The association of exposure, risk, and resiliency factors with PTSD among Jews and Arabs exposed to repeated acts of terrorism in Israel

Israel has faced ongoing terrorism since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000. The authors examined risk and resiliency factors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 1,117 Jews and 394 Arab adult citizens of Israel during August and September 2004 through telephone interviews. Probable PTSD was found among 6.6% of Jews and 18.0% of Arabs. Predictors of probable PTSD in a multivariate model for Jews were refusal to report income, being traditionally religious, economic and psychosocial resource loss, greater traumatic growth, and lower social support. For Arabs, predictors were low education and economic resource loss among those exposed to terrorism. Findings for only those directly exposed to terrorism were similar to those for the overall national sample.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58032/1/20307_ftp.pd

The psychological impact of impending forced settler disengagement in Gaza: Trauma and posttraumatic growth

The Israeli government's decision to remove settlers in the Gaza Strip forcibly produced a situation of traumatic stress, resulting from confrontation and conflict for settlers. The authors examined the effects of the Gaza disengagement, that occurred following prolonged terrorist exposure, on rates of probable major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis in a representative sample of Gaza settlers ( N = 190). Predictors of probable MDD in multivariate models were being female, and experiencing greater economic and psychosocial resource loss. Predictors of probable PTSD were being older and experiencing greater psychosocial resource loss. Posttraumatic growth was significantly related to a reduction in the odds of having probable PTSD. This latter finding is interpreted within our conceptualization of action-focused growth.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58031/1/20301_ftp.pd

Individuals exposed to political violence are less likely to support compromises in peace talks

What impact does political violence have on attitudes toward peace negotiations in conflicts such as those in Ukraine or Israel-Palestine? Daphna Canetti, Sivan Hirsch-Hoefler and Stevan Hobfoll present findings from a survey of Israelis and Palestinians on the effect of political violence on their attitudes toward peace. They find that contrary to the notion that force helps promote political solutions, individuals with greater exposure to political violence tend to exhibit more militant attitudes toward reaching a compromise in peace negotiations

Explaining the Frequency of Alcohol Consumption in a Conflict Zone: Jews and Palestinians in Israel

Experiencing stress and exposure to terrorism may have an adverse effect on health risk behaviors. Few studies have examined alcohol use among adults living in Israel under chronic, stressful terrorism-related conditions. In this study, we examined the relationships of demographics, past stressful events, and terrorism exposure to the frequency of alcohol use and the mediating roles of depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. We used three waves of data from a 2007–2008 nationally representative sample of Jewish and Palestinian adults in Israel. We assessed past stressful events, in addition to direct and indirect exposures to terrorism. Results indicated that past stressful events and exposure to terrorism were not directly associated with alcohol use, but were indirectly associated and mediated by depressive and PTSD symptomology. Mental health symptoms were differentially associated with alcohol use. More frequent drinking was mediated by higher levels of depression, including for women and Palestinians; however, PTSD symptom severity was related to less frequent drinking. Mental health may play a prominent role in the frequency of alcohol use among adults exposed to terrorism in Israel. Alcohol use, as a coping mechanism, may differ by demographic characteristics (gender and ethnicity) and psychological symptomology for adults living in a conflict zone in Israel

Psychological morbidity, social support, and relationship intimacy in pregnant Portuguese women

Pregnancy can predispose women to stress and depression, with social support and intimacy being protective factors for the development of these disorders. This study evaluated the relationship between stress (various stressors), social support, intimacy and depression in a sample of 169 pregnant women attending the Childbirth Preparation classes. Depressive mood was positively correlated with both stress and satisfaction with social support and intimacy were negatively correlated with stress and depressive. In short, it is pertinent to create networks of support and intervention in stress for the promotion of mental health of pregnant women

The impact of resource loss and traumatic growth on probable PTSD and depression following terrorist attacks.

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49237/1/hobfoll_impact of resource loss and traumatic growth_2006.pd

The buffering effect of perceived organizational support on the relationship between work engagement and behavioral outcomes

The present study examined the commonly held assumption that a low level of work engagement leads to higher turnover intentions and employee deviant behavior. Employee survey results (n=175) from a manufacturing organization in the United Kingdom showed that employee work engagement correlates negatively with lagged measures of turnover intentions and deviant work behavior directed towards the organization. The results suggest that perceived organizational support moderates the relationship between work engagement and turnover intentions and deviant behaviors directed towards the organization, such that perceived organizational support compensates for relatively low levels of work engagement

Examining conscientiousness as a key resource in resisting email interruptions : implications for volatile resources and goal achievement

Within the context of the conservation of resources model, when a resource is deployed, it is depleted - albeit temporarily. However, when a 'key', stable resource, such as Conscientiousness, is activated (e.g., using a self-control strategy, such as resisting an email interruption), we predicted that (1) another, more volatile resource (affective well-being) would be impacted and that (2) this strategy would be deployed as a trade-off, allowing one to satisfy task goals, at the expense of well-being goals. We conducted an experience‐sampling field study with 52 email-users dealing with their normal email as it interrupted them over the course of a half‐day period. This amounted to a total of 376 email reported across the sample. Results were analysed using random coefficient hierarchical linear modelling and included cross-level interactions for Conscientiousness with strategy and well-being. Our first prediction was supported - deploying the stable, key resource of Conscientiousness depletes the volatile, fluctuating resource of affective well-being. However, our second prediction was not fully realized. Although resisting or avoiding an email interruption was perceived to hinder well-being goal achievement by Conscientious people, it had neither a positive nor negative impact on task goal achievement. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Practitioner points: It may be necessary for highly Conscientious people to turn off their email interruption alerts at work, in order to avoid the strain that results from an activation-resistance mechanism afforded by the arrival of a new email. Deploying key resources means that volatile resources may be differentially spent, depending on one's natural tendencies and how these interact with the work task and context. This suggests that the relationship between demands and resources is not always direct and predictable. Practitioners may wish to appraise the strategies they use to deal with demands such as email at work, to identify if these strategies are assisting with task or well-being goal achievement, or whether they have become defunct through automation