Raising trauma awareness in the Middle East: Exploration of parental knowledge about the identification and management of trauma among children in Egypt

Abstract

The study was guided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide insight into parental understandings of trauma identification and trauma-informed practice (TIP). A total of 205 Egyptian parents receiving assistance for various familial challenges completed the Parent Trauma Identification and Management Scale based on SAMHSA’s model. Confirmatory factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance and hierarchical regression were employed to explore the relationship between trauma identification and TIP. The results provide support for the hypothesized relationship between trauma identification and TIP in the Egyptian context. The study concludes with a call for the mainstreaming or prioritization of trauma management and TIP in health service delivery in Egypt and other similar contexts.

Keywords:

• Children at risk
• Egypt
• Middle East and North Africa
• parents
• trauma
• trauma-informed practice

Author note

Ashraf Mustafa, Special Education Department, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi; Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Special Education Department, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi; Hala Elhoweris, Special Education Department, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi; Enas Mohamed Abdullah, Educational psychology Department, Mansoura University, Mansoura.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical standards and Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study. Additional informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by Office of the Associate Provost for Research, United Arab Emirates University (Start-up grant #G00003732).

Notes on contributors

Ashraf Mustafa

Ashraf Mustafa, Ph.D., is an instructor in special education at United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. He previously worked in schools as special education teacher in United Arab Emirates.

Maxwell Peprah Opoku

Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in special education at United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi.

Hala Elhoweris

Hala Elhoweris, Ph.D., is Professor in special education and acting Dean at the College of Education, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi.

Enas Mohamed Abdullah

Enas Mohamed Abdullah, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in educational psychology at Mansoura University, Mansoura.