Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:33:44.116Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cognitive Control as a Buffer of War-Induced Stress in a Middle-Aged and Older Israeli Sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Edward Prager  and
Zahava Solomon
Edward Prager
Affiliation:
Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel.
Zahava Solomon
Affiliation:
Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Three weeks after the outbreak of the Scud Missile crisis residents of Tel Aviv and the outlying regions, aged 50–91 participated in a study the focus of which was the relationship between personal (cognitive) control of the aversive environmental stimuli and (1) distress in areas of mood and affect, and (2) distress in interaction with the social environment. Personal control was measured along two dimensions: perceived control of the situation and attribution of meaning to events and their outcomes. Findings revealed no significant differences between age categories in levels of cognitive control or in levels of distress. Situation control emerged as the most significant variable in explaining variation in distress scores. Attribution of meaning, though significantly related to situation control, was only a moderately significant predictor of interaction distress. The findings support the thesis that the existence of a causal link between life events and psychological equilibrium makes theoretical sense only when the cognitive structure of such events for individuals is considered.

Keywords

Gulf Warenvironmental stressorcopingcognitive controlattribution of meaningaffective distressinteractional distress
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , September 1995 , pp. 355 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Rogers, C.A Way of Being. Boston, Houghton-Mifflin, 1980.Google Scholar

2 Pitcher, B. L. and Hong, S. Y.Older men's perceptions of person control. Sociological Perspectives, 29 (1986), 397–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3 Thompson, S.Will it hurt less if I can control it? A complex answer to a simple question. Psychological Bulletin, 90 (1981), 89–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 Finch, C. E. and Hayflick, L. (eds.). Handbook of the Biology of Aging. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1977.Google Scholar

5 Timiras, P., Developmental Physiology and Aging. New York: Macmillan, 1972.Google Scholar

6 Birren, J. and Schaie, K. W., Stress, disease, aging and behavior. In Birren, J. and Schaie, K. W. (eds), Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1977, 251–275.Google Scholar

7 Norris, F. H. and Murrel, S. A.Prior experience as a moderator of disaster impact on anxiety symptoms in older adults. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16 (1988), 665–683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

8 Folkman, S.Personal control, stress, and coping processes: a theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46 (1984), 839–852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

9 McCrae, R. R.Stress and Coping During the Later Years. Symposium Presented at the XV Congress of the International Association of Gerontology, Budapest: 07 4–9, 1993.Google Scholar

10 Kasl, S. V., Stress and health among the elderly: overview of the issues. In Wykle, M. L., Kahana, E. and Kowal, J. (eds), Stress and Health Among the Elderly. Springer, New York, 1992, 5–34.Google Scholar

11 Rotter, J. B.Some problems and misconceptions related to the construct of internal versus external control of reinforcement. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43 (1975), 56–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

12 Bandura, A.Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84 (1977), 191–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

13 Cheves, J. R. and Barber, T. X.Cognitive strategies, experimenter modeling, and expectation in the attenuation of pain. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 83 (1974). 356–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

14 Girodo, M. and Wood, D.Talking yourself out of pain: the importance of believing that you can. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 3 (1979), 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

15 Spanos, N. P., Horton, C. and Chaves, J. F.The effects of two cognitive strategies on pain threshold. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 84 (1977), 677–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

16 Houston, B. K., Dispositional anxiety and the effectiveness of cognitive strategies in stressful laboratory and classroom situations. In Spielberger, C. D. and Sarason, I. G. (eds.), Stress and Anxiety, Vol. 4. Wiley and Sons, New York, 1977, 205–226.Google Scholar

17 Bowers, K. Pain, anxiety and perceived control. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 32 (1968), 596–602.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

18 Rabkin, J. G. and Struening, E. L.Life events, stress and illness. Science, 194 (1975). 1013–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

19 Lieberman, M. and Tobin, S.The Experience of Old Age. Basic Books, New York, 1983.Google Scholar

20 Lazarus, R. and DeLongis, A.Psychological stress and coping in aging. American Psychologist, 3 (1983), 245–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

21 Lawton, M. P., Competence, environmental press, and the adaptation of older people. In Lawton, M. P., Windley, P. G. and Oberts, T. O. (eds), Aging and the Environment: Theoretical Approaches. Springer, New York, 1982, 33–59.Google Scholar

22 Sagy, S., Antonovsky, A. and Adler, I.Explaining life satisfaction in later life: the sense of coherence model and activity theory. Behavior, Health and Aging, 1 (1990), 11–25.Google Scholar

23 Israel Defense Forces. Private Communication, 1992.

24 Karsenty, et al. Etiology of Injuries Directly Related to Missile Attacks. Paper Presented at the International Conference on Emergency Civilian Medical Services in a Non-Conventional War.Tel Aviv, Israel,March 8–12, 1992.Google Scholar

25 Meisels, R.Psychological Aid to the Civilian Population Before and During a Non-conventional War. Paper Presented at the International Conference on Emergency Civilian Medical Services in a Non-Conventional War.Tel Aviv, Israel,March 8–12, 1992.Google Scholar

26 Bleich, A.Psychiatric Casualties During the Gulf War. Paper Presented at the International Conference on Emergency Civilian Medical Services in a Non-Conventional War.Tel Aviv, Israel,March 8–12, 1992.Google Scholar

27 Savaya, R.Shapira, A. and Spiro, S.Real Emergencies in an Unreasonable War – A Retrospective Study of a Hospital Social Service During the Gulf War. Paper Presented at the International Conference on Emergency Civilian Medical Services in a Non-Conventional War.Tel Aviv, Israel,March 8–12, 1992.Google Scholar

28 Baum, A., Toxins, technology and natural disasters. In Van den Bos, G. R. and Bryant, B. K. (eds), Cataclysms, Crises and Catastrophes: Psychology in Action. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC., 1987, 5–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

29 American Psychiatric Association, DSM-III-R: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Washington, DC, 1987, 236–238.Google Scholar

30 Cronbach, L. J.Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16 (1950), 297–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

31 Janoff-Bulman, R.Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: applications of the schema. Social Cognition, 7 (1989), 113–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

32 Preston, D. B. and Mansfield, P. K.An exploration of stressful life events, illness and coping among the rural elderly. Gerontologist, 24 (1984), 490–494.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

33 Rabkin & Struening, op. cit.

34 Pitcher, B. L. & Hong, S. Y. op. cit.

35 Eysenck, H.J., Stress, disease and personality: The Inoculation Effect. In Cooper, C. L. (ed.), Stress Research. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1983, 121–146.Google Scholar

36 Fleming, R., Baum, A. and Singer, J. F.Toward an integrative approach to the study of stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46 (1984), 939–949.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

37 Folkman, S.Personal control, stress, and coping processes: theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46 (1984), 839–852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

38 Schulz, R. & Hanusa, B. H.Experimental social gerontology: a social psychological perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 36 (2) (1980), 30–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar