Continuous Exposure to Terrorism during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model in the Israeli Context

Becky Leshem; Gabriela Kashy-Rosenbaum; Miriam Schiff; Rami Benbenishty; Ruth Pat-Horenczyk

doi:10.3390/ijerph20042799

Continuous Exposure to Terrorism during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model in the Israeli Context

Becky Leshem, Gabriela Kashy-Rosenbaum, Miriam Schiff, Rami Benbenishty, Ruth Pat-Horenczyk

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study tested the role of perceived social support as a moderating factor in the mediation of COVID-19-related concerns in the association between continuous traumatic stress (CTS) and depression. The study participants were 499 college students who responded to an anonymous online questionnaire. Measures included the assessment of prior continuous exposure to threats of terrorism, COVID-19-related distress, perceived social support and depressive symptoms. The results demonstrated that COVID-19-related concerns mediated the relationship between continuous exposure to threats of terrorism and depression symptoms, and that perceived social support moderated the association between COVID-19-related concerns and depression. The implications of the study highlight the role of prior exposure to traumatic stress as a risk factor for depression and the role of social support as a protective factor. These results point to the need to develop accessible and non-stigmatic mental health services for populations exposed to other types of continuous traumatic stress.

Original language	English
Article number	2799
Journal	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume	20
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042799
State	Published - 4 Feb 2023
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.

Funding

We are grateful to Gabi Bentley for the careful editing of this manuscript. This study was supported by the infrastructure of the Resilience Research Group at Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Funders	Funder number
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Keywords

COVID-19
continuous traumatic stress
depression
higher education
social support

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3390/ijerph20042799

Cite this

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Continuous Exposure to Terrorism during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model in the Israeli Context

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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Cite this