Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Death Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Symptomatology in Older Adults Living Under Terror Threat: The Moderating Role of Resilience

  • Eyal Klonover
  • , Ruth Maytles
  • , Yifat Faran
  • , Yoav S. Bergman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Post-traumatic symptomatology (PTS) in older adults is associated with reduced psychological well-being. Based on the Anxiety Buffer Disruption Theory (ABDT), we examined the death anxiety–PTS association, as well as the moderating role of resilience on this association in older adults living in southern Israel who had been exposed to continuous missile threats/attacks before the onset of the 2023 Israel–Hamas War. 205 older Israeli adults (M = 73.97, SD = 6.49) who live near the Gaza strip completed a questionnaire regarding these variables. Lower resilience and higher death anxiety were associated with increased PTS. There was also a moderating effect of resilience on the death anxiety–PTS link, as this link was significant for individuals reporting high/median levels of resilience, but was nullified for those reporting low resilience levels. Our findings suggest that resilience is a crucial factor for older adults experiencing constant terror threat, and are discussed in light of ABDT.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 1 Jan 2025
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • PTS symptoms
  • death anxiety
  • older adults
  • resilience

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gerontology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Death Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Symptomatology in Older Adults Living Under Terror Threat: The Moderating Role of Resilience'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this