ABSTRACT
In a country at war, how do adolescents fare? How do they think of themselves and how does their sense of self react to the threat that war poses? This study triangulates three explanatory frameworks (Social Identity Theory, theory about mortality threats, and research about psychological reactions to war-related events) in examining the self-esteem of Iraqi adolescents in war-torn Baghdad during the summer of 2004. The first approach holds that self-esteem enhancement occurs in the process of accentuating differences between in-groups and out-groups, especially during times of conflict. The second approach focuses on the conditions under which mortality threats lead individuals to strive to enhance their self-esteem, arguing that when central aspects of one’s social identity are threatened, individuals will strive to enhance their self-esteem. In contrast, the final approach, which considers children and adolescents who grew up with war, typically finds that conflict-related experiences result in higher levels or higher rates of post-traumatic stress reactions, depression, and grief.
