Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction: A Way to Enhance Resilience in Traumatic Situations

Background/Objective: The impact of traumatic events on resilience and the mediating factors creates specific interest in a conflict context. This study has explored the relationship between the satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs (BPN) and resilience in adolescents exposed to different levels of adversity in Palestine. Method: A total of 837 eighth-, ninth- and tenth-grade students from the Gaza Strip (n = 300) and the West Bank (n = 537) completed three questionnaires to assess trauma, BPN satisfaction, and resilience. Results: The results showed a significant difference between the Gaza Strip (0.61) and the West Bank (0.29) in exposure to traumatic events; in both contexts, the BPN satisfaction was associated positively with resilience; in the West Bank the BPN satisfaction mediates the negative impact of trauma on resilience, and in the Gaza Strip, with the higher level of trauma, the BPN satisfaction interacts with trauma, positively affecting resilience. Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of satisfying BPN and indicates the importance of implementing intervention programs designed to satisfy BPN as a way of strengthening resilience in youth people living in traumatic situations