Citation

Klingman A. Death Stud. 2001; 25(1): 33-49.

Affiliation

University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Israel. avigdork@construct.haifa.ac.il

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481180125937

PMID

11503761

Abstract

The assassination of Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a political opponent caused disbelief, shock, anxiety, and deep grief in the Israeli society. This study reports on 229 4th-grade children's responses to the traumatic event 2 days after it occurred. In the present study, a semi-projective measure, the Bar-Ilan Picture Test for Children (R. Itskovitz & H. Strauss, 1982, 1986), was adapted to the situation to assess their affective reactions, social support resources, and coping on the second day after the murder. Overall, the results reveal that their reactions reflect the general adult population affective response to the assassination and resemble the responses of children found in epidemiological studies following trauma and disaster. The role played by the school as social support system is also discussed.

Language: en