title: How Personality Affects Vulnerability among Israelis and Palestinians following the 2009 Gaza Conflict.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Political Science, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Daphna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Canetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Tel-Hai College, Tel-Hai, Israel.
authors.forename: Shaul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kimhi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Educational Science, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
authors.forename: Rasmiyah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanoun
authors.affiliation: Carolinas Biofeedback Clinic, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America, and Doctors Making Housecalls, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gabriel A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galea
authors.affiliation: National Security Program, University of New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, and School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D018912:Arabs; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D004644:Emotions; D010551:Personality; D010554:Personality Disorders; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology; D014857:Warfare; D008877:Middle East