Child maltreatment is common in the US and has been shown to be associated with physical and psychological health problems in adolescence and adulthood. Based on the allostatic load theory, this study examined the association between different types of child maltreatment (emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and physical neglect) and self-rated health, and the mediating roles of post-traumatic stress and depression in these relationships. Participants were 249 girls involved in the child welfare system, ages 12–19 years, the majority of whom were African American. A one item self-reported general health measure, the Child Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) and the Child Depression Inventory (CDI) measured self-reported health, child maltreatment, and posttraumatic and depression symptoms, respectively. Higher levels of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and physical neglect were significantly associated with poorer ratings of health. PTSD and depression were significant mediators between histories of childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and physical health. In conclusion, results indicate that the pathways from child abuse to physical health problems in adolescents are through psychological distress. Trauma focused interventions to reduce symptoms of PTSD and depression among this vulnerable group of adolescents are essential to improve health.

This study tested the role of perceived social support as a moderating factor in the mediation of COVID-19-related concerns in the association between continuous traumatic stress (CTS) and depression. The study participants were 499 college students who responded to an anonymous online questionnaire. Measures included the assessment of prior continuous exposure to threats of terrorism, COVID-19-related distress, perceived social support and depressive symptoms. The results demonstrated that COVID-19-related concerns mediated the relationship between continuous exposure to threats of terrorism and depression symptoms, and that perceived social support moderated the association between COVID-19-related concerns and depression. The implications of the study highlight the role of prior exposure to traumatic stress as a risk factor for depression and the role of social support as a protective factor. These results point to the need to develop accessible and non-stigmatic mental health services for populations exposed to other types of continuous traumatic stress.

Given the social and emotional tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic on college and university students, many students have become academically disengaged during the pandemic. Although some colleges and universities have the capacity to promote social support for their students, research has yet to comprehensively demonstrate the relationship between social support and academic engagement. To fill this gap, we leverage survey results from four universities across the United States and Israel. Through multi-group structural equation modelling, we explore (a) how perceived social support relates to being emotionally unavailable for learning, (b) how this relationship is partially explained through coping and COVID-19 concerns, and (c) how these relationships can differ across countries. We find that students who perceived higher levels of social support had lower rates of being emotionally unavailable for learning. Part of this relationship occurred through greater rates of coping and, subsequently, fewer concerns about the pandemic. We also noticed significant differences in these relationships between countries. We conclude with a discussion of study implications for higher education policies and practices.

Objective: Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have lost their lives to intergroup violence (IV) over the past two decades. The current study tested a multifactor ecological model, including societal (exposure to trauma), social (exposure to community violence, and conflict with parents), and individual (exposure to microaggression) factors for engagement in IV in two samples of Israeli youths, Jewish (N = 306), and Arab (N = 302). Method: Participants filled out self-report questionnaires assessing exposure to trauma, community violence, conflict with parents, microaggression, and engagement in IV. Results: The results showed that Arab youths who indicated higher levels of religiosity and reported experiencing more traumatic events, community violence, and microaggression were more likely to perpetrate IV (OR = 1.31, 1.39, 1.5, 2.28, respectively). Jewish youths who reported exposure to more traumatic events, more conflict with parents, and greater exposure to microaggression events were more likely to perpetrate IV (OR = 2.28, 2.70, 3.25, respectively). Conclusion: The current study illuminates the similarities (traumatic events and microaggression) and the differential associations of individual, social, and societal factors and IV among Jewish and Arab youths. Microaggression emerged as the strongest predictor for IV in both groups. These findings highlight the need to inform ecological interventions aimed at mitigating IV in a context-sensitive manner. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined differences between Arab and Jewish undergraduate students in their perceived academic challenges, COVID-19-related concerns, perceived social support and trust in the university and the government. It also examined factors associated with perceived academic challenges and the moderating role of trust in the university in the associations between COVID-19-related concerns and perceived academic challenges. The sample consisted of 2751 students: 2291 (83%) Jewish, 398 (15%) Arab and 61 (2%) ?other?. Arab students reported higher COVID-19-related concerns and perceived academic challenges, and lower levels of perceived social support and trust in university and government than did Jewish students. Both Jewish and Arab students identified COVID-19-related concerns as a stress-vulnerability factor for perceived academic challenges, whereas perceived social support and trust in the university were identified as resources for perceived academic challenges. No support was found for the role of trust in government in the face of perceived academic challenges nor for the moderating role of trust in the university in the associations between COVID-19-related concerns and perceived academic challenges. In conclusion, the need of Arab students for emotional and academic support needs to be acknowledged as part of the efforts to promote academic success during the pandemic.

