Sharon Gil

Personality traits, coping style, and perceived threat as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder after exposure to a terrorist attack : A prospective study

Objectives: This prospective study examined the role of pretraumatic personality factors, coping style, proximity to a terrorist attack, and its perceived threat to the survivors in the prediction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a suicide bombers attack on a bus. Method: The study sample consisted of 180 undergraduate students who were coincidentally evaluated 2 weeks before a terrorist explosion in a bus heading toward their university and reevaluated 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months after the explosion. Results: A hierarchal regression model revealed that increased risk for PTSD was associated with direct exposure to the attack, indirect exposure to the attack, preattack harm avoidance personality dimension, state avoidance coping style, and perceived threat posed by the attack. Conclusions: The findings indicate that premorbid personality characteristics, as well as subjective and objective factors related to the traumatic exposure, increased the risk for the development of PTSD. ANOVA = analysis of variance; CI = confidence interval; COPE = Multidimensional Coping Inventory; DSM = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; HA = harm avoidance; MANOVA = multivariate analysis of variance; NS = novelty-seeking; OR = odd ratio; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; PTSS = posttraumatic stress symptoms; RD = reward dependence; SCID = Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I DSM-IV Disorders; TPQ = Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.

The Relation between Memory of the Traumatic Event and PTSD: Evidence from Studies of Traumatic Brain Injury:

Objective: This paper focuses on the relation between memory and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More specifically, it addresses the debate regarding the role of memory of the traumatic event in the development of PTSD. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is used as a naturally occuring model for traumatic exposure that is often associated with memory impairment. Method: We present a critical review of the literature on studies assessing the relation between TBI and PTSD, with a focus on memory of the traumatic event as a critical factor. We also discuss results from recent studies conducted by our group. Results: The literature review offers an inconclusive picture wherein a significant proportion of the studies indicate that PTSD and TBI are mutually exclusive, especially in individuals who exhibit lack of memory for the traumatic event. This finding supports the possibility that lack of memory may protect against the development of PTSD. However, some studies show that PTSD does occur in patients with head injury, suggesting that PTSD may develop in TBI survivors—even in those who cannot remember the traumatic event. Generally speaking, though, the overall balance of the findings (including our own findings) seems to support the possibility that, in subjects with TBI, impaired memory of the traumatic event is associated with reduced prevalence of PTSD. Conclusions: The suggestion that amnesia regarding the traumatic event may protect against the development of PTSD has both theoretical and practical importance. This review focused on the case of trauamtic brain injury as a model for impaired memory for the traumatic event. However, it still remains to be proven that the conclusions based on these findings are generalizable beyond the case of TBI. While some patients with posttraumatic amnesia do develop PTSD despite lack of memory for the traumatic event, the majority of those who lack memory for the event seem to be protected from developing the disorder. Nevertheless, based on this assumption, we suggest that pharmacologic disruption of newly acquired—or even old—traumatic memories, which has been shown to be possible in animals, might therapeutically benefit trauma survivors.

Hopelessness among cancer patients

Abstract The study aimed to explore whether social support, depression, and personal characteristics (age, gender, and stage of treatment) were main effects on hopelessness among 113 cancer patients in three phases of the illness: newly diagnosed, adjuvant chemotherapy, and recurrence. The instruments used were the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Support, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. The patients were being treated at an oncological medical center in northern Israel. The main findings indicated a strong correlation between hopelessness and depression. Multiple regression analyses, using hopelessness as a dependent variable and social support, illness phase, gender, and age as independent variables, indicated that patients with a high level of social support felt less of a sense of hopelessness. Phase of the illness had no effect on hopelessness. Additional findings indicated that the older the patient, the less his or her feeling of hopelessness.

Well-Being among Minority Students The Role of Perceived Social Support

• Summary: The present study explores the relationship between perceived social support and well-being among students in the two main populations living in Israel: Jews and Arabs. More specifically, it compares the well-being of Israeli Jewish students and Palestinian students and examines the role of social support in their well-being. The sample comprised 207 undergraduate students in the schools of social work and nursing at one of the major universities in Israel, where more than half of the Palestinian students are enrolled. Three instruments were used: Psychological distress was measured by both the Brief Symptoms Inventory Scale(BSI;Derogatis, 1979) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck and Steer, 1987); perceived social support was assessed by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support(MSPSS;Zimet et al., 1988). • Findings: Findings show that the Palestinian students are significantly more distressed than their Jewish counterparts, according to all measures of well-being. At the same time, their perceived social support is significantly higher than that of the Jewish students. • Applications: The significance of the findings is discussed within the frameworks of stress and social support theories, as well as the modernization process and the prevailing norms and values of Arab culture.

