Who would have guessed the Iraq war would be so uplifting to the children of Baghdad? According to research funded by the US Military, the invasion boosted the self-esteem of Iraqi teenagers.
The BPS Research Digest covers the study which took place in the summer of 2004, a year after the invasion.
With this new found benefit of invasion, the next target seems obvious – those self-deprecating Canadians!
Link to BPS Research Digest write-up of the study.
Mind Hacks 
Why do you think that we play hockey?
As far as I can see, they didn’t compare pre-invasion measurements of self-esteem to post-invasion measurements. Using a cross-sectional sample from a single point in time, they show a correlation between “perceived threat to family and/or nation” and “self-regard” … so kids with more self-regard tend to report more of a sense of threat. It’s interesting :]
The US Military finds that the Iraq war has positive effects on Iraqis…