Citation

Prager E, Solomon Z. Anxiety Stress Coping 1995; 8(4): 265-277.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10615809508249378

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

It has been hypothesized that traumatic events may challenge and even disrupt basic individual assumptions about the world, including the perception of the world as a benevolent place, the meaningfulness of the world, and the self-worth of the individual. The present study compared the cognitive schemata of 61 Israeli Holocaust survivors and 131 controls. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant overall Holocaust effect on World Assumptions. Univariate F tests implicated two of the three schemata investigated: world benevolence and world meaning. Exposure to the Holocaust accounted for almost all the explained variance in the world benevolence scheme, while sociodemographic variables contributed almost all of the explained variance to world meaning and self-worth. The theoretical implication of the results are discussed.