Abstract Using the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, we aimed to determine whether university students' loss and gain in resources during the pandemic mediated the relationships between COVID-19 exposure/concern and depression and anxiety. In 2021, 7013 Israeli university students completed online questionnaires. We assessed the data using structural equation modeling. We found that resource loss was directly related to concern (??=?0.32, p?<?0.001). Depression and anxiety were both directly related to loss of resources (depression: ??=?0.75, p?<?0.001; anxiety: ??=?0.69, p?<?0.001) and concern (depression: ??=?0.06, p?<?0.001; anxiety: ??=?0.12, p?<?0.001). Resource loss had an indirect effect on the relationships between concern and depression (??=?0.24, p?<?0.001) and concern and anxiety (??=?0.22, p?<?0.001). COR theory may help explain the mechanisms behind university students' mental health during the pandemic and provides a framework to better understand preparedness for future pandemics, epidemics, and major disasters. Governments and universities should help prevent the loss of resources during future emergencies.

Introduction Most studies on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have largely employed retrospective measures from adults, eschewing prospective measures in child samples. In this paper, we tracked the accrual of ACEs during childhood in a sample of children left in-home following a Child Protection Services investigation. Methods Data from three waves of the 2010 National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being were used (n = 1880). ACEs included 5 forms of child maltreatment and parental domestic violence, mental health problems, substance or alcohol abuse, separation, and arrest. At each wave, parents reported child ACE exposure for the previous year. ACE accrual over three years was traced as mean scores, discrete events, and compounding risk. OLS regression predicted accrual of ACEs over time controlling for important covariates. Results At baseline, children experienced an average of 2.2 ACEs, which increased by 3.2 by W3 (5.4 total ACEs). The predicted number of ACEs over time increased by 0.58 with each increase of 1 ACE at baseline (t = 11.74, p < .001). As compound risk, children with 0 ACE at baseline accrued an additional 1.7 by W3, while those experiencing 6 ACEs at baseline accrued 5.9 by W3. Children who experienced emotional neglect and psychological aggression accumulated a greater number of ACEs. Conclusion The average number of ACEs for in-home children increased precipitously over 3 years, and higher ACE scores at baseline were associated with greater accumulation. This indicates that retrospective measurements may not convey the unremitting nature of ACE accrual.

AbstractThis study examined parental coping with grief and identified protective factors for better coping among parents who suffered the loss of a child during military service in Israel. Coping indicators included complicated grief, functioning in life tasks, succeeding in living meaningful lives, and personal growth. Participants were 164 parents who had lost children 5?16?years previously. We found strong associations between parents? decision to continue life despite traumatic loss and several indicators of coping. Meaning-making was associated with better functioning and greater personal growth. Practitioners should explore with parents the internal struggles about deciding whether to continue in life.

This study focused on the specific challenges of university students in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and examined similarities and differences in COVID-related concerns and difficulties in functioning in samples of undergraduate students in five countries. A sample of 4306 undergraduate university students (43.8% males, 56.2% females) from Israel, Kosovo, Ukraine, Cyprus and Germany participated in an anonymous online survey during the first wave of the pandemic, between March and June 2020. Study variables included the assessment of the exposure to COVID-19, perceived health status, specific COVID-related concerns and functional difficulties, social support, and the perceived level of coping. Similar concerns about the uncertainty regarding the termination of the health crisis and worry for the health of family members were identified as the most common concerns in the five countries. Challenges in online learning and financial difficulties were rated as the most central difficulties. Both COVID-related concerns and COVID-related difficulties predicted lower levels of perceived coping. Greater social support was associated with better perceived coping. Policymakers should be informed by the accumulating research showing the substantive relationships between academic difficulties and perceived COVID-related distress and coping.

Two years have passed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire world is still struggling with the virus and its mutations, and governments have been imposing various restrictions, including social distancing and quarantine. This paper leans on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theoretical model in comparing the impact of COVID-19 with that of an ongoing threat of terror attacks, allowing us to understand the similarities and differences between them. Such exploration could result in an understanding that may guide devising psycho-social interventions to minimize the negative psychological consequences of a continuous life-threatening situation. By applying the extensive available literature on the aftermath of terrorist attacks to the little-known long-run consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper comes up with several guidelines such as increasing online social support and enhancing adaptive coping with stress, that are applicable on the individual, community, and societal levels.

Abstract Objective This study examines the association between a patient's suicide and the therapist's suicide risk assessment (SRA) and suicide risk management (SRM) of patients, following the occurrence. Method SRA values range from ?absence of suicidality? to ?immediate suicidal intent to die?. SRM consists of therapists? written recommendations. Rates of the various SRA and SRM values in therapists? evaluations were assessed 6-months prior to the suicide and at the two three- and six-month time-points thereafter. Results Of the 150 soldiers who died by suicides, 30 (20%) visited 50 military therapists in the 6 months preceding their deaths. Using Wilcoxon signed rank test, lower SRA rates of ?threatens suicide? were found 2 months after a patient's suicide. Regarding SRM, the mean rates for ?recommendations for psychotherapy treatment? were higher at the two (p = 0.022) and the 3 month time-points (p = 0.031) after a suicide. Conclusions The SRA findings may indicate therapists? fear of treating suicidal patients, causing them to overlook patients? non-prominent suicide-risk indicators. In SRM, the higher rate of recommendations for additional therapy sessions rather than military release or referrals to other therapists may relate to over-caution and attempts to control the patient's therapy ensuring it's done properly.

