Citation

Shmotkin D, Keinan G. Community Ment. Health J. 2011; 47(1): 35-46.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel, shmotkin@post.tau.ac.il.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-010-9354-9

PMID

20963493

Abstract

This study addressed reactions of Israelis to terrorism and the confrontation with Iraq when these threats coincided in 2003. A sample of 471 participants (age range 19-88) rated affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to each threat. Stronger reactions related to higher neuroticism, lower education, and being a woman; reactions to the confrontation with Iraq also related to lower extraversion and being a Holocaust survivor. Participants reacting predominantly to terrorism revealed higher conscientiousness and better subjective health. The study suggests that global reactivity to a critical dual-stressor situation is linked with risk factors of vulnerability whereas differential reactivity may indicate adaptability.

Language: en