In adolescence, social support from friends might protect against the depressogenic effect of terrorism-related perceived stress.

Understanding the long-term psychological dynamics related to CEM and identifying mediating vulnerability factors-self-criticism and attachment avoidance-might have implications for both the assessment and treatment of individuals with a history of CEM, particularly as effective interventions to address self-criticism and attachment issues are available. (PsycINFO Database Record

This study investigates how social support may protect Israeli early adolescents who have witnessed community violence from engaging in violent behavior when they have also witnessed terror violence. The study examines how support from parents, school, and friends could serve as protective, despite the interactive risk effects of witnessing community and terror violence. In general, results indicate that support from parents operated as a protective factor, whereas support from friends acted as a risk by increasing the likelihood of violent behavior. Support from school has both a protective and risk effect, depending on the type of violence exposure witnessed. The extent to which these facets of social support operated as risk or protective factors is conditional on whether youth had also witnessed terror violence, and terror violence appear to moderate each of the three facets of support differently. The implications of these findings and intervention initiatives for Israeli youth are discussed.