Amit Shrira1, Dov Shmotkin2, Yuval Palgi3, Yechiel Soffer4, Yaira Hamama Raz5, Patricia Tal-Katz5, Menachem Ben-Ezra5, Charles C Benight6. 1. The Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. 2. Department of Psychology and the Herczeg Institute on Aging, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 3. Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa. Haifa, Israel. 4. Department of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. 5. School of Social Work, Ariel University. 6. Department of Psychology, CU Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center, University of Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: We examined how positive affect (PA) and meaning in life (MIL) conjointly regulate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and perceived coping self-efficacy. Hypotheses were guided by a recent holistic model, according to which PA and MIL should compensate for each other in relating to adaptation to high stress. METHOD: The sample included 75 Israeli firefighters who took active part in extinguishing the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire. RESULTS: PA and MIL helped to compensate for the other, demonstrating that when one of them was low, the other related to higher adaptation. That is, under low MIL, PA related to PTSD symptoms and coping self-efficacy, and under low PA, MIL related to PTSD symptoms and coping self-efficacy. LIMITATION: The study design was cross-sectional and therefore precluded any causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS: The findings lend additional support to the holistic model and help to understand how subjective well-being and MIL correlate with adaptation to stress.
BACKGROUND: We examined how positive affect (PA) and meaning in life (MIL) conjointly regulate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and perceived coping self-efficacy. Hypotheses were guided by a recent holistic model, according to which PA and MIL should compensate for each other in relating to adaptation to high stress. METHOD: The sample included 75 Israeli firefighters who took active part in extinguishing the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire. RESULTS: PA and MIL helped to compensate for the other, demonstrating that when one of them was low, the other related to higher adaptation. That is, under low MIL, PA related to PTSD symptoms and coping self-efficacy, and under low PA, MIL related to PTSD symptoms and coping self-efficacy. LIMITATION: The study design was cross-sectional and therefore precluded any causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS: The findings lend additional support to the holistic model and help to understand how subjective well-being and MIL correlate with adaptation to stress.
Authors: Aliza P Wingo; Thomas S Wingo; Wen Fan; Sharon Bergquist; Alvaro Alonso; Michele Marcus; Allan I Levey; James J Lah Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2019-11-30 Impact factor: 4.839