PERCEPTIONS OF WORLD BENEVOLENCE, MEANINGFULNESS, AND SELF-WORTH AMONG ELDERLY ISRAELI HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND NONSURVIVORS

It has been hypothesized that traumatic events may challenge and even disrupt basic individual assumptions about the world, including the pe rception of the world as a benevolent place, the meaningfulness of the world, and the self-worth of the individual. The present study compar ed the cognitive schemata of 61 Israeli Holocaust survivors and 131 co ntrols. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant over all Holocaust effect oil World Assumptions. Univariate F tests implica ted two of the three schemata investigated: world benevolence and worl d meaning. Exposure to the Holocaust accounted for almost all the expl ained variance in the world benevolence scheme, while sociodemographic variables contributed almost all of the explained variance to world m eaning and self-worth. The theoretical implication of the results are discussed.