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The current study sheds light on the continuing bonds experience of adult Israeli daughters whose mothers were murdered by their fathers. Through 11 semi structured interviews, common externalized and internalized continuing bonds with the deceased mothers were closely examined. The interpreted results supported the existence of bonds, yet revealed a unique manifestation; the bonds were purposefully and defensively restricted, which seemed to be an adjustive compromise in light of the strong traumatic component of the loss. Our results contribute to the theoretical and clinical understanding of the restrictive effect that trauma components have on loss components in cases of traumatic bereavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current qualitative study aimed to examine the narrative identities of women bereaved to intimate partner femicide. Eleven adult Israeli female offspring whose biological mothers were murdered by their biological fathers were interviewed for the purpose of this study. Due to the uniqueness of their loss experience and circumstances, participants' identity is narrated as a "trisonance": They are not like their fathers, their mothers, nor as society perceives them. This very particular route for identity reconstruction as a means of psychological survival is discussed in light of the literature on identity construction and bereavement and derives recommendations for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2020, early in the COVID-19 outbreak, governments restricted public gatherings and ordered social distancing. These demands led to challenging adaptations, which in some cases resulted in mental health issues, including adjustment disorder. Guided by the transactional stress model, the current study aimed to examine the relations between personality traits and adjustment disorder in crisis situations and vagueness and the role of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy in these relations. During Israel's first lockdown, 673 Israeli adults completed self-reported e-version questionnaires regarding Big Five personality traits, adjustment disorder, intolerance to uncertainty, self-efficacy, and background variables. The study was designed to examine the association between personality traits and adjustment disorder and the potential mediation of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy in associations. The findings revealed that intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy mediated the association between personality traits and adjustment disorder. The results are consistent with the transactional stress model. They shed light on the role of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy as cognitive mechanisms that promote the development of adjustment disorder. Recommendations for future studies and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study examines the correlation between emotional stability and symptoms related to adjustment to the stresses related to the pandemic for parents and nonparents at the initial stage of the COVID‐19 outbreak in Israel. Background: At the early stage of the COVID‐19 outbreak, governments prohibited public gatherings and demanded social distancing. These challenges may be especially difficult for individuals with low levels of emotional stability as adaptation difficulties may lead to stress‐related outcomes, such as adjustment disorder symptoms. Additionally, in the face of a significant external threat and the demand for intensive joint familial time at home, the parental role becomes especially salient. Methods: Two hundred forty‐four Israeli adults filled in self‐reported e‐version questionnaires regarding emotional stability, adjustment disorder symptoms, and background variables. A cross‐sectional design was used to examine the association between emotional stability and adjustment disorder symptoms, as well as the potential moderation by parenting status. Results: The findings revealed that the levels of emotional stability were negatively correlated with adjustment disorder symptoms, while being a parent mitigated this correlation. This correlation was nonsignificant among parents. Conclusion and Implications: It appears that the identity salience of parental role in the current stressful situation and its associated strain may have overcome the advantage of emotional stability. The identity of being a parent has the potential to dismiss it. Here, the social role emerges as more forcible than the personality trait. Recommendations for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner homicide is a major public health concern around the world and the most lethal outcome of domestic violence. Its impact on the surviving bereaved offspring is immense, yet there is a significant gap in the literature regarding the long-term effects of this type of loss. The current qualitative study is aimed at filling this gap. The study used the constructivist paradigm of bereavement as a theoretical background to reveal the meanings constructed by bereaved Israeli daughters whose biological mothers were killed in acts of intimate partner homicide by their biological fathers. Three main themes of meaning emerged from 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews: "destruction of one's home"; "blast injury"; and "in doubt". An examination of the three themes in the current study reveals a deep shatter in participants' world of meaning to its very basic foundations. In light of intense psychological and social forces, the participants constructed and reconstructed such narratives of meaning in a continuous process of meaning making throughout their lives, years, and decades post loss. Derived from the findings are implications for practice. Mental healthcare professionals must attend to this basic shatter with an extreme level of caution, as they help homicide survivors reconstruct