Abstract This study sought to investigate a positive dimension of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, that of post-traumatic growth (PTG). This study investigated coping difficulties and PTG amongst parent and nonparent students in Israeli Universities. A total of 4022 parents (3648 Jews and 374 Palestinian-Arab Citizens [PACs]) and 14,651 nonparents (12,010 Jews and 2641 PACs) completed measures of coping, social support and PTG. Parents demonstrated significantly higher levels of coping and PTG. Amongst parents, fathers coped slightly better than mothers; however, while Jewish mothers demonstrated greater PTG than Jewish fathers, PAC fathers had significantly greater PTG than both PAC mothers and Jewish parents. These findings, while specific to COVID-19, indicate that PTG should be studied in greater depth in different ethnic and minority groups in order to develop enhanced understanding and facilitate promotion of post-traumatic growth, in addition to the prevention of COVID-19-related distress.

ABSTRACTThis study describes the conditions under which Israeli social workers in hospital settings operated s during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assesses their perceived support (informal and organizational support) and preparedness for the next pandemic. It further assesses correlates for perceived support and associations between perceived support and preparedness. The participants were 163 social workers from four hospitals who completed an on-line survey. The findings revealed that the level of exposure to COVID-19 and fear of contracting COVID-19 were unrelated to perceived informal and organizational support. Age and having children who are minors living at home moderated the relationship between fear of contracting COVID-19 and both types of perceived support. Each type of perceived support was significantly associated with preparedness beyond age, having minors at home, exposure to COVID-19, and fear of contracting COVID-19. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Complications during pregnancy, postpartum and current maternal depression are risk factors that may affect child behavior in early and middle childhood.

The present study examined personality, situational and organizational predictors of burnout during COVID-19 in a military setting, based on the salutogenic theory of health (Antonovsky, 1987).Questionnaires were completed by 116 reserve Israeli Home Front Command medical staff (71% males). Background variables (e.g., gender), personality variables (self-efficacy and sense of coherence - SOC), situational variables (state-anxiety, self-rated health and sense of threat) and organizational variables (satisfaction with military’s and government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis) were measured as predictors of burnout.Females had higher levels of state anxiety and burnout compared to males. Females also reported a lower level of satisfaction with the military’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis than males. SOC and state anxiety were the only statistically significant predictors of burnout after controlling for sociodemographic variables. The entire model explained 59.4% of the burnout variance.In accordance with salutogenic theory, SOC is associated with active adaptation through use of generalized and specific resistance resources to avoid burnout in a stressful milieu. Psychological support, psychoeducation and simulation training are offered to increase manageability in crisis situations.Following a large dropout rate due to being quarantined, the final sample size was much smaller than planned. Also, although previous longitudinal studies have found SOC to be a causal factor in burnout, the present cross-sectional design limits such conclusions.

AbstractObjective: This study examined students? perceived levels of coping and need for help, and the relationship with their risks and protective factors during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. Participants: A sample of 4,710 university students responded anonymously to an online questionnaire. Methods: The risk and protective factors assessed were: specific COVID-related functional difficulties, levels of social support, and trust in the university authorities and the government in handling the crisis. Results: The most frequent COVID-19 related difficulties were: worry for the health of family members (64.4%) and difficulties with online learning (63.2%). Almost half of the students (47.3%) reported that they needed at least a little help. Hierarchical regression analyses for coping and need for help showed that COVID-related difficulties predicted lower levels of perceived coping and a higher need for help. Conclusions: Universities need to build specific services for students to provide concrete support throughout this continuous health crisis.

Objective:The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on children and adolescents’ health status such as obesity are understudied. The current study addressed the effect of ACE on obesity status during childhood utilising multiple waves of national panel data.Design:Longitudinal survey.Setting:Data were drawn from three waves of the second cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II). NSCAW II study sampled cases from Child Protective Services investigations that were closed between February 2008 and April 2009 nationwide. We measured ACE cumulatively and as separate events and stratified by gender.Participants:Totally, 3170 youth births to 14 years of age at baseline.Results:A count measure of ACE is indeed associated with greater odds of obesity during childhood. Differential effects for different types of ACE were also found, most notably neglect. For girls, physical and psychological neglect increased odds of obesity.Conclusions:Findings support evidence for the importance of using both a count measure of ACE as well as separating out single events by gender.