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High Positive Affect Shortly After Missile Attacks and the Heightened Risk of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Israeli Adolescents
Author(s) -
IsraelCohen Yael,
KashyRosenbaum Gabriela,
Kaplan Oren
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.21912
Subject(s) - affect (linguistics) , psychology , arousal , context (archaeology) , posttraumatic stress , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , communication , paleontology , biology
Abstract Previous research has demonstrated that positive emotions help build psychological resources and facilitate adaptation to stress, yet few studies have considered the possible negative effects of positive emotions on stress. This study examined the relationship between high arousal, positive and negative affect, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among 503 Israeli adolescents following a period of escalated missile attacks on their city. Our findings revealed that not only negative affect, but also positive affect at very high levels exhibited 2 weeks following missile attacks were independently associated with PTSD symptoms 2½ months later (η 2 = .09, η 2 = .02, respectively). Although the literature recognizes the risk factor of negative affect on the development of PTSD, we suggest that also positive affect at high levels immediately after such experiences may be a case of emotion context insensitivity and thus a maladaptive response to trauma. Further research should examine the mechanisms associated with positive emotions and PTSD.