Counterfactual Thinking, Coping Strategies, and Coping Resources as Predictors of PTSD Diagnosed in Physically Injured Victims of Terror Attacks

The current study aimed to predict the effects of counterfactuals, coping strategies, coping resources, and event variables on the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The sample comprised 176 Israelis who were physically injured in terror attacks. Of the sample, 96 (55%) were diagnosed with PTSD and 80 (45%) were not. The main findings indicated that upward counterfactuals play an important role in a diagnosis of PTSD, along with emotion-focused coping, social support, trauma perception, and time since event. Victims who used a high level of upward counterfactual thinking tended to use emotion-focused strategies, had less social support, perceived the trauma as acute, and experienced the event more recently. This may have an impact on a diagnosis of PTSD.

Forgiveness, coping, and terrorism: Do tendency to forgive and coping strategies associate with the level of posttraumatic symptoms of injured victims of terror attacks?

OBJECTIVE The study examined the tendency to forgive (self, others, and situations) and coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance) among terror attack victims as associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. METHOD The sample included 108 terror victims who had been injured in terror attacks (mean age 46.23, standard deviation = 11.61; 58.3% male). Participants agreed to undergo assessments of their PTSD symptoms, coping strategies, and tendency to forgive. RESULTS A nested structural equation model design showed that tendency to forgive is positively associated with problem-focused coping and negatively associated with avoidance coping. Additionally, tendency to forgive and problem-focused coping are associated with decreased PTSD symptom severity, whereas emotion-focused coping is associated with elevated PTSD symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS Tendency to forgive and coping strategies are significantly associated with each other and with severity of PTSD symptoms among individuals injured in terror attacks. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

The effects of coping strategies on PTSD in victims of a terror attack and their spouses: Testing dyadic dynamics using an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

Objectives: The study examined the effect of victims’ and spouses’ coping strategies on PTSD in victim-spouse dyads, using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM).Method: A total of 72 dyads consisting of injured victims who were exposed to terror attacks, and their spouses who were not injured, participated in the study based on lists prepared by the “One Family” organization in Israel. PTSD symptoms were assessed using PSS-SR, and coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused) were assessed by means of the COPE measure.Results: The APIM model showed that spouse’s emotion-focused coping impacted victim’s and spouse’s PTSD, and victim’s gender impacted spouse’s PTSD.Conclusions: Spousal emotion-focused coping is a significant factor in both victims’ and spouses’ PTSD, while problem-focused coping is not.

The Role of Personality Traits in the Understanding of Suicide Attempt Behavior Among Psychiatric Patients

The main objective of the present study is to enrich our understanding regarding the role of personality traits in the explanation of suicide attempt behavior. More specifically, it employs Cloningers three personality dimensions as a tool for predicting suicide attempt behavior among psychiatric patients. A total of 172 psychiatric outpatients, 80 with a history of suicide attempt and 92 without, participated in the study. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) suggests that psychiatric patients with a history of suicide attempt express higher levels of both novelty seeking and harm avoidance than do those without such a history. The findings of the present study confirm the major role played by personality traits in the understanding of suicide attempt behavior among psychiatric patients.

Suicide attempters vs. ideators: are there differences in personality profiles?

ABSTRACT The underlying question of the present study was whether suicide attempt and suicidal ideation are derived from the same personality dynamic among psychiatric outpatients. Participants included 80 males and females with a history of suicide attempt and 92 without such a history. All participants were evaluated individually with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ; Cloninger, 1987) and with the Beck Suicide Inventory (BSI; Beck & Steer, 1991). Based on the evaluation results, those without a history of suicide attempt were divided into two groups: high and low suicidal ideations. Data analyses revealed that suicide attempt and suicidal ideation may emerge from distinct, yet somewhat overlapping, personality dynamics.

Risk factors for DSM 5 PTSD symptoms in Israeli civilians during the Gaza war

In light of the current modifications presented in the diagnostic criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the DSM 5, this study aimed at revalidating well‐known PTSD risk factors, including gender, peritraumatic dissociation, social support, level of threat, and trait tendency for forgiveness.