Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Community Resilience and Sense of Coherence as Protective Factors in Explaining Stress Reactions: Comparing Cities and Rural Communities During Missiles Attacks

  • Brief Report
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Based on the salutogenic theory, the aim of this study was to examine sense of coherence and communal resiliency as related to stress reactions during missile attacks. Data were gathered in August 2011 while missiles were being shot from Gaza to the Negev communities in Israel from approximately 150 participants, aged 15–85. Participants lived in cities and different types of small rural villages. Self reported questionnaires were administered via the internet and included demographic data, coping resource of sense of coherence and community resiliency as coping resources, as well as state anxiety, state anger and psychological distress as stress reaction outcomes. Overall, the participants in our study reported strong personal and communal resources and relatively low levels of stress reactions. Personal and communal resources were linked negatively to the different stress reactions. However, some differences emerged when we compared participants from different types of communities. The most resilient group was composed of people who lived in the rural and communal communities. Differences also emerged on patterns of relationships between the community resource and state anxiety. While among the rural citizens, community resilience was strongly linked to anxiety, no relationships were revealed in the urban citizens group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. The Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Collaboration (CCRAC) is coordinated by Limor Aharonson-Daniel and Mooli Lahad. Partners are: Bruria Adini, Miriam Billig, Orna Braun-Lewensohn, Daphna Canneti, Odeya Cohen, Paula Feder-Bubis, Avi Israeli, Shaul Kimhi, Dima Leykin, Sabina Lissitsa, Yochanan Peres, Carmit Rappaport, Avi Sender, Shifra Sagy and Michal Shamai.

References

  • Acierno, R., Ruggiero, K. J., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2006). Risk and protective factors for psychopathology among older versus younger adults after the 2004 Florida hurricanes. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 1051–1059.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aharnonson-Daniel, L., & Lahad, M. (2012). Interactive Session presenting a novel methodology to assess community resilience developed by The Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Collaboration (CCRAC), a multidisciplinary group of senior researchers from various institutions. In Presented at the Second Israeli International Conference on Health Care Systems Preparedness and Response to Emergency and Disasters, Tel Aviv, Israel, January, 2012.

  • Ahmed, R., Seedat, M., van Niekerk, A., & Bulbulia, S. (2004). Discerning community resilience in disadvantaged communities in the context of violence and injury prevention. South African Journal of Psychology, 34, 386–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antonovsky, A. (1993). The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. Social Science & Medicine, 36, 725–733. doi:10.1016/0277536(93)90033-z.

  • Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Sira, Z. (1979). A scale of psychological distress. Research Communications in Psychology, Psychiatry and Behavior, 4, 337–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Sira, Z. (1988). Politics and primary medical care: Dehumanization and overutilization. Aldershot: Avebury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berntsson, L. T., & Kohler, L. (2001). Long term illness and psychosomatic complaints in children aged 2–17 years in the five Nordic countries: Comparison between 1984 and 1996. European Journal of Public Health, 11, 35–42.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Braun-Lewensohn, O., Celestin-Westreich, S., Celestin, L. P., Verté, D., & Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, I. (2010a). Prevalence of post traumatic stress emotional and behavioral problems among Israeli adolescents facing ongoing terrorism. International Journal of Psychology Research, 5(1–2), 117–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun-Lewensohn, O., & Sagy, S. (2010). Sense of coherence, hope and values among adolescents under missile attacks: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 15(3), 247–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun-Lewensohn, O., & Sagy, S. (2011). Sense of coherence and hope as explaining stress reactions during missile attacks: Comparing Jewish and Arab adolescents. Community Mental Health Journal, 47, 300–310. doi:10.1007/s10597-010-9314-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Braun-Lewensohn, O., Sagy, S., & Roth, G. (2010b). Coping strategies among adolescents: Israeli Jews and Arabs facing missile attacks. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 23(1), 35–51. doi:10.1080/10615800802647601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Cardena, E., Dennis, J. M., & Winkel, M. (2005). A snapshot of terror: Acute posttraumatic responses to the September 11 attack. Journal of Trauma Dissociation, 6, 69–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, M. (2008). Acute stress disorder in older, middle-aged and younger adults in reaction to the second Lebanon war. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23, 34–40. doi:10.1002/gps.1832.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dekel, R., & Nuttman-Shwartz, O. (2009). Posttraumatic stress and growth: The contribution of cognitive appraisal and sense of belonging to the country. Health and Social Work, 34(2), 87–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson, M., Lindstrom, B., & Lilja, J. (2007). A sense of coherence and health. Salutogenesis in societal context: Aland, a special case? Journal of Epidemiological Community Health, 61(8), 684–688. doi:10.1136/jech.2006.047498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, G. W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. American Psychologist, 592, 77–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldt, T., Leskinen, E., Koskenvuo, M., Suominen, S., Vahtera, J., & Kivimäki, M. (2011). Development of sense of coherence in adulthood: A person-centered approach. The population-based HeSSup cohort study. Quality of Life Research, 20, 69–79. doi:10.1007/s11136-010-9720-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Finkelstein, D., Kubzansky, L., Capitman, J., & Goodman, E. (2007). Socioeconomic differences in adolescent stress: The role of psychological resources. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(2), 127–134.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ganor, M., & Ben-Lavy, Y. (2003). Community resilience: Lessons derived from Gilo under fire (pp. 105–108). Winter/Spring: Journal of Jewish Communal Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, E., McEwen, B. S., Dolan, L. M., & Schafer, T. (2005). Social disadvantage and adolescent stress. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37, 484–492.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, K. E., Compas, B. E., Thurm, A. E., & McMahon, S. D. (2006). Stressors and child and adolescent psychopathology: Evidence of moderating and mediating effect. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 257–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hagstrom, R. (1995). The acute psychological impact on survivors following a train accident. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8, 391–402.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaniasty, K., & Norris, F. (2000). Help-seeking comfort and receiving social support: The role of ethnicity and context of need. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 545–582.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Khamis, V. (2008). Post-traumatic stress and psychiatric disorders in Palestinian adolescents following intifada-related injuries. Social Science and Medicine, 67(8), 1199–1207. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.06.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kimhi, S., & Shamai, M. (2004). Community resilience and the impact of stress: Adult response to Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. Journal of Community Psychology, 32, 439–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koplewicz, H. S., Vogel, J. M., Solanto, M. V., Morrissey, R. F., Alonso, C. M., Abikoff, H. A., et al. (2002). Child and parent response to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15(1), 77–85. doi:10.1023/A:1014339513128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, F. H., Stevens, S. P., Pfefferbaum, B., Wyche, K. F., & Pfefferbaum, R. (2008). Community resilience as a metaphor: Theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(1–2), 127–150. doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9156-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nuttman-Shwartz, O., & Dekel, R. (2009). Ways of coping and sense of belonging in the face of a continuous threat. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22(6), 667–670. doi:10.1002/jts.20463.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piko, B., & Fitzpatric, K. M. (2001). Does class matter? SES and psychosocial health among Hungarian adolescents. Social Science and Medicine, 53, 817–830.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, R. V., Fazel, M., Jones, L., Panter-Brick, C., & Stein, A. (2011). Mental health of displaced and refugee children resettled in low-income and middle-income countries: Risk and protective factors. The Lancet,. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60050-0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagy, S., & Braun-Lewensohn, O. (2009). Adolescents under rocket fire: When are coping resources significant in reducing emotional distress? Global Health Promotion, 16(4), 5–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Slone, M., & Shechner, T. (2009). Psychiatric consequences for Israeli adolescents protracted political violence: 1998–2004. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(3), 280–289. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01940.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., & Lushene, R. E. (1970). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Palo-Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinson, T. (2004). Community adversity and resilience: The distribution of social disadvantage in Victoria and New South Wales and the mediating role of social cohesion. Melbourne: The Ignatius Centre for Social Policy and Research, Jesuit Social Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeidner, M. (2005). Contextual and personal predictors of adaptive outcomes under terror attack: The case of Israeli adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(5), 459–470. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-7263-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Ben Gurion University, POB 653, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Orna Braun-Lewensohn & Shifra Sagy

Authors
  1. Orna Braun-Lewensohn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shifra Sagy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Orna Braun-Lewensohn.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Braun-Lewensohn, O., Sagy, S. Community Resilience and Sense of Coherence as Protective Factors in Explaining Stress Reactions: Comparing Cities and Rural Communities During Missiles Attacks. Community Ment Health J 50, 229–234 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9623-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9623-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation