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The effect of prior stressful experience on coping with war trauma and captivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Zahava Solomon
Zahava Solomon*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Medical Corps, IDF and the Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor Zahava Solomon, The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
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Synopsis

The study assessed the implications of childhood life events, Holocaust background, combat experiences, war captivity and negative post-captivity life events in the mental status of ex-POWs (164) and comparable controls (184), 18 years after the war. Findings confirm the association between stressful life events in the course of the life span and five outcomes: PTSD, intrusion and avoidance tendencies, psychiatric symptomatology, and impaired social functioning. Different life events have different effects. War captivity made the strongest contribution to all dependent variables.

Type
Brief Communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 6 , November 1995 , pp. 1289 - 1294
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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