Predictors of depressive symptoms among Israeli Jews and Arabs during the Al Aqsa intifada: A population-based cohort study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60329/1/tracy_predictors of depressive symptoms among israeli_2008.pd

Refining our understanding of traumatic growth in the face of terrorism: Moving from meaning cognitions to doing what is meaningful

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55745/1/hobfoll_posttraumatic growth_2007.pd

Trajectories of Resilience, Resistance, and Distress During Ongoing Terrorism: The Case of Jews and Arabs in Israel

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61856/1/Hobfoll_trajectories of resilience resistance and distress in israel_2009.pd

Exposure to Terrorism, Stress-Related Mental Health Symptoms, and Defensive Coping Among Jews and Arabs in Israel

The authors conducted a large-scale study of terrorism in Israel via telephone surveys in September 2003 with 905 adult Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCIs). Structural equation path modeling indicated that exposure to terrorism was significantly related to greater loss and gain of psychosocial resources and to greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms. Psychosocial resource loss and gain associated with terrorism were, in turn, significantly related to both greater PTSD and depressive symptoms. PCIs had significantly higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms than Jews. Further, PTSD symptoms in particular were related to greater authoritarian beliefs and ethnocentrism, suggesting how PTSD may lead to a self-protective style of defensive coping

The psychological impact of the Israel-Hezbollah War on Jews and Arabs in Israel: The impact of risk and resilience factors

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60923/1/palmieri et al. 2008.pd

The psychological impact of the Israel-Hezbollah War on Jews and Arabs in Israel: The impact of risk and resilience factors

Although there is abundant evidence that mass traumas are associated with adverse mental health consequences, few studies have used nationally representative samples to examine the impact of war on civilians, and none have examined the impact of the Israel-Hezbollah War, which involved unprecedented levels of civilian trauma exposure from July 12 to August 14, 2006. The aims of this study were to document probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), determined by the PTSD Symptom Scale and self-reported functional impairment, in Jewish and Arab residents of Israel immediately after the Israel-Hezbollah War and to assess potential risk and resilience factors. A telephone survey was conducted August 15-October 5, 2006, following the cessation of rocket attacks. Stratified random sampling methods yielded a nationally representative population sample of 1200 adult Israeli residents. The rate of probable PTSD was 7.2%. Higher risk of probable PTSD was associated with being a woman, recent trauma exposure, economic loss, and higher psychosocial resource loss. Lower risk of probable PTSD was associated with higher education. The results suggest that economic and psychosocial resource loss, in addition to trauma exposure, have an impact on post-trauma functioning. Thus, interventions that bolster these resources might prove effective in alleviating civilian psychopathology during war.Israel War Trauma Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Risk factors Resilience factors Israel-Hezbollah War Mental health

Posttraumatic Growth: Action and Reaction

We respond to the commentators who raise several key issues. Points of agreement include the need to incorporate several new concepts within the broader umbrella of posttraumatic growth (PTG), a need to understand more of the context under which PTG might have positive, negative, or limited influence, and a need to understand aspects of persons and populations who might use PTG in different ways. A major point of disagreement remains with the original formulation of PTG which poses PTG as a universally positive contribution to well‐being, or even that it is beneficial in its own right. Illusion may have positive aspects, but we remain interested in the idea that it is most beneficial when translated into action. Some of these actions may be cognitive, but they should in such instances have lasting meaning for individuals’ lives. Too often, PTG represents the belief that one has grown in some deep way, without validation of that depth of experience. Il nous faut répondre aux commentateurs qui soulèvent plusieurs questions importantes. Les points d’accord concernent la nécessité d’introduire de nouveaux concepts sous la notion générale de développement post‐traumatique (PTG), de mieux cerner les contextes où le PTG peut avoir une influence positive, négative ou limitée et d’évaluer les dimensions des personnes et des populations susceptibles d’exploiter le PTG de différentes façons. Le désaccord majeur porte sur la définition originelle du PTG qui implique que celui‐ci contribue au bien‐être de façon universellement positive, ou même qu’il est en lui‐même source de bénéfices. L’illusion peut avoir des retombées positives, mais nous restons convaincus qu’elle est plus efficace quand elle s’investit dans l’action. Certaines de ces actions peuvent être d’ordre cognitif, mais elles doivent en ce cas revêtir une signification durable pour l’existence de l’individu. Trop souvent le PTG se résume à la conviction que l’on a mûri en profondeur sans qu’il y ait la moindre preuve de cette évolution profonde