How Personality Affects Vulnerability among Israelis and Palestinians following the 2009 Gaza Conflict

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 7; p. e0156278
• Main Authors: Canetti, Daphna, Kimhi, Shaul, Hanoun, Rasmiyah, Rocha, Gabriel A, Galea, Sandro, Morgan, 3rd, Charles A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 08.07.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Aggression; Arabs; Biology and Life Sciences; Cognitive ability; Demographic aspects; Demographics; Demography; Depression - complications; Emotions; Exposure; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Israel; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Palestinian Arabs; People and Places; Personality; Personality Disorders; Personality traits; Political violence; Post traumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Predictive control; Psychological aspects; Psychopathology; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk Factors; Social aspects; Social Sciences; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Students; Studies; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Trauma; Violence; Violence - psychology; Warfare; Young Adult; United States; Israel; North Carolina; Gaza Strip; West Bank; United States > US; Connecticut
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156278

Can the onset of PTSD symptoms and depression be predicted by personality factors and thought control strategies? A logical explanation for the different mental health outcomes of individuals exposed to trauma would seem to be personality factors and thought control strategies. Trauma exposure is necessary but not sufficient for the development of PTSD. To this end, we assess the role of personality traits and coping styles in PTSD vulnerability among Israeli and Palestinian students amid conflict. We also determine whether gender and exposure level to trauma impact the likelihood of the onset of PTSD symptoms. Five questionnaires assess previous trauma, PTSD symptoms, demographics, personality factors and thought control strategies, which are analyzed using path analysis. Findings show that the importance of personality factors and thought control strategies in predicting vulnerability increases in the face of political violence: the higher stress, the more important the roles of personality and thought control strategies. Thought control strategies associated with introverted and less emotionally stable personality-types correlate positively with higher levels of PTSD symptoms and depression, particularly among Palestinians. By extension, because mental health is key to reducing violence in the region, PTSD reduction in conflict zones warrants rethinking.