a world of meaning shattered by loss. Moreover, the long-lasting effects emphasize an appropriate legal and political involvement; specifically, policy regulations and rights should provide psychosocial care programs that are suited to the needs of offspring co-victims of intimate partner homicide in particular. In light of the strong social influence on participants' loss experience, further efforts are required to raise social awareness about this burning social concern and to fight the stigmatization of co-victims of homicide in general and co-victims of intimate partner homicide in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined whether emotional concern over one’s security situation is connected with death anxiety during an ongoing terror wave, and whether type of exposure (media exposure vs. contact with witnesses) moderates this connection. A total of 345 individuals, aged 18-70, were sampled during an ongoing wave of terror in Israel and filled out scales measuring death anxiety, concern over security situation, and type of exposure. Results indicated that increased concern was connected with enhanced death anxiety. Moreover, this connection was more pronounced among individuals exposed to the events through the media, in comparison with individuals who had first-hand contact with witnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the association between self-report associative memories of prior traumatic events and psychological distress up to 48 h after a terror attack. To date, the number of studies that examined this association is very small and most were conducted weeks or even months post event. For this purpose, we examined the association between self-report associative memories of prior traumatic events beyond factors such as previous exposure to trauma, political shift and sense of safety. The results showed that self-report associative memories of prior traumatic events were significantly associated with psychological distress. These results could be explained by the similarity and recency effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the new conceptualization of adjustment disorder (AjD) in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), a new 20-item self-report questionnaire was developed and validated - the Adjustment Disorder-New Module (ADNM). However, such a long research tool has the potential to become problematic for use in epidemiological and clinical settings. Therefore, an ultra-brief measure for AjD (ADNM-4) was established and validated in a recent study conducted with a representative national sample. The aim of the present study was to revalidate the ultra-brief ADNM-4 Scale, as well as to reestablish cutoff scores for clinical use. An online survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 484 Israelis aged 18-65 years, who were recruited via social media. Participants filled out self-report questionnaires dealing with diagnostic criteria of stress-related disorders, that is, AjD (the original and ultra-brief modules), prolonged grief disorder, depression, anxiety, and hypochondriasis. Construct, discriminant, and convergent validity were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis and correlation coefficients, while cutoff scores were established through receiver-operating characteristic analysis. The findings confirmed the ultra-brief module's validity. The high fit indices indicated construct validity, and the correlations with the various stress-related disorders indicated good convergent and discriminant validity. Cutoff scores resembled earlier cutoff scores calculated with a representative national sample, indicating a consistent and accurate diagnostic ability. These findings provide additional evidence for the psychometric characteristics of the ADNM-4, which seems to be a suitable brief screening tool for assessing AjD symptoms according to the ICD-11 definition. Therefore, the ADNM-4 is recommended in cases where prompt screening is required, as well as for research purposes., (© 2019 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

The current study aimed to explore Israelis' state anxiety due to a Syrian-Israeli incident that occurred on February 10, 2018, when an Israeli F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Syrian air defense forces. In line with the "looming vulnerability" model which emphasizes the importance of the dynamic nature of psychologically threatening situations, the following psychological factors were suggested: associative memory of prior events, worries of future war, sense of safety, and death anxiety. We employed two cross-sectional points of time in our assessment: 36 hours and three months after the incident. Using an online survey, 162 adult participants were recruited in Study 1 and 172 in Study 2. The participants completed set of questionnaires measuring state anxiety along with other psychological measures. The results of the two studies suggested that higher levels of worry of future war and lower levels of sense of safety associated with higher state anxiety. The looming vulnerability model and variables associated with state anxiety were found to have a salient role in explaining state anxiety as a response to a negative unexpected event., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

ICD-11 has provided a revised definition for adjustment disorder (AjD). The current study examined whether mortality salience effect, a possible consequence of a terror attack, may serve as a significant predictor associated with each of the AjD subscales. Using an online survey, 379 adult participants were recruited and filled out self-reported questionnaires dealing with adjustment disorder symptoms as well as mortality salience effect. Findings revealed that mortality salience effect was a significant predictor of all AjD subscales. The importance of mortality salience effect for AjD is discussed in light of terror management theory.