Children’s relationships with homeroom teachers as a protective factor in times of terror

Abstract

The contribution of students’ relationships with their homeroom teachers to their ability to cope with terror and specifically to posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth was studied. Participants consisted of 1101 Israeli high school students who lived under constant terror attacks. Positive relationships with homeroom teachers were found to be linked to higher posttraumatic growth though not to lower posttraumatic stress disorder. In addition, girls were found to have higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth than boys, and both posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress disorder were found to be positively correlated with exposure to terror. The contribution of student–homeroom teacher relationships to students’ well-being when living under terror is discussed.

Keywords

Posttraumatic growth posttraumatic stress disorder relationships teachers terror

Schools and teachers can play a meaningful role in supporting students living under the shadow of terror and in preparing them to live and cope with the negative effects of terror attacks (Chibbaro & Jackson, 2006). However, very little is known about the positive contribution of teacher–student relationships in helping students cope with terrorism. Therefore, the present study examines the role of teacher–student relationships in helping children cope with exposure to terrorism. More specifically, in response to the broadened research interest in terrorism, to include both its negative and positive effects (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006), the study focused on the contribution of students’ relationships with their homeroom teachers to both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG).

Exposure of Israeli adolescents to terrorism

Millions of people throughout the world suffer the negative effects of terrorism. Individuals of all ages affected by direct terror or indirect terror (through stories of family or friends affected by terror attacks or from media coverage of attacks) experience negative short- and long-term emotional, behavioral, and physiological symptoms (DiMaggio & Galea, 2006; Fremont, 2004). Since the “al-Aqsa” uprising in October 2000, Israeli citizens have experienced an escalation in the number of terrorism acts. In the years 2000–2011, Israelis were terrorized by 147 mass-casualty suicide bombings, in which some 550 people were killed and more than 8000 were injured. Furthermore, since 2001, terrorism has escalated to include rocket attacks, and more than 4000 missiles have fallen on the Western Negev region (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2004), seriously disrupting the daily life of the region’s 200,000 households and affecting millions more nearby and nationwide.

In a study of a representative sample of Israeli respondents aged 18 years and older (Bleich, Gelkopf, & Solomon, 2003), 76.7% of respondents reported at least one traumatic stress-related symptom due to exposure to terrorism, 58.6% reported feeling depressed, and 9.4% met the criteria for PTSD. More than 60% felt their personal safety was threatened, and 68% expressed concerns for their family members’ safety. Focusing on adolescents, in a study of some 3000 students aged 13–15 years, Laufer and Solomon (2006) found that more than 70% had been exposed to terrorism, 37.5% knew someone who had died in a terrorist attack, and 30.4% knew someone who had been injured. About 50% of the adolescents exhibited some kind of posttraumatic symptom, from mild (26.5%) to very severe (0.7%).

It should be noted that adolescents are especially affected by psychological distress and other symptoms caused by exposure to terrorism (Solomon Even-Chen & Itzhaky, 2007). In comparison to both younger and older people facing terrorism, adolescents report higher levels of emotional numbing, depression, functional impairment, somatic complaints, alienation, avoidance, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and sleeping problems (Pat-Horenczyk et al., 2007; Pfefferbaum et al., 2005; Weisenberg, Schwarzwald, Waysman, Solomon, & Klingman, 1993). Since adolescents already face many developmental issues because of their age, it is supposed that the added difficulties of exposure to terror would place them at a serious risk of developing psychosocial distress and psychopathologies.

Relationships as a protective factor

According to the conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1988, 1998), a person’s response to a stressful situation, such as terrorism, is mediated by their resources (such as shelter, self-esteem, and social support). Of these, environmental resources seem specifically to buffer maladaptive responses (Freedy & Hobfoll, 1994), and conversely, a lack of resources increases the likelihood of mental health problems, especially PTSD (Dekel & Nuttman-Shwartz, 2009; Papageorgiou et al., 2000; Yablon, Itzhaky, & Pagorek-Eshel, 2011).

The present study specifically focuses on students’ relationships with their homeroom teacher and how this relationship can predict students’ ability to cope with terrorism. Homeroom teachers in Israel are responsible for their students’ welfare as individuals and as a group (Ministry of Education, 1994). The homeroom teacher regularly communicates with the students, monitors their school experiences, is a source of support, and acts as an intermediary between the students and their disciplinary teachers. Homeroom teachers meet with students’ parents and visit students’ homes if required. They are supposed to be one of the staff members closest to students at school and are supposed to know what is happening with the student on a personal level (Gordon & Ackerman, 1989). Most homeroom teachers teach their students subject disciplines and provide 1–3 hours a week of group sessions and have individual meetings with students (an average Israeli classroom consists of 27.4 students). Homeroom teachers are required to be present at school 5 days a week, at least to be available to their homeroom students.

