A Nation at (Ongoing) War: The Effect of Societal and Forward-Focused Coping on Symptoms of Continuous Traumatic Stress

Objective: The exposure to ongoing war can be termed as continuous traumatic stress (CTS), the exposure to repeated and ongoing stressful events in daily life, which lead to a broad spectrum of emotional and behavioral reactions (continuous traumatic stress response [CTSR]). This study analyzed the impact of individual coping and societal variables on CTSR. Method: During weeks 4 to 6 of the Iron Swords war, 519 participants from across Israel completed online questionnaires, including sociodemographic information, level of exposure, CTSR, coping (forward focused, trauma focused, and coping flexibility), system justification, and social support. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated good to excellent model fit indices for the CTSR measure. Exposure was not found to predict CTSR though those with high levels of media exposure (over 6 hr a day) were found to have greater CTSR compared with low levels of media exposure. Forward-focused coping (as opposed to trauma-focused or flexible coping) was found to significantly predict CTSR levels, as was system justification. An interaction was found between forward-focused coping and system justification such that high forward-focused coping combined with high system justification was found to predict the lowest CTSR levels. Conclusion: This study highlights the protective role of individual coping, specifically forward-focused coping, and the ability to see national structures as just and fair, in times of ongoing and continuous stress. A deeper understanding of the importance of personal factors apart from environmental effects can inform the development of targeted assistance programs for a large population during times of war and prolonged conflicts.