Missile Stress, Help-Seeking Behavior, and Psychological Reaction to the Gulf War

We studied the effects of missile stress, appraised before the 1991 Gulf War, and help-seeking behavior employed during it on affective reactions to the war. These reactions included the negative strains of anxiety and helplessness and the positive affect of improved self-competence. Respondents were 257 civilians, all residents of metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel, the area targeted by most of the Iraqi missile attacks. Data were gathered by telephone interviews conducted with the respondents about a month before the war and again about 2 weeks after the war's end. As predicted, missile stress and help-seeking behavior were both positively correlated with anxiety and helplessness. It was found, as predicted, that for those who engaged in intensive help-seeking behavior, the negative effects of missile stress on improved self-competence were more pronounced.