Regarding the effect of close relationships between individuals living under terror, Mikulincer, Florian, and Hirschberger (2004) have suggested that close relationships are a powerful psychological mechanism buffering individuals from death-related anxiety. Although not specifically focused on terrorism, their findings suggest that close relationships provide a symbolic shield protection against death awareness, and that when individuals realize their own mortality, they become more willing to establish and maintain close relationships. Regarding teachers specifically, we find growing attention to teacher–student relationships in recent years, and the importance of this relationship has been examined in both theoretical and empirical studies (Cicchetti, 2003; Noam & Hermann, 2002; Pianta, 1999; Wentzel, 2002). Studies to examine the student’s relationship with the teacher as a coping resource have shown that close personal relationships between teachers and students contribute significantly to the student’s well-being (Myers, 1999), psychological adjustment (Fredriksen & Rhodes, 2004), and the student’s emotional regulation (Bolger & Amarel, 2007). Thus, there is clear evidence that teacher–student relationships affect students’ lives; that this relationship has both long- and short-term significance; and that student–teacher relationships can influence cognitive, affective, social, and behavioral development in students. Student–teacher relationships are important for school adjustment and provide a protective factor against many risk behaviors (Pianta, 1999; Pianta, Hamre, & Stuhlman, 2003; Wentzel, 2002). In terms of stressors specifically, Zimmer-Gembeck and Locke (2007) found that positive relationships between adolescents and their teachers are linked to increased use of active coping behaviors both at home and school. It is, therefore, expected that students who have a positive relationship with their teachers will be more resilient to terror. This hypothesis was examined empirically in this study.

Personal growth following exposure to terror

In the context of students–teacher relationships and how students cope with terrorism, it is also important to note that alongside the extensive research into the negative impact of terrorism, there is also growing interest in the possible positive impact, especially regarding posttraumatic growth or PTG. PTG is used to describe positive developmental change in a trauma survivor’s cognitive–emotional understanding of themselves and their world (Janoff-Bulman, 2006). According to Tedeschi and Calhoun (1995), three major change areas are involved in PTG: changes in a person’s perceptions of their own inner strength and new possibilities, changes in their relationships with others, and changes in their philosophy and appreciation for life. Although PTG does not vanquish the pain and negative consequences of traumatic events, it is nevertheless a positive outcome in terms of the individual’s struggle with their painful reality (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006).

It should be noted that the correlation between PTSD and PTG is still being studied, and there is growing evidence that individuals can present them both at the same time (Butler et al., 2005; Dekel, Ein-Dor, & Solomon, 2012; Laufer, Raz-Hamama, Levin, & Solomon, 2009; Laufer & Solomon, 2006; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). Furthermore, it is clear that some individuals undergo psychological processes following their experiences of terrorist attacks, which in fact boost their resilience (Dekel & Nuttman-Shwartz, 2009; Hobfoll et al., 2007; Laufer & Solomon, 2006). Thus, for some, stressful situations such as exposure to terrorism can prove an opportunity to develop useful coping strategies and achieve positive growth (Laufer & Solomon, 2006).

The present study

To examine how student relationships with their homeroom teachers are linked to students’ PTSD and PTG, we controlled for three factors that have been consistently found relevant to the study of terrorism: exposure to terrorism, gender, and age. As noted earlier, a person’s reaction to terrorism is a function of how much direct as well as indirect exposure to terrorism they have experienced, and likewise, individual differences in both PTSD and PTG may be due to the amount of exposure to terror events (Bleich et al., 2003; Cohen-Silver, Holman, McIntosh, Poulin, & Gil-Rivas, 2002; Schuster et al., 2001). Gender and age are also normally used to explain the response to terror, with a higher percentage of women experiencing PTSD and PTG than men (Hall et al., 2010; Solomon, Gelkopf, & Bleich, 2005). Since studies have found that adolescents suffer more negative outcomes of terrorism than other age groups (Solomon Even-Chen & Itzhaky, 2007), the students’ grade was also controlled in the study.

