Shrira Amit, Shmotkin Dov, Palgi Yuval, Hoffman Yaakov, Bodner Ehud, Ben-Ezra Menachem, Litwin Howard
Psychiatry. 2017 Spring;80(1):64-78. doi: 10.1080/00332747.2016.1178028.
The potentially different psychological effects of ongoing trauma vis-à-vis an intense time-limited exposure to trauma have not been examined in older adults. Therefore, this study examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and their health concomitants in two groups of older adults in Israel: those exposed to ongoing missile attacks and those exposed to an intense time-limited period of missile attacks.
In the third administration of the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel), 297 older adults reported ongoing exposure to missile attacks due to the Israel-Gaza conflict (mean age = 66.97), while 309 older adults reported exposure to an intense period of missile attacks during the Second Lebanon War (mean age = 66.63). Participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms, and physical, cognitive, and mental health.
Older adults with ongoing exposure reported higher PTSD symptom level relative to those with intense time-limited exposure. The groups also differed in health variables related to PTSD symptoms. Namely, impaired physical and cognitive health were related to a higher level of PTSD symptoms in ongoing exposure, while impaired mental health was related to a higher PTSD symptom level following intense time-limited exposure.
The findings suggest that physical and cognitive health involves resources that are vital for daily survival when living under ongoing warfare threat, whereas mental health involves resources that are needed in dealing with psychological effects of warfare trauma. Accordingly, different interventions may be necessary when helping older adults exposed to ongoing versus intense time-limited trauma.
老年人遭受持续性创伤与遭受强烈的限时创伤所产生的潜在不同心理影响尚未得到研究。因此，本研究调查了以色列两组老年人的创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状及其健康相关因素：一组遭受持续性导弹袭击，另一组遭受限时的强烈导弹袭击。
在欧洲健康、老龄化与退休调查（SHARE - 以色列）的以色列部分第三次调查中，297名老年人报告因以色列 - 加沙冲突而持续遭受导弹袭击（平均年龄 = 66.97岁），而309名老年人报告在第二次黎巴嫩战争期间遭受了一段强烈的导弹袭击（平均年龄 = 66.63岁）。参与者完成了PTSD症状以及身体、认知和心理健康方面的测量。
与遭受限时强烈袭击的老年人相比，持续遭受袭击的老年人报告的PTSD症状水平更高。两组在与PTSD症状相关的健康变量方面也存在差异。具体而言，身体和认知健康受损与持续遭受袭击时较高水平的PTSD症状相关，而心理健康受损与限时强烈袭击后较高的PTSD症状水平相关。
研究结果表明，身体和认知健康涉及在持续战争威胁下日常生存所需的重要资源，而心理健康涉及应对战争创伤心理影响所需的资源。因此，在帮助遭受持续性创伤与限时强烈创伤的老年人时，可能需要采取不同的干预措施。
