ATTACHMENT STYLES, COPING STRATEGIES, AND POSTTRAUMATIC PSYCHOLOGICALDISTRESS - THE IMPACT OF THE GULF-WAR IN ISRAEL

This study examines the association between adult attachment style and the way people reacted to the Iraqi missile attack on Israel during t he Gulf War. One hundred forty Israeli students were interviewed 2 wee ks after the war and classified according to their attachment style (s ecure, avoidant, or ambivalent) and residence area (dangerous vs. less dangerous). Ambivalent people reported more distress than secure peop le. Avoidant persons reported higher levels of somatization, hostility , and trauma-related avoidance than secure persons. These results char acterized Ss living in dangerous areas. In addition, secure people use d relatively more support-seeking strategies in coping with the trauma , ambivalent people used more emotion-focused strategies, and avoidant people used more distancing strategies. Findings are discussed in ter ms of attachment working models.