Symptoms of depression and somatization during the Israel-Hamas War: the role of world assumptions.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Civilians living in conditions of war tend to focus on survival with their daily life disrupted, impacting their mental health. The current study focused on examining the mental health of Israeli parents of young children exposed to missile attacks during the Israel-Hamas War. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the relationship between the exposure to missile attacks with depression and somatization among parents of young children, and the moderating role of world assumptions in this relationship.

Design: A web-based national sample included 326 parents with at least one child aged 3-6 years (M_age=36.75, SD = 5.15).

Methods: Participants completed questionnaires on background information, exposure to missile attacks, world assumptions, depression, and somatization six weeks after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.

Results: Findings of the moderation analyses revealed a strong positive relationship between exposure to missile attacks with symptoms of depression and somatization among parents holding negative world assumptions.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that symptoms of depression and somatization increase with negative world assumptions when faced with the stress of missile attacks. Practitioners should implement interventions focusing on world assumptions among parents of young children exposed to war and terror.