CINCINNATI, March 17 (UPI) -- A survey of 1,000 Iraqi teens indicates the more they felt their city was unsafe, the more frequently they reported strong self-esteem.
The survey focusing on the attitudes of adolescents affected by war on their home soil was conducted in 10 neighborhoods around Baghdad for University of Cincinnati Professor Steve Carlton-Ford.
The study said the neighborhoods ranged from areas that had reported attacks on multinational forces to neighborhoods that reported violent battles and deadly mortar attacks on civilians.
"The persistent correlation between positive self-esteem and perceptions that Iraq and Baghdad are unsafe is just the opposite of what I would expect in a survey of young children," says Carlton-Ford.
He found the high self-esteem and high-perceived threat groups were: Arabs compared with minority groups, Muslims compared to Christians and males compared to females.
Carolton-Ford will present the research Friday at the annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society at the Wyndham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