In conclusion, although studies have shown that students’ relationships with their teachers can contribute positively to students’ well-being, we still know little about how this relationship relates to students’ well-being under the shadow of terrorism. The present study seeks to determine whether student relationships with their teachers can explain students’ PTSD and PTG, and specifically whether positive relationships with teachers are linked to less PTSD and more PTG.

Method

Participants

The research participants consisted of 1101 Israeli high school students (46% male, 54% female), aged 14–18 years (M = 16.02, SD = 1.18) studying in the 9th (28%), 10th (28%), 11th (27%), and 12th (17%) grades. Table 1 presents the distribution of the participants’ gender and grade. All of the students resided in the Western Negev region of Israel.

Table 1.

Number of male and female students from each school grade who participated in the study.

Gender	Grade				Total
Gender	9	10	11	12	Total
Boys	142	132	143	88	505
Girls	167	172	157	100	596
Total	309	304	300	188	1101

Instruments

Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI)

The CPTS-RI (Pynoos, Frederick, Nader, & Arroyo, 1987) was used to assess participants’ PTSD. The questionnaire consisted of 20 items and was based on the diagnostic criteria for PTSD of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV). It measured both the intensity and number of the students with PTSD symptoms. Participants were asked to indicate their responses on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (all the time). The CPTS-RI has been widely used in trauma studies in Israel (Laufer & Solomon, 2006) and has high reliability and validity. Internal consistency measured by Cronbach’s alpha was .93.

PTG

The Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) was used to assess participants’ PTG. The PTGI consisted of 21 items, based on five growth areas: new possibilities (e.g., developing new interests), relating to others (e.g., making more effort in relationships), inner strength (e.g., handling difficulties more easily), spiritual change (e.g., acquiring a better understanding of spiritual issues), and appreciation of life (e.g., realizing what is important in life, priorities). For each item, respondents indicated how much they had changed following their exposure to terrorism, using a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (very much). A high mean score for the 21 items showed greater PTG. The overall scale reliability measured by Cronbach’s alpha was .95. This was similar to past research involving Israeli youth using the PTGI (Laufer & Solomon, 2006).

Exposure to terror events

A 12-item checklist of types of exposure to terror (Itzhaky & Dekel, 2005) was used to measure the types of terror events students had experienced. These included shootings, missile attacks, bombardment using mortars or incendiary bombs, and suicide bombing. Participants were asked how often they had experienced each of the 12 types of incidents in the past month using a 4-point response scale: (1) not at all, (2) 1–2 times, (3) 3–5 times, and (4) more than 5 times. The items were summed to yield a single index of exposure to terrorism, where a higher mean score indicated greater exposure. The scale reliability measured by Cronbach’s alpha was .78.

Relationships with teachers

The quality of students’ relationships with their homeroom teacher was measured using the Network of Relationship Inventory–Revised (NRI-R; Furman & Buhrmester, 1985). Two subscales—Support and Intimacy—were used, which represented the relationship qualities of closeness and trust. The support scale contained items such as “How well can you depend on your homeroom teacher to cheer things up?” The Intimacy scale included items such as “To what extent do you tell your homeroom teacher everything?” Participants indicated their experience of each attribute using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). The items were summed to yield a single index of relationships, and the scale reliability measured by Cronbach’s alpha was .91.

Socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics

A sociodemographic questionnaire elicited information regarding participants’ age, gender, grade, place of residence, additional sociodemographic data, and data regarding the school.

Procedure

The Israeli Ministry of Education approved the data collection and study design prior to the study, and informed consent was obtained from the students’ parents. Participants responded to the research questionnaires midway (February) through the 2008–2009 academic year. This gave students at least 5 months since the start of the school year to get to know and interact with their homeroom teacher. The questionnaires were administered to all the participants in their classrooms at school following an explanation of the research goals by the research assistants. The research assistants were present to answer questions on the questionnaire. Respondent anonymity was assured throughout all stages of the study.

Results

Initial analysis

For the research data analysis, any problems of missing data were addressed by using a complete case analysis (listwise deletion). In other words, the analysis only included the responses of the respondents who answered all of the questions relating to all the research variables (n = 987). Although this approach reduced the number of cases used in the analysis, it is, nevertheless, the most recommended approach, especially when the number of deleted incomplete cases is relatively small (Allison, 2001), as in the present study.

Furthermore, before addressing the research questions, we noticed a possible conceptual overlap between one of the main variables of the study, that is, teacher–student relationships, and the “Relating to Others” subscale of the PTG scale. A Pearson correlation between the mean scores of the seven items in the “Relating to Others” subscale (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) and the measure of the “Relationships with teachers” scale revealed a significant correlation of r(987) = .25, p < .001. Following these findings, and in order to eliminate any bias in the results, especially that the association between the teacher–student relationship and PTG will be driven out by the “Relating to Others” subscale, we conducted two sets of analyses: one using the full PTG scale and the other using a modified PTG scale that excluded the seven “Relating to Others” items in the scale (Cronbach’s alpha = .92). A comparison of the two sets of results revealed that using the full PTG scale did not artificially increase the association between the full PTG and the student–teacher relationship scales. Therefore, for the results section, we report the analysis using the full PTG scale, but in tables 2 and 3, we report the results of the revised scale next to the full scale.

PTSD and PTG levels among participants

In the research sample, the mean levels of PTSD and PTG were as follows: M_PTSD = 2.02 (SD_PTSD = 0.70) and M_PTG = 2.72 (SD_PTG = 1.12). Two separate 2 (gender) × 2 (grade) analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to study differences in PTSD and PTG between boys and girls in different grades. It was found that the girls (M = 2.15; SD = 0.71) presented higher levels of PTSD than the boys (M = 1.86; SD = 0.66), and significant differences were found for students in different grades, F(1, 987) = 45.11, p < .001, η ² = .04; F(1, 987) = 10.99, p < .001, η ² = .03, respectively. Follow-up Scheffe tests revealed that 12th-grade students (M = 2.20; SD = 0.72) suffered more from PTSD than 11th-grade students (M = 2.02; SD = 0.70) and that 10th-grade students (M = 2.08; SD = 0.73) suffered more from PTSD than 9th-grade students (M = 1.86; SD = 0.63). Girls (M = 2.84; SD = 1.13) had higher PTG than boys (M = 2.59; SD = 1.09), and there were no differences in PTG among students in different grades, F(1, 987) = 12.31, p < .001, η ² = .01.

Correlation analysis

The main goal of the study was to examine the extent to which relationships with teachers can explain the variance of PTSD and PTG among students experiencing terror. Pearson correlation tests for PTSD, PTG, relationships with teachers, and exposure to terror demonstrated significant positive correlations between PTG and student relationships with teachers, r(987) = .23; p < .001. In contrast, no significant correlation was demonstrated between student–teacher relationships and PTSD, r(987) = .06; p > .05. Thus, while no association was found between PTSD and relationships, the more positive the students’ relationship was with their teacher, the greater was their PTG. The level of exposure to terror was found positively correlated with both PTG, r(987) = .19, p < .001, and PTSD, r(1093) = .20, p < .001, although no significant correlation was found between the level of exposure to terror and relationships with teachers.

Regression analysis

The correlation matrix of the variables is presented in Table 2. Two hierarchical regression analyses were carried out using the enter selection procedure in order to determine the contribution of gender, age, exposure to terrorism, and relationships with teachers to explaining the variance in PTSD and PTG. In both models, the sociodemographic variables, gender and age, were entered into the model in the first step; exposure to terror was entered into the model in the second step; and relationships with teachers was entered into the model in the third step. The purpose of this was to examine the unique contribution of each of the factors, especially the relationships with teachers, to predict PTSD and PTG.

Table 2.

Correlations among study variables.

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Age	1
2. Exposure to terror	.11*	1
3. PTG	.11* (.12*)	.19* (20*)	1
4. PTSD	.16*	.20*	.53* (.54*)	1
5. Relationships with teachers	.02	.05	.23* (.20*)	.06	1

PTG: posttraumatic growth; PTSD: posttraumatic stress disorder.

The coefficients in parentheses are correlations using the revised PTG scale calculated without the seven items of the “Relating to Others” subscale.

*p < .001.

As illustrated in Table 3, the combined variables explain 11% of the variance in PTSD, F(4, 986) = 32.62, p < .001, and 10% of the variance in PTG, F(4, 986) = 29.21, p < .001. Gender and grade contributed 7% to explaining the variance in PTSD and 2% to explaining the variance in PTG. In both cases, being a girl and in a higher grade predicted higher PTSD and higher PTG. Exposure to terror contributed a further 4% to explaining the variance in PTSD and 4% to explaining the variance in PTG. Thus, the more terror the students experienced, the more intense was the negative effect of PTSD and the stronger was the positive effect of PTG. The relationship with teachers contributed another 4% to explaining the variance in PTG but did not contribute to predicting PTSD. Thus, the more positive the students’ relationship was with their teachers, the more PTG they expressed, whereas PTSD was not found to be more or less intense.

