RECOMENDACIONES

M others’ stress level is the quantitative value o f mothers’ responses on the items o f the stress scale, which contains the items expressing the stressful events experienced by the Kuwaiti mothers, during the Iraqi occupation,, and is explained in “Part II: Method” o f the study.

The total score of the stress scale is 15. The analysis showed that the mean score for mothers is 9.2 (61.3%) o f the total score on this scale. The following are the results regarding the mothers’ mean score on the stress scale, taking into consideration the differences in their pregnancy periods as well as their demographic characteristics. Regarding pregnancy period (peace, occupation or liberation), the following Table 4 shows the mean score o f the mothers’ groups, on the stress scale, for each o f the periods.

Table 4: Mothers’ mean score on the stress scale

Period Number Mothers’ response (stress scale) F-Value Mean _S.D. Peace 51 9.8 1.99 Occupation 50 9.4 2 2 3 6.43* Liberation 50 8.2 2.83 * P < 0.01

Mothers o f the peace and occupation periods showed a high mean score in

comparison to those of the liberation period. According to the Scheffe multi­

comparison test, significant differences were found between mothers’ mean score for the liberation period on one side, and peace and occupation periods on another. There is no significant difference between mothers’ mean score in peace and occupation periods, which implies that those mothers who conceived and. delivered during the peace or occupation periods, experienced the highest level o f stress, in comparison to those mothers who delivered in the liberation period.

Regarding the effect o f demographic variables on mothers’ mean score on the stress scale, the study showed that the family monthly income is the only variable indicating a significant difference. The mean score for the medium (9.62) and high- income (9.14) groups o f mothers, on the stress scale, is significantly higher in comparison to that o f the low income (8.47) groups. According to Scheffe multi­ comparison test, there are significant differences between the mean scores o f the second and first groups, but no significant differences between the third and first, as

well as the second and third groups, respectively. Except for monthly income

variable, mothers’ mean score on the stress scale did not indicate any significant differences for: residential govemorate, education, age or job.

6.1.2 Martyrdom and Imprisonment of Some Relatives as an Indication of Mothers’ Stress

Although the stressful incidences which Kuwaiti mothers were exposed to were numerous, the most important o f these were martyrdom or imprisonment of some o f their blood relatives, during the period o f the Iraqi aggression.

A mother who experienced killing or imprisonment o f one o f her relatives by the occupying Iraqi forces would be subjected to massive stress. The impact o f this stress might be reflected on the mother’s personality in the form o f complex psychological suffering.

The preceding point dealt with mothers’ stress in general. However, a need emerged to investigate mothers’ stress in the light o f more identified stressful incidents. The current point o f the study is an attempt to identify mothers’ stress due to killing or imprisonment o f one o f their relatives, as the worst stressful experience Kuwaiti mothers might have suffered during the Iraqi aggression.

Primarily, the study findings revealed that 60% of the mothers experienced martyrdom and/or imprisonment o f some o f their relatives by the occupying forces. This percentage makes 90 respondents. In the framework o f this figure, some mothers had some relatives who were martyred and at the same time others who were imprisoned. Some mothers had some o f their relatives only martyred, and vice versa.

The following Table 5 shows a distribution of the study sample of mothers whose relatives were either martyred and/or imprisoned.

Table 5: Distribution of mothers according to martyrdom and

Martyrdom/Imprisonment N %

Martyrdom 8 5.3

Imprisonment 67 44.3

Martyrdom and Imprisonment 15 10

Neither Martyrdom nor Imprisonment 61 40.4

Total 151 100

From this table, only 44.3% of the mothers had relatives who were imprisoned due to the Iraqi occupation. The number o f mothers with martyred relatives due to the

Iraqi occupation is (8), in addition to (15) mothers who had relatives who experienced martyrdom and imprisonment. Finally, 40.4% o f mothers, i.e., (61) respondents did not have any relatives who were martyred or imprisoned.

Six pairs o f groups can be obtained from Table 5, as follows: First pair included two groups of mothers:

i) Those who had some relatives who were only martyred. ii) Those who had some relatives who were imprisoned Second pair included two groups o f mothers:

i) Those who had some relatives who were only martyred.

ii) Those who had some relatives who were martyred and others imprisoned. Third pair included two groups o f mothers:

i) Those who had some relatives who were only martyred. ii) Those who did not have martyred nor imprisoned relatives. Fourth pair included two groups o f mothers:

i) Those who had some relatives who were imprisoned.

ii) Those who had some relatives who were martyred and others imprisoned. Fifth pair included two groups o f mothers:

i) Those who had some relatives who were imprisoned ii) Those who did not have martyred nor imprisoned relatives. Sixth pair included two groups o f mothers:

i) Those who had some relatives who were martyred and others imprisoned. ii) Those who did not have either martyred nor imprisoned relatives.

These are all the possible comparisons that could be obtained. Now the

question is: Do mothers who experienced martyrdom and/or imprisonment o f some of their relatives differ from those who did not have such experiences, with regard to

performance on the scale o f stress? The following Table 6 displays the findings to this query.

Table 6: Mothers’ mean score on the stress scale, according to the experiences of martyrdom and imprisonment of some relatives

M artyrdom and Im prisonm ent N M ean score on stress scale M Std T. V alue