Yoav S. Bergman

Post-traumatic symptomatology (PTS) in older adults is associated with reduced psychological well-being. Based on the Anxiety Buffer Disruption Theory (ABDT), we examined the death anxiety–PTS association, as well as the moderating role of resilience on this association in older adults living in southern Israel who had been exposed to continuous missile threats/attacks before the onset of the 2023 Israel–Hamas War. 205 older Israeli adults (M = 73.97, SD = 6.49) who live near the Gaza strip completed a questionnaire regarding these variables. Lower resilience and higher death anxiety were associated with increased PTS. There was also a moderating effect of resilience on the death anxiety–PTS link, as this link was significant for individuals reporting high/median levels of resilience, but was nullified for those reporting low resilience levels. Our findings suggest that resilience is a crucial factor for older adults experiencing constant terror threat, and are discussed in light of ABDT.

The October 7, 2023, attack on Israel marked a traumatic escalation in the Israel‐Gaza conflict, placing immense psychological pressure on first responders (FRs). This study examined whether the relationship between burnout and psychological distress was moderated by profession (FR vs. non‐FR) during the ‘Iron Swords’ war. Data were collected between December 2024 and February 2025, from a convenience sample and snowball sampling of 885 Israeli participants (257 FRs and 628 non‐ FRs). Participants completed validated measures of burnout and distress, along with socio‐demographic information. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that burnout significantly predicted distress across the full sample. No main effect of FR on distress was found. However, a significant interaction emerged: burnout's effect on distress was significantly stronger among FRs than non‐FRs. The findings suggest that FRs are more vulnerable to the psychological toll of burnout, particularly in trauma‐exposed environments. These results align with the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, highlighting the depletion of emotional resources as a key mechanism driving distress under chronic occupational strain. The study underscores the importance of assessing burnout alongside trauma exposure when evaluating FR mental health. Clinically, results emphasise the need for early identification and tailored interventions targeting burnout among FRs, with an emphasis on resilience‐building, psychological flexibility, and organizational support (e.g., peer debriefings, workload management). Future longitudinal research is needed to clarify causality and examine profession‐specific effects. Overall, burnout appears to be a key amplifier of wartime distress in FRs, with implications for intervention policy and mental health strategy during crisis contexts.

A body of work has demonstrated an association between financial exploitation (FE) experiences and poorer mental health. However, few studies have examined what factors may moderate relationships between FE and mental health. The present study examined whether subjective successful aging (SSA) attenuates the FE-mental health link. Participants were 144 community-dwelling Israeli older adults (M age = 69.79, SD = 5.70), who responded to questions regarding their FE history, SSA, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Regression models covaried for age, sex, education level, monthly income, relationship status, and number of medical illnesses. Both models revealed main effects of FE and SSA such that experiencing FE and lower SSA were associated with increased depressive/anxiety symptoms. The FE-SSA interaction was significant for both outcome variables, as the difference between FE and non-FE groups on depressive/anxiety symptoms was significant for those with low SSA but not for those with high SSA. Findings suggest that older adults who experience FE and view their aging as less successful are at greatest risk of experiencing poorer mental health.

The outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on October 7, 2023, has presented unprecedented challenges to older adults’ mental health, including increased posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. The current study examined potential war‐ and age‐related factors associated with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), clinical depression (probable depression), and generalized anxiety disorder (probable anxiety) among older adults during the ongoing war. Moreover, due to the continued threat of death, we examined whether death anxiety is an additional contributing factor to older adults’ probable PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Data were collected January–March 2024 from 554 community‐dwelling older adults (M_age = 73.90 years, SD = 7.35, range: 61–96 years) who completed online scales assessing sociodemographic variables, war exposure (distance from the Gaza Strip, exposure to terror attacks/blasts), and age‐related constructs (assistance in daily activities [ADL], cognitive decline, physical illnesses, death anxiety). Increased ADL was associated with probable depression, B = 0.62, OR = 1.87, and anxiety, B = 0.42, OR = 1.53, and cognitive decline was associated with probable depression, B = 1.52, OR = 4.56. Older adults with high levels of death anxiety were almost 3 times as likely to meet the criteria for probable PTSD, B = 1.05, OR = 2.85, and more than 1.5 as likely to meet the criteria for probable depression, B = 0.54, OR = 1.71, and anxiety, B = 0.50, OR = 1.65. The importance of death anxiety as a potential risk factor for negative psychological outcomes among older adults during war is discussed.

Social media has become instrumental for older adults in maintaining social connections, which are an integral component of older adults’ well-being. However, little is known about how daily positive/negative social media emotional experiences are associated with older adults’ subjective views of aging. The current study examined daily emotional experiences related to WhatsApp groups and their association with subjective age (feeling younger/older than one’s chronological age). Data were collected from 42 Israeli older adults who confirmed daily WhatsApp usage ( M _age = 74.30, SD = 8.39). Participants reported their daily WhatsApp emotional experiences in family/other groups and daily subjective age over 14 consecutive days, resulting in 557 completed reports. Results demonstrated that on days older adults reported negative WhatsApp group emotional experiences they felt older. Positive emotional experiences were associated with feeling younger solely when these experiences were reported in relation to family WhatsApp groups. Time-lagged models further indicated that only negative (but not positive) WhatsApp emotional experiences on a given day predicted an older subjective age the following day. The results underscore the significance of daily social media emotional experiences in shaping older adults’ daily subjective age. They also indicate the presence of a negativity bias effect in social media interactions among older adults.

The unique human awareness of the fact that life is finite, and that death is unavoidable has been shown to elicit negative psychological consequences across the life cycle. However, research has demonstrated that the ability to seek, maintain, and gain comfort from close relationships mitigates the adverse psychological effects of death awareness/anxiety. Moreover, relatively little is known about how death anxiety and social relationships in old age are associated with resilience, an important personal protective factor for dealing with general and age-related difficulties. Accordingly, the current work examined the links between death anxiety and resilience in older adults and explored the potential moderating role of attachment patterns for this link. Data were collected from 369 older Israeli adults (Mage = 73.15, SD = 6.31, range = 60–94), who completed scales examining death anxiety, attachment patterns, and resilience, as well as sociodemographic scales. The results demonstrated that death anxiety, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance were associated with reduced resilience. Moreover, the death anxiety-resilience link was not significant for individuals reporting high or low levels of both attachment anxiety and avoidance. The findings are discussed through the prism of Terror Management Theory, and practical implications are suggested.

On April 29, 2021, during an Ultra-Orthodox annual communal event in Meron, a crowd rush resulted in the deaths of 45 individuals. Experiencing such events may intensify death proximity (subjective nearness to death, SNtD) and death anxiety, and increase distress. Furthermore, the experience of grief following the trauma may disrupt defense mechanisms that reduce death-related anxieties. Thus, we examined the mediating role of death anxiety on the association between SNtD and distress, and the possible moderating role of grief experiences on this model. Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews who experienced the Meron disaster (N = 168) responded to scales assessing demographics, SNtD, death anxiety, and psychological distress. Death anxiety mediated the SNtD-distress link and grief was a significant moderator. Specifically, for individuals low in grief, the association between high death anxiety and increased distress was nullified. Findings are discussed from the perspective of Terror Management Theory.