War and well-being: The association between forgiveness, social support, posttraumatic stress disorder, and well-being during and after war

Michael Weinberg, Hila Harel, Michal Shamani, Keren Or-Chen, Pnina Ron, Sharon Gil

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Exposure to war can lead to numerous traumatic experiences affecting the daily lives and personal well-being of the civilian population. However, no research to date has examined the associations between postwar well-being and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, tendency to forgive, and social support during and following war. Authors examined a sample of 160 Israeli civilians who were exposed to rocket and missile fire during the 2014 Gaza War. Time 1 (Tl) started approximately one week after the beginning of the war and ended four weeks later following the first 72-hour ceasefire declaration by the United Nations. Respondents were re-approached by personal e-mail approximately one month after T1. A structural equation model design showed that higher postwar tendency to forgive, and social support, are associated with higher postwar well-being. It is notable that higher social support during the war had a negative effect on postwar well-being. In addition, higher posttraumatic symptoms and well-being during the war had a positive effect on higher postwar well-being. The study findings reinforce the importance of personal variables in postwar well-being. However, increased awareness of both social support and PTSD symptoms as "double-edged sword" resources is advisable, considering the different effects of social support and PTSD symptoms on well-being both during and after the war.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)341-348
Number of pages8
JournalSocial Work
Volume62
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2017

Keywords

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder
  • Social support
  • Tendency to forgive
  • War
  • Well-being

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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