Table 3.

Hierarchical regression standardized coefficients (Beta) predicting student PTSD and PTG under terror.

Predictors	PTSD			PTG
Predictors	First step	Second step	Third step	First step	Second step	Third step
Gender	.22*	.24*	.24*	.12* (.09*)	.13* (.10*)	.12* (.09*)
Age	.17*	.16*	.16*	.12* (.13*)	.10* (.11*)	.10* (.10*)
Exposure to terror	—	.21*	.20*	—	.19* (.20*)	.18 (.19*)
Relationships with teachers	—	—	.03	—	—	.21* (.18*)
R ²	.07*	.11*	.11*	.02*	.06*	.10*
ΔR ²		.04*	.01		.04*	.04*
F for change in R ²		46.36*	0.99		37.36*	48.04*

PTG: posttraumatic growth; PTSD: posttraumatic stress disorder.

The coefficients in parentheses are correlations using the revised PTG scale calculated without the seven items of the “Relating to Others” subscale.

*p < .001.

Discussion

The study’s principal goal was to examine the contribution of students’ relationships with their homeroom teachers to their ability to cope with terror. In particular, it focused on the relationship between interpersonal student–teacher relationships, PTSD, and PTG. The findings suggest that students’ relationships with their homeroom teachers are positively related to PTG but not PTSD. In other words, they are linked to positive change and personal growth in a climate of terror, though not to the negative outcomes resulting from the stressful terror events.

Other studies demonstrate that students’ relationships with their teachers can help them develop effective coping behaviors and strategies at school (Skinner & Wellborn, 1997) and home (Zimmer-Gembeck & Locke, 2007). Positive relationships with teachers seem to give students a sense of competence and efficacy (Skinner, Zimmer-Gembeck, & Connell, 1998), and Pianta (1999) suggests that these relationships provide a resource for children’s development. According to conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1988, 1998), personal relationships are a useful resource in stressful situations. The current study findings present the very first evidence that the relationships teachers form with their students are linked to personal growth under terror and suggest that these relationships can be a useful resource for helping students to develop their strength under such difficult conditions.

Future research could examine why student–teacher relationships are positively linked to PTG but not to PTSD. One reason may be the type of trauma examined in the present study, namely, protracted exposure to terror. At such persistent, high levels of stress and trauma (Shalev, Tuval, Frenkiel-Fishman, Hadar, & Eth, 2006) students’ relationships with their teachers may only moderately mitigate PTSD, if at all. Future studies could also investigate other negative indicators, such as depression and sense of safety in order to determine whether student relationships with teachers do help to reduce negative symptoms not classed as PTSD.

When discussing the link between PTG, PTSD, and relationships with teachers, we should consider the correlative nature of the present study. Although we refer to the relationships as a coping resource, it may be that students formed better relationships with their homeroom teachers due to their PTG. Similarly, researchers who examined a different major stressor, breast cancer, found that survivors were not different from a healthy control group in terms of depression or well-being but were more appreciative of life, underwent spiritual change, and related more positively to others (Cordova, Cunningham, Carlson, & Andrykowski, 2001). As noted above, Mikulincer et al. (2004), suggested that when people become aware of their own mortality, they are more willing to establish and maintain close relationships. It is, therefore, possible that when living under stressful conditions, one aspect of PTG that occurs in students is more positive relationships with those around them.

Whether relationships with teachers are a result of PTG or serve as a resource for developing PTG, positive relationships with teachers are a powerful resource for enhancing students’ well-being (Fredriksen & Rhodes, 2004) and is important for helping students cope with different stressors. Future studies are needed to achieve a deeper understanding of how their relationships with teachers affect students living under terror and, for example, to identify which specific aspect of this relationship is strongly linked to PTG and to enhanced coping in general.

In addition to the main findings regarding the link between student–teacher relationships, PTG, and PTSD, the present study also showed that students can experience PTSD and PTG at the same time. This finding is consistent with the growing body of studies (Butler et al., 2005; Dekel et al., 2012; Laufer et al., 2009; Laufer & Solomon, 2006; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) showing that individuals can exhibit both positive and negative outcomes of stressful events. As noted earlier, it has even been suggested (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004) that PTG is not only a consequence of exposure to trauma but is manifested particularly and maybe even only, when trauma produces negative effects. In a recent longitudinal study, Dekel and colleagues (2012) found that PTSD specifically (and not, say, anxiety or depression) promotes PTG. Therefore, as the present study findings also show, despite being entirely negative, student distress due to living under the shadow of terror for many years may also have positive outcomes. Further research is needed, however, to understand the mechanism of PTG and the interplay between positive and negative outcomes as a result of stressful and traumatic events. The fact that, according to the present study, positive relationships with teachers may explain PTG but not PTSD perhaps points to differences in the development of the two, and as noted, should be studied further.

