sleep disturbance explained statistically and significantly variance in problematic internet use (B = .16, SE = .04, ß = .20). Intervention programs directed at decreasing internet use may need to be updated to better address the issues of "necessary" excessive use during COVID-19 restrictions and re-entry into normalized activity patterns when shut-downs are finished. As a completely new area of investigation, this study can serve as an impetus to further examinations of these important topics.

The efficacy of a training program for social skills in reducing addictive Internet behaviors among Palestinian university students.

BACKGROUND: For youth in geopolitically at-risk environments, such as Palestine, the issues related to Internet overuse and addictions are complex. Youth residing in the occupied territories of Palestine as in other highly militarized zones have high levels of environmental stressors (e.g., militarization, poverty, lack of employment opportunities, cultural pressures, etc.) and few chemical or social outlets such as alcohol, intoxicants, and leisure activities. As such, the easily accessible and unrestricted opportunities for stress-reducing social contact of social media can lead easily to excessive and maladaptive Internet use. Therefore, interventions directly aimed at awareness and education on how to manage Internet use are critical for addressing these issues in high risk populations. AIMS: The purpose of the current study was to test the efficacy of a time-limited group training program aimed at improving social skills and reducing addictive Internet behaviors among university students. METHODS AND RESULTS: The sample consisted of 30 university students who self-reported high scores on an Internet addiction scale. Participants were randomly assigned to either wait list or treatment group (15 in each condition). Results demonstrated that using a social skills training program over an 8-week period improved the level of social skills and reduced addictive Internet behaviors significantly in those who experienced the intervention when compared with a wait list control group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the implementation of time limited training programs targeting social skills and addictive patterns of Internet use with university students identified with high levels of Internet addictive behaviors.

The efficacy of a training program for social skills in reducing addictive Internet behaviors among Palestinian university students

Abstract Background: For youth in geopolitically at-risk environments, such as Palestine, the issues related to Internet overuse and addictions are complex. Youth residing in the occupied territories of Palestine as in other highly militarized zones have high levels of environmental stressors (e.g., militarization, poverty, lack of employment opportunities, cultural pressures, etc.) and few chemical or social outlets such as alcohol, intoxicants, and leisure activities. As such, the easily accessible and unrestricted opportunities for stress-reducing social contact of social media can lead easily to excessive and maladaptive Internet use. Therefore, interventions directly aimed at awareness and education on how to manage Internet use are critical for addressing these issues in high risk populations. Aims: The purpose of the current study was to test the efficacy of a time-limited group training program aimed at improving social skills and reducing addictive Internet behaviors among university students. Methods and results: The sample consisted of 30 university students who self-reported high scores on an Internet addiction scale. Participants were randomly assigned to either wait list or treatment group (15 in each condition). Results demonstrated that using a social skills training program over an 8-week period improved the level of social skills and reduced addictive Internet behaviors significantly in those who experienced the intervention when compared with a wait list control group. Conclusions: These findings support the implementation of time limited training programs targeting social skills and addictive patterns of Internet use with university students identified with high levels of Internet addictive behaviors.