Is ideology a risk factor for PTSD symptom severity among Israeli political evacuees?

Abstract

To study the role of ideology in situations of extreme stress, a research questionnaire, measuring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), settlement ideology (the importance of Jewish settlement in Gaza), and type of evacuation was administered to 326 Jewish residents who were evacuated from Gaza settlements by the Israeli government. Forty percent of the participants met the criteria of probable PTSD. Forcibly evicted individuals reported higher levels of settlement ideology and higher levels of PTSD symptom severity compared to voluntarily evacuated individuals. Contrary to previous studies, ideology was found to be positively associated with PTSD symptom severity. The results are explained by the conservation of resources and terror management theories. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Mitigation of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms From Chronic Terror Attacks on Southern Israel

“…Sense of community was defined by McMillan and Chavis (1986) as a feeling that members of a certain group have of belonging and of being important to each other, and a shared belief that the needs of members will be met by the collective. Ideology is a broad concept that also refers to political and moral belief systems, which allow people to create a conceptual framework in which they can organize, interpret, understand, and construct meaning from the world (Oren & Possick, 2010). These features might serve as protective factors against PTSD in the context of the ongoing incidents of terror experienced by residents of southern Israel (Braun-Lewensohn & Sagy, 2014;Gelkopf et al, 2012;Nuttman-Shwartz & Dekel, 2009;Stein et al, 2013).…”

“…Ideology was measured by the measure of Oren and Possick (2010) for ideology. Oren and Possick developed and used a measure of ideology relevant to Israeli residents living next to Gaza.…”

“…A total ideology score can be obtained by summing the scores from the three items (Oren & Possick, 2010). This measure had an internal reliability score  of 0.77 in a study that was conducted on 326 Israeli adult participants who lived in the vicinity of Gaza (Oren & Possick, 2010).…”

“…Studies of the DUREL's psychometric properties have found Cronbach's  = 0.78-0.91 (Koenig & Büssing, 2010). Oren and Possick (2010) reported that their ideology measure had an internal reliability score  of 0.77. Bollinger, Cuevas, Vielhauer, Morgan, and Keane (2008) found that the PCL-C had a Cronbach's  value of 0.94.…”

Handbook of Resilience in Children of War

“…Studies of the effects of ideological commitment on mental health after political violence have produced divergent fi ndings (Laufer & Solomon, 2010 ;Oren & Possick, 2010 ; . Some evidence exist that the community attitudes towards traumatized children have a remarkable effect on children's well-being.…”