Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, 8410501, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Department of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel.
BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Jun 28;22(1):438. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-04052-5.
The current study examines psychological reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults living in Israel. Based on the 'life events, stress, coping and health theory,' we hypothesized that due to their traumatic early life history and dearth of emotional and physical coping resources, Holocaust survivors would be more vulnerable than other older adults to the negative effects of this difficult and prolonged life event on their mental health.
Based on structured questionnaires with closed questions, we interviewed 306 Holocaust survivors and non-survivors aged 75 + during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Univariate data analysis showed that Holocaust survivors had fewer coping resources in terms of health status and educational level than non-survivors. As expected, Holocaust survivors also reported a greater extent of COVID-19-related anxiety, and more depression, which worsened during the pandemic. However, both groups did not differ in their will to live, which is an indicator of general well-being and commitment to continue living. In multivariate analyses conducted to explain COVID-19 anxiety in the entire sample and separately on each of the two groups, the best explanatory variables were other psychological variables especially increased depression.
It seems that Holocaust survivors are more emotionally vulnerable to the pandemic's negative effects than other older adults, in support of the 'life events, stress, coping and health theory,' but despite this, they show resilience in their will to continue living. Policy makers and practitioners are recommended to identify Holocaust survivors and other vulnerable older people and investigate their specific needs. Interventions should include practices for maintaining and boosting resilience and well-being by increasing appropriate emotional and cognitive internal and external coping resources, especially during prolonged periods of hardship.
本研究考察了居住在以色列的老年人对 COVID-19 大流行的心理反应。基于“生活事件、压力、应对和健康理论”，我们假设由于他们创伤性的早期生活经历以及缺乏情感和身体应对资源，大屠杀幸存者比其他老年人更容易受到这一艰难而漫长的生活事件对其心理健康的负面影响。
基于带有封闭问题的结构化问卷，我们在 COVID-19 大流行期间采访了 306 名 75 岁以上的大屠杀幸存者和非幸存者。
单变量数据分析表明，大屠杀幸存者在健康状况和教育水平方面的应对资源比非幸存者少。不出所料，大屠杀幸存者还报告了更大程度的 COVID-19 相关焦虑，以及更多的抑郁，在大流行期间恶化。然而，这两个群体在生存意愿方面没有差异，生存意愿是一般幸福感和继续生活的承诺的指标。在对整个样本进行的多变量分析和分别对两个群体进行的多变量分析中，最佳解释变量是其他心理变量，尤其是抑郁程度增加。
似乎大屠杀幸存者比其他老年人更容易受到大流行的负面影响的情绪影响，这支持了“生活事件、压力、应对和健康理论”，但尽管如此，他们在继续生活的意愿方面表现出韧性。建议政策制定者和从业者识别大屠杀幸存者和其他弱势老年人，并调查他们的具体需求。干预措施应包括通过增加适当的情感和认知内部和外部应对资源来维持和增强韧性和幸福感的实践，特别是在长期困难时期。
