2nd-Generation Holocaust Survivors More Anxious About Iran
April 18, 2015The Holocaust continues to take its toll, even 70 years later: A study has shown that adult children of Holocaust survivors are more concerned with the threat of a nuclear Iran than their peers whose parents are not Holocaust survivors.
The study, conducted by Dr. Amit Shrira, of Bar-Ilan University’s Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, was published in a recent issue of Psychological Trauma, an American Psychological Association (APA) journal dedicated to the study of trauma and its aftermath.
The work is entitled, “Transmitting the Sum of All Fears: Iranian Nuclear Threat Salience Among Offspring of Holocaust Survivors.” Dr. Shrira set out to test the “hostile-world scenario” among second-generation survivors.
“Hostile-world scenario” is a term coined by Prof. Dov Shmotkin to describe one’s image of actual or potential threats to one’s life or physical and mental integrity. Shmotkin is Professor in the School of Psychological Sciences and Head of the Herczeg Institute on Aging, both at Tel Aviv University.
Shrira first studied a total of 106 people born to European-Jewish parents after World War II ended in 1945, including 63 whose parents lived under a Nazi or pro-Nazi regime. The parents of the others immigrated to either Israel or other non-Nazi countries before WWII.
The study’s main findings are that 2nd-generation Holocaust survivors exhibit greater preoccupation with the Iranian nuclear threat, and also have a more ominous outlook on the world in general.
Most notably, Shrira then performed a second study, on a similar sample of 450 participants – 300 second-generation Holocaust survivors and 150 comparison participants. The same results were found, giving additional validity to the findings.
“In second-generation survivors we most often see that they are a group with resilience and mental resources,” Shrira wrote, “and they generally exhibit good functioning on a daily basis. But they do have vulnerabilities which can be manifested during times of stress.”
Shrira also participated in a study in 2011 that Holocaust-survivor offspring, and especially those with two survivor parents, reported a higher sense of well-being – but more physical health problems – than the comparison group.
Similar posts
-
Israel Has The Most Moral Military In The World
April 10, 2024In the heart of a region often riddled with conflict, Israel stands out not only for its technologi...
-
The Resilience of the Israeli People
April 2, 2024Visitors from around the world have seen Hamas's October 7th Massacre's destruction in southern Isr...
-
Israel: Small Size, Big Impact
March 21, 2024Nestled along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is a land of immense historical sig...
-
Israelis Are Fighting For Their Lives
February 21, 2024By Jonathan S. Tobin The world looks a lot different from Kibbutz Kfar Aza than it does in the U...
-
Over 2 Million Arabs Live In Israel
January 23, 2024In the complex landscape of the Middle East, where diverse cultures and identities intersect, Israe...
-
'Fauda' Star Idan Amedi Injured Fighting in Gaza
January 8, 2024Despite the severity of his injuries, Amedi's father assured Israeli news channels that his life is...
-
Israel Is A Great Country To Live In
December 28, 2023Nestled at the crossroads of the Middle East, Israel stands as a vibrant and dynamic nation, offeri...
-
Women's Empowerment in Israel
December 15, 2023In recent decades, Israel has witnessed a remarkable evolution in the status and empowerment of wom...