Background

Grief, a universally experienced response to death of a loved one, carries distinct emotional and behavioral dimensions. This study examines the psychometric properties and factorial validity of the Arabic adaptation of the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), along with mediation pathways between emotional distress (anxiety, depression, and stress) and grief dimensions, moderated by resilience, life satisfaction, and religiosity.

Method

Data were collected from a sample of 423 Arabic-speaking adults residing in Libya and affected by the Libyan wars, ranging in age from 18 to 52 years (M = 29.93, SD = 6.73)

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure, cognitive/emotional symptoms. Convergent validity showed significant positive correlations between ICG scores and measures of psychological distress (anxiety, r = .24; depression, r = .22). Discriminant validity was confirmed through negligible associations with resilience (r = -.25) and satisfaction with life (r = -.12). Mediation analyses identified resilience as a significant mediator in pathways from distress to grief symptoms (anxiety to cognitive/emotional symptoms via resilience, estimate = .13, p = .023). Satisfaction with life and religiosity displayed limited indirect effects, underscoring the dominant role of resilience.

Conclusion

These findings reinforce the suitability of the Arabic ICG as a reliable tool for assessing grief in Arabic-speaking populations, while highlighting the protective role of resilience in grief management. Implications extend to culturally sensitive interventions and resilience-building therapeutic approaches.

Shame and guilt are critical self-conscious emotions that influence psychological well-being. The Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2) is a widely used to assess these emotions, yet its psychometric properties within Arab populations remain underexplored. Additionally, psychological distress may mediate the relationships between resilience, religiosity, and emotional outcomes. This study examined the psychometric properties of the PFQ-2 among Libyan and Emirati Arab populations to assess shame and guilt. A total of 281 participants from Libya and the UAE completed self-report measures of shame and guilt (PFQ-2), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), religiosity (Muslim Religiosity Scale), and psychological distress (DASS-8). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a two-factor structure (χ2 (76) = 101, p = 0.028, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.059), with the exclusion of two low-performing items “Disgusting to others” and “Laughable” improving model fit. Internal consistency was satisfactory for both shame (α = 0.80, ω = 0.80) and guilt (α = 0.84, ω = 0.85). Structural equation modeling indicated that psychological distress significantly mediated the negative associations between resilience and shame (β = −0.09, p = 0.004), and between extrinsic religiosity and shame (β = −0.06, p = 0.016). Gender and cultural differences emerged, with females reporting higher guilt than males (Mean Difference = 1.84, p = 0.041), and Libyan participants exhibiting higher levels of guilt (Mean Difference = 2.18, p = 0.016) and shame (Mean Difference = 2.76, p = 0.012) compared to Emirati participants. Post-hoc analysis revealed that Libyan females reported significantly higher guilt than UAE males (Mean Difference = 4.03, p = 0.039), whereas gender differences in shame were nonsignificant (F (1,28) = 0.008, p = 0.93). The findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive assessments and highlight psychological distress as a key factor in understanding resilience and religiosity in emotional well-being.

This study investigates the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) while examining the role of personality traits (e.g. conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness). It utilizes text mining (TM) techniques to analyze participants’ narratives for semantic insights into their psychological states. A sample of 144 adults, with an average age of 23.92 years; 65% of the participants were women, shared narratives of their most painful traumatic experiences and completed psychometric assessments, including the Arabic versions of the Big Five Inventory, Impact of Event Scale, and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Regression analysis revealed a low but statistically significant association between PTG and PTSS. Significant associations were also found between PTG and the personality traits of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Subscale analyses indicated that Conscientiousness is significantly associated with both Personal Strength and New Possibilities. Correlational analyses revealed moderate to strong correlations between PTGI and personality traits (e.g., Agreeableness; Conscientiousness), as well as between PTGI subscales and PTSS dimensions. Gender differences were also observed, with women showing higher correlations with numbing PTSS symptoms and Agreeableness. Text mining enriched analysis by identifying thematic patterns in trauma narratives, with interpersonal losses and psychological distress emerging prominently. The findings emphasize conscientiousness’s therapeutic relevance in fostering PTG and advocate for the integration of TM with psychometric tools to deepen insights into trauma and growth dynamics. Future research should diversify samples and explore qualitative analyses to capture nuanced cultural expressions in narratives.

Background

Cancer imposes significant physical, psychological, and social challenges. Psychological distress, including anxiety, depression, and somatization, is common among cancer patients, while post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) often coexist. Resilience and social support are critical in mitigating distress and fostering PTG, yet these dynamics in Arab populations, particularly Libyan cancer patients, remain underexplored.

Aim

This study aimed to explore the relationships between resilience, social support, psychological distress, and trauma-related outcomes (PTSS and PTG) in Libyan cancer patients, examining the mediating role of social support.

