Abstract
Objective: Ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs) experience prolonged distress that in some cases may influence their cellular aging (telomere length). The current research examines whether attachment orientations of ex-POWs and their spouses can explain individual differences in telomere length 40 years after the experience of captivity. Methods: Eighty-eight Israeli ex-POWs were assessed at four time points since captivity, whereas their spouses at three time points. Attachment orientations (anxiety, avoidance) were assessed in three time points and telomere length was measured at time four. Results: Findings indicated that ex-POWs’ attachment avoidance was associated with shorter telomere length. In addition, spouses’ attachment anxiety was associated with shorter telomere length among ex-POWs, whereas spouses’ attachment avoidance was unexpectedly related to longer telomere length among ex-POWs. Conclusions: Results suggest that the effects of trauma on cellular aging are not uniform and that intrapersonal and interpersonal variables may moderate responses to trauma at the cellular level.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 352-366 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Attachment and Human Development |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Funding
This work was supported by the I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma [1916/12]. The funders played no role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; nor in the decision to submit the article for publication.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma | 1916/12 |
Keywords
- Attachment
- cellular aging
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- telomere
- war captivity
