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Activity engagement and psychological distress among Holocaust survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2021

Yoav S. Bergman Open the ORCID record for Yoav S. Bergman [Opens in a new window] ,
Ruth Maytles ,
Maya Frenkel-Yosef  and
Amit Shrira Open the ORCID record for Amit Shrira [Opens in a new window]
Yoav S. Bergman*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, 12 Ben Tzvi St., Ashkelon, 78211, Israel
Ruth Maytles
Affiliation:
Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, 12 Ben Tzvi St., Ashkelon, 78211, Israel Interdisciplinary Department for Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002, Israel The Nini Czopp Association, Natanya, Israel
Maya Frenkel-Yosef
Affiliation:
The Nini Czopp Association, Natanya, Israel
Amit Shrira
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Department for Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Yoav S. Bergman, Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, 12 Ben Tzvi St., Ashkelon, 78211, Israel. Fax: +972-9-9516212. Email: yoav.s.bergman@gmail.com.
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Abstract

Objectives:

The COVID-19 pandemic may pose a specific threat for Holocaust survivors, as such threats may be linked with increased psychological distress. Moreover, research has demonstrated that engaging in planful problem-solving activities is associated with reduced distress. Accordingly, we aimed to examine the link between engaging in activities during COVID-19 and psychological distress among Holocaust survivors with varying levels of post-traumatic symptoms (PTS) and comparisons (not directly exposed to the Holocaust).

Design:

A cross-sectional design composed of Holocaust survivors and a comparison group.

Setting:

Participants were interviewed face-to-face, over the telephone, or filled the scales online at their leisure.

Participants:

Data were collected from 131 older Jewish Israelis (age range 76–94, M = 82.73, SD = 4.09), who were divided into three groups (comparisons; low-PTS survivors; high-PTS survivors).

Measurements:

Participants completed scales assessing PTS, activity engagement, and psychological distress and provided additional sociodemographic, medical, and COVID-19-related information.

Results:

When activity engagement was low, high-PTS survivors reported extremely high levels of psychological distress relative to low-PTS survivors and comparisons. However, when activity engagement was high, these group differences were considerably reduced, as the psychological distress of high-PTS survivors was significantly lower.

Conclusions:

The study highlights the importance of daily planning and activity engagement for Holocaust survivors with high PTS levels in reducing psychological distress. Clinicians are urged to take this factor into account when dealing with the psychological effects of COVID-19 on survivors and on traumatized older adults in general.

Keywords

activity engagementpsychological distresspost-traumatic symptomsHolocaustolder adults
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 33 , Special Issue 12: Issue Theme: Social Engagement and Mental Health , December 2021 , pp. 1289 - 1296
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2021

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