Background: Exposure to traumatic events can significantly impact individuals' mental health, particularly of more vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women. This study focuses on Israeli pregnant women following the terror attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war. It aims to examine the contribution of background and pregnancy-related characteristics, exposure to the traumatic events and personal resources (self-mastery, intolerance of uncertainty) to post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and war-related concerns about oneself, close others, the fetus and raising the baby who is about to be born.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerceiving one's remaining time until death, can serve as a source of resilience when faced with adversity in the second half of life. The current work is based on a prospective study and examines whether subjective nearness-to-death (SNtD) moderates the association between posttraumatic-stress symptoms (PTSS) and hope among adults in the second half of life. The first wave was conducted after the end of a military conflict in the south of Israel, and included 170 participants (M = 66.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The aim of the current study was to identify difficulties in adapting to normal life once COVID-19 lockdown has been lifted. Israel was used as a case study, as COVID-19 social restrictions, including a nation-wide lockdown, were lifted almost completely by mid-April 2021, following a large-scale vaccination operation.
Methods: A sample of 293 mid-age and older Israeli adults ( age = 61.
Background: The present study examined whether subjective accelerated aging moderated the relationship between COVID-19 health worries and COVID-19 peritraumatic distress among older adults.
Method: The sample consisted of 277 older adults (M = 69.58, s.
In this study, we evaluated whether levels of receptive arts engagement (visiting museums/concerts/the theater/the cinema) during the year preceding the COVID-19 outbreak may have served as a psychological resource for older adults that mitigated the association between resilience levels and COVID-19 anxiety when the pandemic broke out. Data were collected after the enactment of the first emergency regulations (between March 15 and April 1, 2020) via the Qualtrics Survey Software link that was sent out through social media platforms. In total, 205 participants aged 65 to 92 (mean age, 72.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine whether subjective nearness-to-death moderated the association between health worries and death anxiety due to the COVID-19 outbreak among older adults in Israel. Using an online survey, 277 participants were recruited and completed self-reported questionnaires, which included background characteristics, exposure to COVID-19 risk experiences, self-rated health, subjective nearness-to-death, health worries regarding COVID-19, and death anxiety. Findings revealed that subjective nearness-to-death moderated the association between health worries and death anxiety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF• Loneliness was the main risk factor for depression, anxiety and their comorbidity. • Probable clinical level of depression and anxiety was not predicted by risk for COVID-19 complications. • adults above 60, displayed greater resilience to psychiatric disorders associated with the COVID-19 crisis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFear of insects, mainly spiders, is considered one of the most common insect phobias. However, to date, no conducted studies have examined the effects of phobic stimulus exposure (spiders/ants) within the positive context of superhero movies, such as or . A convenience sample of 424 participants divided into four groups watched different clips.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn line with the new conceptualization of adjustment disorder (AjD) in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), a new 20-item self-report questionnaire was developed and validated - the Adjustment Disorder-New Module (ADNM). However, such a long research tool has the potential to become problematic for use in epidemiological and clinical settings. Therefore, an ultra-brief measure for AjD (ADNM-4) was established and validated in a recent study conducted with a representative national sample.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current study sought to assess death anxiety and psychological distress among kidney donors, in comparison to a control population. Seventy-eight non-directed living kidney donors were recruited through the Israeli voluntary kidney donation association. This sample was compared to 396 participants from a control population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Subjective Traumatic Outlook (STO) deals with changes in individuals' perception, following a traumatic event and the difficulties of integrating pre-trauma past memories, inner traumatic memories, and current daily life. Although this short scale has excellent psychometric properties its cut-off scores for potential clinical use have yet to be established. In addition, due to the discrepancy between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in the meaurement of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the present study aimed at revalidating the STO and establishing cut-off scores for potential clinical use, based on both approaches to measure PTSD and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current study aimed to explore Israelis' state anxiety due to a Syrian-Israeli incident that occurred on February 10, 2018, when an Israeli F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Syrian air defense forces. In line with the "looming vulnerability" model which emphasizes the importance of the dynamic nature of psychologically threatening situations, the following psychological factors were suggested: associative memory of prior events, worries of future war, sense of safety, and death anxiety. We employed two cross-sectional points of time in our assessment: 36 hours and three months after the incident.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollowing an ISIS attack, the present study examined the association between psychological distress and severe stress symptoms with vulnerability variables: i.e. Physical proximity to the site of the terror attack, Associative memory of prior events, Danger perception and ISIS anxiety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study, through the lens of Social Cognitive Theory, examined potential risk factors that may intensify election-related psychological distress. Six weeks after the 2016 U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFICD-11 has provided a revised definition for adjustment disorder (AjD). The current study examined whether mortality salience effect, a possible consequence of a terror attack, may serve as a significant predictor associated with each of the AjD subscales. Using an online survey, 379 adult participants were recruited and filled out self-reported questionnaires dealing with adjustment disorder symptoms as well as mortality salience effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe minority of people who have experienced a traumatic event and were diagnosed as either suffering from PTSD or from Adjustment disorder, may suggest that victims of a traumatic event vary in risk factors for the disorders. The current research aimed at examining the association between reports of Adjustment disorder and PTSD symptoms (In accordance with the proposed revisions of the ICD-11) and several vulnerability variables: previous traumatic event, previous stressful event and physical proximity to the terror attack. Using an online survey, 379 adult participants were recruited, and filled out Adjustment disorder, PTSD symptomatology scales, as well as a previous exposure, magnitude of exposure and death anxiety scales.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Whereas role-playing and table-top role-play games (RPGs) have been proven to have potential as therapeutic tools, playing RPGs is often stereotypically associated with social incompetence and psychiatric disorders. Knowledge regarding the stereotype and its implications is very scarce specifically among mental health practitioners. Therefore the present study aimed to narrow this gap in knowledge by examining the perception of Social Workers that are considered to be the forefront of mental health-care, in regard to the association between playing RPGs and mental health.
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