Method

Fifty-three cancer patients (mean age 62.3 years, 66% women) from hospitals in Tripoli participated. Participants completed validated Arabic versions of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Patient Health Questionnaire, Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form, Brief Resilience Scale, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bladder. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyse direct and mediated relationships among variables.

Results

PTSS did not correlate significantly with PTG (rs = .02). Social support positively predicted resilience (b = .44, p < .001) and PTG (b = .70, p = .004) and negatively associated with psychological distress, including somatization (b = − .53, p = .003) and anxiety (b = − .42, p < .001). SEM revealed that social support significantly mediated the relationship between resilience and PTG (estimate = .31, p = .027) and between resilience and PTSS (estimate = .58, p = .010).

Conclusion

Social support and resilience appear to play pivotal roles in mitigating psychological distress and fostering PTG among Libyan cancer patients. Cultural factors such as family and communal bonds may enhance these effects. Interventions aimed at bolstering social support and resilience are essential for improving psychological outcomes in this population.

Research has developed the Big-Five Aspect Scale (BFAS), supporting a five-domain model that includes 10 related aspects. In Arabic societies, there is currently a lack of validation evidence for a scale with these 10 aspects. Thus, this study develops and examines the psychometric properties of the short version of the BFAS (BFAS-SV) within Libyan Arab adults. The sample (N = 1136; 74.6% women, Mage = 25.30, SDage = 8.44) completed the original BFAS and the Arabic version of the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) to assess the BFAS-SV’s convergent validity. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied. The findings provide strong support for the presence of 10 distinct aspects within the Big Five personality domains. Additionally, a robust positive and negative correlation was found among the 10 BFAS-SV aspects, as well as between the BFAS-SV domains of Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Introversion, and Openness/Intellect and their corresponding dimensions in the IPIP, further confirming its concurrent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the five domains and their respective 10 aspects ranged from 0.61 to 0.85, indicating good internal consistency. Significant gender differences were observed in the Neuroticism domain, particularly in its two aspects (Volatility and Withdrawal), as well as in the Openness/Intellect domain and the Politeness aspect, with women scoring higher in all cases.

In conclusion, this study establishes the reliability, validity, and applicability of the Arabic BFAS among the Libyan Arab population. The insights gained into the personality traits and behaviors of Libyan Arab individuals provide valuable implications for personal development and professional success.

This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) using factor analyses, as well as relationships with well-established factors of personality – including the mediating role of personality traits between Fight-Flight- Freeze system (FFFS), Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) subscales. The study recruited 1,813 Libyan participants across three subsamples, ranging in age from 18 to 66, through convenience and snowball sampling methods via online platforms. In three different subsamples, findings revealed a robust RST-PQ six-factor structure, distinguishing FFFS and BIS, alongside four distinct BAS subscales. Discriminant validity was assessed, indicting Moderate/strong correlations between BIS and Negative Emotionality, and BAS subscales and Extraversion. Moreover, associations with psychological symptoms highlighted BIS’s correlation with anxiety, depression, and stress, and correlations between BAS subscales and personality traits supported their construct validity. Fit indices for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were χ² = 30,944, df = 1,378, χ²/df = 22.01, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92, and RMSEA = 0.04, indicating an acceptable model fit. Gender differences showed females scoring higher in FFFS, BIS, Reward Reactivity, Impulsivity, and Panic responses. Furthermore, structural equation model revealed that personality traits mediated associations between FFFS and BIS, with BAS subscales showing differential predictive patterns. Additionally, separate scales of Defensive Fight and Panic were validated. This research provides the first validation of the RST-PQ in Arabic and highlights the mediating role of personality traits between FFFS, BIS and BAS subscales. Future studies should focus on cultural comparisons and further investigate the predictive validity of RST-PQ scales across different domains (e.g., clinical and occupational).

The aim of the study was to investigate the mediating roles of resilience, posttraumatic growth (PTG) and religiosity between the impact of hurricane trauma and psychological distress. Using a cross-sectional design, the study involved 101 Libyan participants with an average age of 30.43 years (SD = 9.59), of whom 72% were women. Participants completed validated tests, including the Impact of Event Scale (IES), Brief Resilience Scale, Muslim Religiosity Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). The results indicated that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were not associated with PTG (r = 0.04, p > 0.05) or religiosity (r = 0.02, p > 0.05) but were negatively associated with resilience (r = −0.39, p < 0.001) and positively associated with psychological distress including anxiety (r = 0.72, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that only resilience positively mediated the association between PTSS and anxiety (indirect effect = 0.04, p = 0.031), while PTSS positively predicted psychological distress (β = 0.037, p < 0.001). Network analysis identified parent loss is strongly connected with intrusion (r = 0.121), as most central node, while partner loss was associated with hyperarousal (r = 0.063), irritability (r = 0.036) and both share the same connection with numbing, while interestingly partner and friends loss share connection with resilience (r = 0.177). The study concludes that urgent clinical interventions, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, are required for the affected individuals, with a focus on enhancing resilience as a protective factor against PTSS.