Socio-Psychological Structure of the Kuwaiti Society After the Gulf War

This study investigates the socio-psychological changes, which the 1990 Gulf war had afflicted on the Kuwaiti society. Specifically, the objective of the paper is fourfold: first, to uncover the positive and negative effects of the socio-psychological factors of the invasion and assess their consequences on the whole society; second, to quantify the extent and content of the problem; third, to scan the perimeter of the crisis and introduce the measures undertaken by the people and the government to combat the negative effects; and finally, to scrutinize the research techniques and refine the theoretical explanations that have been utilized in reaching the results of the study. In general, this paper documents the endeavor, which the State of Kuwait has achieved so far in alleviating the socio-psychological ills of the Iraqi aggression.     

Adopting a Strength‐based,Indigenous‐focused Approach to Studying Kuwait Post‐traumatic Stress

Research design can be elegant but rarely does good research embarking on a new and complex area travel in a straight line. This article briefly describes the winding journey of three investigators, two Kuwaitis, a sociologist and the other asocial work researcher, and one American psychologist. Their goal was to tale the emotional pulse of Kuwait in the shadows of fifteen years of Iraq‐induced trauma. Along the way they adopt an indigenous focus that lead them to invent a measure of Raha (wellbeing) especially suited for studying Kuwaitis. The latter portion of the paper describes the procedures and results of the development of the Kuwaiti Raha Scale, ending with a discussion of the implications for international research in the social sciences. This study was funded by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS).