Abstract
The aim of the present study, involving 50 caregivers of Holocaust survivors, was to determine the degree of exposure to secondary traumatic stress (STS) and identify the mechanisms of its development. Several standardized measurement tools were used. It was found that a probable diagnosis of STS could be ascertained in 44% of caregivers. The multiple regression analyses model explains 72% of the total variance of STS. The strongest predictor, explaining 37% of the variability, turned out to be disruptions in beliefs about the meaning of life, spirituality and self-worth as a person. In order to reduce STS symptoms in caregivers, attention should be paid primarily to their cognitive functioning, including possible disruptions in basic beliefs.
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This concerns the social and political crisis and the authorities’ use of anti-Semitic stereotypes and prejudices. It resulted in the largest anti-Semitic campaign in post-war Europe after the Stalinist purges of the fifties, and a mass emigration of the Jewish community from Poland.
The comparison takes into account the different number of items included in criteria B-E (5-2-7-6).
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Juczyński, Z., Wojciechowska-Kozłowska, O. & Ogińska-Bulik, N. Determinants of the Negative Consequences of Secondary Exposure to Trauma in Caregivers of Holocaust Survivors Living in Poland. J Relig Health 62, 300–315 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01656-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01656-9