Bibliographic details:

Zeiderman, A. (2016). Endangered city: the politics of security and risk in Bogotá. Duke University Press.‏

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Abstract:

Security and risk have become central to how cities are planned, built, governed, and inhabited in the twenty-first century. In Endangered City, Austin Zeiderman focuses on this new political imperative to govern the present in anticipation of future harm. Through ethnographic fieldwork and archival research in Bogotá, Colombia, he examines how state actors work to protect the lives of poor and vulnerable citizens from a range of threats, including environmental hazards and urban violence. By following both the governmental agencies charged with this mandate and the subjects governed by it, Endangered City reveals what happens when logics of endangerment shape the terrain of political engagement between citizens and the state. The self-built settlements of Bogotá’s urban periphery prove a critical site from which to examine the rising effect of security and risk on contemporary cities and urban life.

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Boehm, A., Enoshm, G., & Shamai , M. (2010). Expectations of grassroots community leadership in times of normality and crisis. Journal of contingencies and crisis management, 18(4), 184-194.‏

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Abstract:

This article analyses the conjunctures of risk and security that have recently emerged in the securitization of HIV/AIDS. Although these partially corroborate Ulrich Beck's notion of risk society, important elements of the securitization of HIV/AIDS resist his understanding of risk as a 'danger of modernization'. The article therefore turns to François Ewald's alternative theorization of risk as a 'neologism of insurance', and shows that insurance is a risk-based security practice widely used to manage the welfare of populations. Such a biopolitical approach to risk is also valuable for analyzing the securitization of HIV/AIDS, which, even though it is unfolding outside the domain of insurance, similarly draws upon multiple risk categories ('security risks', 'risk groups' and 'risk factors') in efforts to improve the collective health of populations. Analyzed through a wider concept of risk as a 'biopolitical rationality', the conjuncture of risk and security in the securitization of HIV/AIDS thus emerges as a principal site where the institutions of sovereign power in international relations are being absorbed and integrated within a wider biopolitical economy of power.

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Eshel, Y., Kimhi, S., Lahad, M., Leykin, D., & Goroshit, M. (2018). Risk Factors as Major Determinants of Resilience: A Replication Study. Community mental health journal, 1-11.‏

Abstract:

The present study was conducted in the context of current concerns about replication in psychological research. It claims that risk factors should be regarded as an integral part of the definition of individual resilience, which should be defined in terms of the balance between individual strength or protective factors, and individual vulnerability or risk factors (IND-SVR). Five independent samples, including 3457 Israeli participants, were employed to determine the effects of resilience promoting and resilience suppressing variables on the IND-SVR index of resilience, and on its two components: recovery from adversity, and distress symptoms. Five path analyses were employed for determining the role of distress symptoms as a measure of psychological resilience, as compared to other indices of this resilience. Results indicated the major role of risk factors (distress symptoms) as an integral component of resilience. This role was generally replicated in the five investigated samples. Risk factors are legitimate, valid, and useful parts of the definition of psychological resilience. Resilience research has shifted away from studying individual risk factors to investigating the process through which individuals overcome the hardships they experience. The present data seem to suggest that this shift should be reexamined.

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Gil, S., Weinberg, M., Or‐Chen, K., & Harel, H. (2015). Risk factors for DSM 5 PTSD symptoms in Israeli civilians during the Gaza war. Brain and behavior, 5(4), e00316.‏

Abstract:

Background - In light of the current modifications presented in the diagnostic criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the DSM 5, this study aimed at revalidating well‐known PTSD risk factors, including gender, peritraumatic dissociation, social support, level of threat, and trait tendency for forgiveness.

Method - Five hundred and one Israeli civilians were assessed during real‐time exposure to missile and rocket fire at the eruption of the Gaza war. Assessments took place approximately one to 2 weeks after the beginning of this military operation, relying on web administration of the study, which allowed simultaneous data collection from respondents in the three regions in Israel that were under attack.

Results - A structural equation model design revealed that higher levels of forgiveness toward situations were associated with fewer PTSD symptoms, whereas peritraumatic dissociation and high levels of objective and subjective threat were positively associated with PTSD symptoms. Additionally, females were at higher risk for PTSD symptoms than males.

Conclusions - The findings of this study provide further evidence for the importance of directing preventive attention to those vulnerable to the development of elevated levels of PTSD symptoms. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

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פרטים בבליוגרפיים

קמחי, ש. ושמאי, מ, (2006). חוסן קהילתי כבולם תגובות לחץ: תגובות תושבי הצפון ליציאת צה"ל מלבנון. סוגיות חברתיות בישראל (1) 152-170

תקציר:

לאחר נסיגת צה"ל מלבנון בדק המחקר את היחסים בין תפיסת החוסן הקהילתי לבין תגובות לחץ ושביעות הרצון מהחיים. המדגם כלל 741 בוגרים בגילאי 18-85, שחולקו לארבע קבוצות בהתאם לרמת האיום עליהן: תושבי שלוש מהן מתגוררים קרוב לגבול הלבנון ונחשפו ישירות לאיומי טרור ומלחמה כתוצאה מהיציאה. הקבוצה הרביעית שמשה כקבוצת ביקורת וכללה נחקרים מאזור המרכז שלא נחשפו ישירות ללחימה לאורך גבול הלבנון. חולקו שאלונים למשתתפים מיד לאחר יציאת צה"ל מלבנון. השאלונים מולאו ונאספו בתוך שבוע עד שלושה שבועות מיום היציאה. כלי המחקר כללו מדד לחוסן קהילתי נתפס, מדדים לתגובות לחץ ולשביעות רצון מהחיים. התוצאות הראו שרמת האיום היא בעלת אפקט מובהק על החוסן הקהילתי, כלומר, מגורים בסיטואציה של רמה גבוהה של איום לאורך זמן מתבטאים ברמה נמוכה יותר של חוסן קהילתי. בנוסף, חוסן קהילתי משמש כמתווך בין רמת האיום לבין תגובות לחץ (דאגות, לחץ של אחרים משמעותיים ותסמיני לחץ) ושביעות הרצון מהחיים. התוצאות מצביעות על החשיבות של תפיסת חוסן קהילתי כמקור להתמודדות הפרט עם איומים הנוצרים על ידי טרור ומלחמה, כלומר, מקשרות בין רמת המיקרו למאקרו באירועים הקשורים למלחמה וטרור.

קישור: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23388578?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Kimhi, S., & Shamai, M.(2006). Community resilience as a buffer of Stress reactions - Northern community response to Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. Social Issues in Israel (1), 152-170

A short time after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, this research investigated the relationship between perceived community resilience, and stress reactions and life satisfaction. The research sample included 741 adults, aged 18-85. The participants were divided into four groups, three of which live close to the Israel-Lebanon border and were directly exposed to the threat created by war and terror. The fourth group was considered a control group and included subjects from the central region of Israel, who were not directly exposed to the war with Lebanon and to the possible outcomes of withdrawal. Questionnaires were distributed to the participants immediately after the withdrawal from Lebanon and were completed by them between one and three weeks after the withdrawal. The items were designed to measure perceived community resilience, reaction to stress (concerns, psychological symptoms, significant others' stress), life satisfaction, and demographic background. The results indicated that the level of threat had a significant impact no community resilience, namely, that living in situations with a high level of threat over a long period of time results in a lower level of community resilience. In addition, community resilience serves as a partial mediator between the level of threat and the reaction to stress and life satisfaction. The results emphasize the importance of perceived community resilience as an individual resource for coping with the threat created by war and terror, thereby, connecting between micro - and macro - levels in events related to political violence.

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Bibliographic details:

Kimhi, S., & Shamai, M. (2004). Community resilience and the impact of stress: Adult response to Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. Journal of Community Psychology, 32(4), 439-451.

Abstract:

Against the background of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, we investigated the relationship between perceived community resilience and the effect of stress and life satisfaction. The research sample included 741 adults, aged 18–85. The participants were divided into four groups, three of which live close to the Israel–Lebanon border and were directly exposed to the threat created by war and terror. The fourth group was considered as a control group and included subjects from the central region of Israel, who were not directly exposed to the war with Lebanon and to the possible outcomes of withdrawal. Questionnaires were distributed to the participants immediately after the withdrawal from Lebanon and were completed by them between 1 and 3 weeks after the withdrawal. The items were designed to measure perceived community resilience, the effects of stress, and life satisfaction, and demographic background. The results show that the level of threat has a significant impact on community resilience, namely, that living in situations with a high level of threat over a long period of time results in a lower level of community resilience. In addition, community resilience serves as a partial mediator between the level of threat and the effect of stress and life satisfaction. The results highlight the importance of perceived community resilience as an individual resource for coping with the threat created by war and terror, thereby connecting between micro‐ and macro‐levels in events related to political violence.

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Bibliographic details:

Kimhi, S., & Shamai, M. (2006). Are women at higher risk than men? Gender differences among teenagers and adults in their response to threat of war and terror. Women & Health, 43(3), 1-19.

Abstract:

The present study examined whether women are at higher risk of developing stress reactions in situations of war and terror. The study looked at gender differences within two samples–teenagers (n = 353) and adults (n = 890)–regarding the impact of stress that developed in response to a situation of threat of war and terror as a result of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. The study tested: (1) gender differences regarding cognitive appraisal of the stressor, coping styles, psychological symptoms, and life satisfaction; (2) whether cognitive appraisal and coping styles mediated gender differences in psychological symptoms and life satisfaction; and (3) whether the two age groups differed regarding the contribution of gender to the studied variables. The results revealed that among the teenagers, gender differences were found only in cognitive appraisal and psychological symptoms, while among adults, gender differences were found in all the studied variables. The results support the mediating hypothesis with regard to psychological symptoms, but not with regard to life satisfaction. The results also show a different contribution of gender in each of the age groups regarding psychological symptoms, but not regarding life satisfaction, which leaves some doubt regarding the assumptions that women tend to be more affected by stress than men.

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Bibliographic details:

Kimhi S., Eshel Y., Leykin D. & Lahad M. (2017). Individual, Community, and National Resilience in Peace Time and in the Face of Terror: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 22:8, 698-713

Abstract:

The present paper is based on three-repeated measures. The sample constituted 561 Jewish Israeli adults who experienced these terror attacks. The study examined individual, community and national resilience and their associations with resilience promoting factors (sense of coherence, social support and self-efficacy); as well as resilience suppressing factors (distress symptoms, sense of danger and exposure). Results indicated that resilience scores were quite stable across the three repeated measures, whereas sense of coherence, distress symptoms, sense of danger and exposure significantly changed across the three repeated measures. Sense of coherence was the best predictor for individual, community and national resilience.

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Lev-Wiesel, R., & Shamai, M. (1998). Living under the threat of relocation: Spouses' perceptions of the threat and coping resources. Contemporary Family Therapy, 20(1), 107-121.

Abstract:

This study examined the contribution of couples, shared perceptions of the threat of relocation, and the buffering effect of personal and marital resources in coping with stress. The study was conducted with a random sample of 95 couples in the Golan Heights region in Israel, where a unique situation exists in which families live under a threat of relocation, due to the peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. Two resources were examined: potency and marital quality Results showed that potency made the greatest contribution to coping either with demands or stress, both in couples who had similar or different future scenarios, while marital quality was found to relieve the stress only in couples who shared the same future scenarios. The average level of stress was found to be higher but not significant among couples with different future scenarios.

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Bibliographic details:

Possick, C., Sadeh, R. A., & Shamai, M. (2008). Parents' experience and meaning construction of the loss of a child in a national terror attack. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 78(1), 93-102.‏

Abstract:

This paper describes a qualitative study aimed at exploring the meanings that are given by parents to the loss of their children in terror attacks in Israel and examining how specific aspects of these meanings help or hinder them in coping with the loss. This paper focuses the collective context of loss, a theme that emerged from in‐depth interviews with 16 bereaved parents who lost their children in different terror attacks. The collective context of loss includes three subthemes: (a) the loss in the context of Jewish and Israeli history; (b) assigning responsibility for the loss; and (c) using the collective meaning in the process of coping, overall, the findings highlight the role of the sociocultural context in the bereavement process. The discussion raises possible explanations for the significance of this role, focusing on the reciprocal processes between the bereaved parents and society, which are functional and effective for both.

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