Researchers say mental health distress among young Israelis has jumped significantly since the October 7, 2023 start of the Iron Swords War.
Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found in their most recent study that there are much higher levels of PTSD in young adults (ages 18-30) living in Israel because of the war.
“This is one of the groups that was most significantly affected,” explained Dr. Stav Shapira and Prof. Tehila Rafaeli, the study’s researchers, “because there are high percentages of reservists, spouses of soldiers, Nova casualties and more.”
The research group, which also included doctoral student Agat Sold from the School of Public Health, offered concrete suggestions for addressing the challenges faced by the young men and women in this group.
On October 7, 2023, 1,200 people were murdered, more than 2,000 were injured, and 251 people were abducted into Gaza in the largest terror attack Israel has ever known.
Fifty-two percent of those murdered were under the age of 30, and of these, the highest prevalence was among those aged 20-24.
This age group is defined in developmental psychology as young people in their “emerging adulthood” stage, characterized by coping with challenges related to the formation of a person’s self-identity.
“This age group was most significantly affected,” explains Dr. Stav Shapira, from the School of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences and one of the co-authors of the study.
“Therefore, the study compares the extent and characteristics of mental distress among this group to pre-war data, and the individual and collective resilience resources available to them.”
Through a quantitative study of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 24, data was collected by questionnaire through two separate surveys: 1,216 young adults were sampled before the war and 915 young adults were sampled afterwards.
The survey included variables that assessed the various consequences of the war among the participants (personal injury, loss of a loved one, and displacement from their place of residence).
The findings indicated a significant increase in the levels of mental distress among young men and women. For example, in the sample collected before the outbreak of the war, the percentage of participants who met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 25 percent. In the post-war sample, this rate rose to 42 percent — and among young people who were evacuated from their homes, the increase was even greater, to 60 percent.
Similar findings were found for levels of depression and feelings of loneliness. In addition, there was a significant decrease in personal resilience and social support, and an increase in the use of emotion-focused coping strategies such as self-blame and even the use of addictive substances.
Additional findings show that a subjective sense of threat (ie: the young adult’s experience that there is a threat to them and their loved ones), emotion-focused coping strategies, harm to a loved one in the war, and the experience of displacement were major risk factors for the increase in post-traumatic symptoms.
Personal resilience and social support were protective factors among the group of young people after the war.
“We examined whether and how resilience resources protect against the subjective sense of threat and mental distress, and we realized, in the current reality, they are not protective factors, and there is a decline in personal resilience and social support, along with an increase in mental distress,” said Prof. Tehila Rafaeli from the Department of Social Work, one of the authors of the study.
The researchers said it is likely that recent events in Israel have challenged identity formation processes, and combined with elevated levels of distress, have broad implications for future perceptions and choices in the fields of education and employment of young men and women in Israel.
The findings indicate that the use of common coping strategies, such as avoidance and repression, does not protect against symptoms of distress and may even increase it.
“Despite the tendency to think that young men and women have the resilience and ability to overcome, and therefore naturally investing time and resources in caring mainly for children and adolescents, the study highlights the imperative not to ignore the many needs of this population,” the researchers emphasize.
The researchers recommend the formulation of programs to strengthen essential resilience and rebuild support networks, while developing and adapting mental health services to the unique needs of the young adult population, including trauma-focused treatment and providing effective tools and strategies for coping with distress.
