Citation

Amital D, Amital H, Shohat G, Soffer Y, Bar-Dayan Y. Isr. Med. Assoc. J. 2012; 14(5): 281-285.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Ness Ziona Mental Health Center, Ness Ziona, Israel.

Comment In:

Isr Med Assoc J 2012;14(5):307-9.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Israel Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

22799057

Abstract

BACKGROUND: On 4 February 2008, two terrorists armed with suicide bombs arrived atthe open market in the southern Israeli city of Dimona. One detonated his bomb at approximately 10:30 a.m. causing multiple casualties. Short-term emotional effects and acute stress reactions usually appear among survivors after such incidents. OBJECTIVES: To compare the differences in emotions and in disturbances of daily life activities that emerge a couple of days following such an event and to identify patterns of stress development among resilient and low-resilient members of the population in Dimona and in the general population of Israel. METHODS: A telephone survey of two randomly selected representative samples of adults (428 Israeli residents and 250 Dimona residents) was conducted 2 days afterthe event. RESULTS: A higher prevalence of stress and fear and a lower prevalence of joy were reported among the population of Dimona compared to the general population in Israel (P < 0.05). Differences were also recorded when the population of Dimona was categorized by its personal degree of resilience (P < 0.05). A higher prevalence of disturbances in daily life activities and changes in leisure activity was found in the low-resilient population in Dimona (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that following a public terror event, self-reported low-resilient subjects have a higher prevalence of disturbances in daily life activities, as well as adverse emotional responses. These differences must be addressed by the relevant social service agencies for immediate public intervention.

Language: en