Another finding that emerged from the present study was that girls not only suffer from higher levels of PTSD than boys but also greater PTG. It is noteworthy that adolescent girls are generally at higher risk of stress than boys (Leadbeater, Blatt, & Quinlan, 1995). In terms of PTSD, studies have suggested that women experience more negative posttraumatic symptoms than men (Vishnevsky, Cann, Calhoun, Tedeschi, & Demakis, 2010) and that their chances of developing PTSD are six times higher than men (Solomon et al., 2005). The reason for such differences is beyond the scope of the present study. Nevertheless, one can surmise that they occur because women perceive terrorism events as more frightening than men (Laufer & Solomon, 2009), and therefore, terror affects women more negatively than men. In addition, relating to the previous discussion on the correlation between PTG and PTSD, the fact that girls expressed both higher PTSD and PTG than boys further supports the suggested relationship between PTSD and PTG. Thus, women are more affected by terror, they suffer more PTSD, and they also present more PTG. In other words, the positive and negative outcomes of terrorism are both linked and more common among women than men.

When discussing the present findings, it should be noted that this study is not without limitations. First, it focuses on students’ relationships with their homeroom teacher because those teachers play a central role in students’ school experiences. However, students may also form close, positive relationships with other teachers, which could also have a positive effect. It is, therefore, important for future research to investigate whether a positive relationship with more than one teacher also explains student PTG and PTSD, and also whether one teacher has the same effect on students’ well-being as more than one teacher. Furthermore, the present research was based on self-report measures that may be subject to bias. For example, the boys may have reported less PTSD owing to the social desirability of appearing “brave,” not because they experienced fewer symptoms. Although the scales used in this study have appeared in many other studies, we still recommend using other measures besides self-reporting in future studies. Similarly, the present research focused on student PTG and PTSD. Future studies should also examine other adaptive and maladaptive aspects of students’ lives and experiences. This would give us a clearer and broader picture of the role played by relationships with teachers in explaining how students cope with terror. Finally, the present study was based on a cross-sectional research design and used a correlative approach. A longitudinal design would be better able to examine the contribution of students’ relationships with their teachers to student coping, and provide causal support for the findings.

Conclusion

The main finding of the present study is that student–homeroom teacher relationships are important for explaining student PTG. It is, therefore, suggested that support mechanisms and protective factors designed to help children cope with life under the shadow of terror should take teachers and their relationship with students into account. Many studies have examined the vital role of parents and parent–child relationships for coping with stressful events. However, we should also not forget that children’s relationships with their teachers are also important.

In practice, Israeli schools often maintain normal school activities despite constant rocket and mortar attacks. Based on the present study findings, it seems that besides continuing their routine, it may be important for schools to offer children opportunities to interact and stay in touch with their teachers. For example, time could be allocated for students to meet with their teachers, one on one, and talk. Moreover, if routines are disrupted and schools close due to attack, arrangements should be made for children to stay in contact with their teachers despite this. This can be done, for example, using Internet communication and remote technologies, which are successfully used for teaching (Rice, 2006). It may also be useful to enhance the use of such technologies for enabling personal interaction and not just for teaching. Future research could explore both the means and contribution of such contact despite the closure of schools during periods of extended bombardment.

Finally, although the present study focused on chronic stress under terror, the results may be applied to other high-risk environments. Studies have shown, for example, that poverty induces stress (Evans & English, 2002) and that sick children or children with illness in their family are also subject to chronic stress. The present findings suggest that close teacher–student relationships can be an effective resource for supporting students living with stress. It is even possible that under such conditions, teachers can be a stronger coping resource than family members. For example, research has found that adolescent cancer victims experience greater conflict with their parents than their healthy peers (Ishibashi, 2001). In such cases, it might be very important to have a close relationship with a teacher, who could greatly enhance their well-being. As with terrorism, there is not much a teacher can do to reduce a child’s stressors. However, by developing positive personal relationships, they can help promote their students’ resilience and growth.

Footnotes

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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