Yehene Einat, Ohayon Shay, Yahav Adi, Levine Hagai
School of Behavioral Sciences, the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Israel.
Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024;15(1):2434313. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2434313. Epub 2024 Dec 16.
Collective ambiguous loss can arise in communities facing the unresolved absence or presence of loved ones, marked by uncertainty and confusion. This study examines the impact of such loss on the general public in Israel after 251 individuals were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 2023. A diverse sample of 740 participants (ages 18-85, 58.2% women) took part in a comprehensive survey from December 2023 to January 2024. The survey measured boundary ambiguity (BA), separation distress related to disappearance (Ambiguous Loss Inventory Plus - ALI + - SD), general psychological distress (Mini-DASS), and personal resilience factors: ambiguity tolerance (Need for Closure Scale-Revised, NCSR) and psychological flexibility (PF). Public stances indicated that 85% of respondents had moderate to very low confidence in the hostages' return, coupled with high endorsement of psychological engagement indicators such as emotional pain, intrusive thoughts, and survivor guilt. Those acquainted with a hostage (12%) showed no differences in stances or ALI + -SD and Mini-DASS levels, except for higher BA and greater engagement in demonstrations activities for their return. SEM analysis showed that ALI + -SD mediated the relationship between BA and Mini-DASS (high BA related to high general distress). In this model, BA and ALI + -SD explained over half of the variation in general psychological distress (R = 53%). A second model revealed serial mediation by BA and ALI + -SD in the relationship between NCSR and Mini-DASS, with lower ambiguity tolerance related to increased general distress. However, no such mediation was observed in the relationship between PF and Mini-DASS, and overall, the effect of personal resilience on general distress was relatively small. Mass hostage-taking substantially impacts society's mental health, extending beyond personal acquaintance with a hostage. The findings underscore the need to shift focus from personal resilience to community-based policies and therapeutic approaches to effectively address communal ambiguous loss amid collective trauma.
集体性的模糊损失可能出现在那些面临所爱之人去向不明或生死未卜的社区中，其特点是不确定性和困惑。本研究考察了2023年10月7日251人被哈马斯扣为人质后，这种损失对以色列公众的影响。740名参与者（年龄在18 - 85岁之间，58.2%为女性）组成的多样化样本，于2023年12月至2024年1月参与了一项全面调查。该调查测量了边界模糊性（BA）、与失踪相关的分离痛苦（模糊损失量表升级版 - ALI + - SD）、一般心理困扰（简易抑郁焦虑压力量表）以及个人复原力因素：模糊容忍度（修订后的认知闭合需求量表，NCSR）和心理灵活性（PF）。公众立场表明，85%的受访者对人质获释的信心为中等至非常低，同时对诸如情感痛苦、侵入性思维和幸存者内疚等心理参与指标高度认同。那些认识人质的人（12%）在立场或ALI + - SD及简易抑郁焦虑压力量表水平上没有差异，只是BA更高，且更积极参与要求人质获释的示威活动。结构方程模型分析表明，ALI + - SD介导了BA与简易抑郁焦虑压力量表之间的关系（高BA与高总体困扰相关）。在这个模型中，BA和ALI + - SD解释了一般心理困扰中超过一半的变异（R = 53%）。第二个模型揭示了BA和ALI + - SD在NCSR与简易抑郁焦虑压力量表之间关系中的序列中介作用，较低的模糊容忍度与增加的总体困扰相关。然而，在PF与简易抑郁焦虑压力量表之间的关系中未观察到这种中介作用，总体而言，个人复原力对总体困扰的影响相对较小。大规模人质劫持对社会心理健康有重大影响，其影响范围超出了与特定人质相识的个人。研究结果强调，需要将重点从个人复原力转向基于社区的政策和治疗方法，以在集体创伤中有效应对集体性的模糊损失。
