Posttraumatic stress symptoms and fear of intimacy among treated and non-treated survivors who were children during the Holocaust.
BACKGROUND
This study examines the longterm consequences of the Holocaust on child survivors as implicated in PTSD residues and fears of intimacy.


METHODS
Participants were 43 Holocaust child survivors who received psychotherapy, 48 participants who also went through the Holocaust as children, but did not receive psychotherapy, and 43 Israeli-born participants who did not directly experience the Holocaust. Data regarding PTSD, fear of intimacy, and exposure-related variables were gathered via standardized self-report questionnaires.


RESULTS
The findings show that both treated and non-treated survivors reported significantly higher levels of post-traumatic residues than the non-Holocaust controls, while the treated survivors reported higher levels than the non-treated ones. Treated survivors also differed from the other two groups in their levels of fear of intimacy. In addition, survivors who had been in concentration camps reported significantly more PTSD symptoms than survivors who had been in hiding. Two alternative interpretations are offered. No differences were found in the fear of intimacy of those who survived in the different settings.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings point to the long-lasting impact of the Holocaust experience on child survivors, although they also demonstrate wide variability in survivors' long-term adjustment that should be further explored.
Cohen
Estel
E
AMCHA-The National Israeli Center for Psychosocial Support of Survivors of the Holocaust and the Second Generation, Israel.
Dekel
Rachel
R
Solomon
Zahava
Z
Lavie
Tamar
T
D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology; D000368:Aged; D000647:Amnesia / Q000209:etiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D017767:Holocaust / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*