Posttraumatic Symptoms, Functional Impairment, and Coping among Adolescents on Both Sides of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: A Cross-Cultural Approach

This study assessed the effects of the ongoing violence on the mental health of Palestinian and Israeli youths. Parallel instruments were developed and adapted, as part of a collaborative project, in order to assess, in each society: (1) differential rates of exposure to the conflict, (2) the association between exposure and the severity of posttraumatic symptoms (PTS), and (3) the inter‐relationships among PTS, functional impairment, somatic complaints, and coping strategies. Participants were 1,016 Israeli and 1,235 Palestinian adolescents. A self‐report questionnaire assessed exposure. PTS was measured using the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, functional impairment and somatic complaints were measured with the DISC, and coping strategies were assessed with Brief Cope. In both societies, greater exposure to conflict‐related violence was associated with more PTS and more somatic complaints, with girls reporting more distress than boys. A total of 6.8 per cent of the Israeli students and 37.2 per cent of the Palestinian students met criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In both societies, but more pronounced in the Palestinian Authority, adolescents reported significant levels of functional impairment, mainly in the area of school functioning. Students with PTSD reported more somatic complaints as well as greater functional impairment. The results show the serious psychological impact of the ongoing violent conflict on Israeli and Palestinian students and point to the need to develop appropriate school‐based interventions to address their mental health needs. Cette étude évalue les effets de la violence continuelle sur la santé mentale des jeunes palestiniens et israéliens. Des instruments analogues ont été développés et adaptés, dans le cadre d’un projet de collaboration, afin d’évaluer dans chaque société: (1) les différences de taux d’exposition au conflit, (2) l’association entre l’exposition et la sévérité des symptômes post‐traumatiques (PTS) et (3) les interrelations entre les PTS, les troubles fonctionnels, les plaintes somatiques et les stratégies de faire‐face. 1016 adolescents israéliens et 1235 adolescents palestiniens ont participéà cette étude. Un questionnaire auto‐administré mesure l’exposition au conflit. Les PTS sont mesurés par l’utilisation de l’UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, les troubles fonctionnels et les plaintes somatiques sont approchés par le DISC, et les stratégies de faire‐face par le Brief Cope. Dans les deux sociétés, une plus grande exposition au conflit et à ses violences est associée à des PTS plus importants et à plus de plaintes somatiques, les filles manifestant plus de détresse que les garçons. Un total de 6.8% des étudiants israéliens et 37.2% des étudiants palestiniens répondent à des critères du Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Dans les deux sociétés, mais de façon plus prononcée dans l’Autorité palestinienne, les adolescents rapportent des niveaux significatifs de troubles fonctionnels, principalement dans le domaine du fonctionnement scolaire. Les étudiants avec PTSD manifestent plus de plaintes somatiques, il en va de même pour les troubles fonctionnels. Les résultats montrent le sérieux impact psychologique d’un conflit violent et continuel sur les étudiants israéliens et palestiniens et signale le besoin de développer des interventions scolaires appropriées à leurs besoins en matière de santé mentale.     

Attachment Patterns in Medically Serious Suicide Attempts: The Mediating Role of Self‐Disclosure and Loneliness

Although the study of medically serious suicide behavior is an important strategy for understanding the nature of suicide, little is known about its underlying psychological mechanisms. This gap is addressed here by applying insights from attachment theory to severe suicidal behavior. The results show that both anxious and avoidant attachment patterns predict medical lethality. Path analysis indicated that interpersonal difficulties mediated the paths between insecure attachment patterns and lethality of suicide attempts. These results suggest that the psychological mechanisms of medically serious suicide behavior involve high levels of mental pain amplified by insecure attachment patterns and interpersonal difficulties. Implications for prevention and therapeutic intervention strategies are discussed.     

Increasing self-efficacy reduces visual intrusions to a trauma-film paradigm

Background and Objectives: It has been proposed that self-efficacy plays a critical role in the onset and maintenance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to test if increasing perceptions of self-efficacy using a false feedback technique about coping abilities prior to a trauma-film paradigm lead to a reduction of visual intrusions over the course of 6 days.

Design and Methods: Healthy participants recruited from the community were randomized to a high self-efficacy (HSE, N?=?18), low self-efficacy (LSE, N?=?21), or neutral self-efficacy (NSE, N?=?23) conditions.

Results: Participants in the HSE condition reported higher levels of self-efficacy. In addition, individuals in the HSE conditions reported significantly fewer intrusions over 6 days. Unexpectedly, individuals in the LSE condition reported fewer intrusions on the final day of the study compared to those in the NSE condition. The LSE group was also the only group showing a significant linear decline in intrusion across the 6 days.

Discussion: These findings provide further support that perceptions of self-efficacy are modifiable and may contribute to clinically-relevant processes underlying PTSD. Future prospective research with individuals exposed to trauma will help to shed light on the potential role of self-efficacy to buffer the negative impacts of traumatic stress.