Religiosity and Posttraumatic Stress Following Forced Relocation

Abstract

In order to examine the role of religiosity in situations of extreme stress, such as forced relocation, 326 Israeli settlers who were evicted from the Gaza Strip by the government were tested for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intrusion and avoidance, and religiosity and religious support. Approximately 40% of the subjects suffered from PTSD. No correlation was found between PTSD and religiosity or religious support. However, among very religious people, high religious support predicted lower PTSD, while among the moderately religious, high religious support predicted higher PTSD. In addition, religiosity measures were positively correlated with intrusion and negatively correlated with avoidance.Religiosity is considered to be an important resource for the religious person in situations of extreme stress. Religiosity triggers the performance of religious rituals as coping behaviors and can help people come to terms with critical life events that cannot be changed. Religious beliefs may assign significance to suffering, thereby alleviating its negative psychological consequences. In addition, in times of extreme stress the religious person may be able to rely on the help of God and his or her religious community and leaders, and this may lower distress and anxiety. These then are the potential benefits of religiosity in situations of extreme stress. When presented in this way, however, religiosity is cast as a monolithic construct and there are no distinctions made between different types of stressors. The underlying

Environmental threat influences psychological distress and marital satisfaction among avoidantly attached individuals

“…However, research demonstrates that the ability to deny high levels of threat is limited and that under certain conditions defensive denial breaks down. For example, research has found that among Gaza Strip settlers, rates of probable PTSD rose dramatically from 6.5% 2 months prior to the disengagement of 2005 to 26.3% 3–4 days before the disengagement (Hall et al, 2008) and to 40.4% 6 months after the disengagement (Oren & Possick, 2009). This increase could be attributed to the buffering effect of denial that shielded many of the settlers from explicit distress before the onset of the disengagement (Hirschberger & Ein‐Dor, 2006).…”

Address Trainee Counselors’ Perplexities: Integrating Predictors of Self-Efficacy into Counseling Ethics Education

“…Subsequently, the increased self-efficacy would help participants in understanding their clients better and deal with ethical issues efficiently. Oren and Possick (2009) stated that the value of religiosity is useful when individuals are facing difficult situations which lead to stress. Stress is perceived as a condition that is beyond the individuals' coping ability (Gyllensten et al, 2005).…”

“…Dalmida et al (2012) explained further that religiosity is associated with worship that is organized by a group of people. According to Oren and Possick (2009), religiosity is beneficial during the time of stress. In the context of counseling, stress is defined as perceived pressure that is beyond one's coping ability (Gyllensten et al, 2005).…”

Crecimiento postraumático y variables psicosociales en víctimas de violencia política

“…Los estudios empíricos en la IP y su relación con el trauma son escasos, a diferencia del estudio de otro sistema de creencias, como el religioso, donde existe mayor conocimiento sobre su rol ante el trauma (Oren & Possick, 2009). Tanto la IP como la religiosidad son cosmovisiones culturales que proporcionan valores, como una forma de vida, y comportamiento ético que pueden tener un efecto positivo en tiempos de adversidad (Chong et al, 2017).…”