Someone to watch over me: Exposure to war events and trust in the armed forces in Israel as factors in war-related stress

Abstract

This study examined the role of trust in the national armed and security forces in Israel as a potential protective factor in post-war stress symptoms, alongside other known correlates such as exposure to war events, sense of danger, and demographics. A cluster sample of 870 residents of the town of Kiryat-Shemona in Israel participated in this correlational study. The town was under heavy bombing during the second Lebanon war, and data collection took place about a year after the end of the war. Our results suggest that while sense of danger and exposure to war events are the strongest correlates of stress related symptoms, trust in the armed forces was negatively correlated with stress, even after controlling for demographics; therefore supporting our hypothesis. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications are discussed in light of our findings.

Impact of Religiosity on Psychological Wellbeing

“…Exposure to traumatic event and war strongly associated with stress related symptoms. (Zysberg, Kimhi, & Eshel, 2013) Hobfoll, Canetti-Nisim & Johnson conducted a study on terrorism in (2006) and finding of that study suggested that post traumatic stress and other psychological problems were associated significantly with exposure to terrorism. Lamb and Kwok (2016) and Ross study finding reveals the high impact of interpersonal stress related to students' life.…”