Rescue Volunteers' Posttraumatic Symptoms, Distress, and Fear of Death: Attachment Insecurity Moderates

Abstract

This study addresses the contribution of attachment orientations of ultra-orthodox volunteer rescuers involved in terror events to their posttraumatic symptoms, distress, and fear of death. The authors compared 53 ultra-orthodox rescuers operating in a terror-stricken area in Israel to 36 ultra-orthodox men unexposed to terror. Rescuers displayed lower distress than controls but were not significantly different in fear of death or posttraumatic symptoms. Attachment anxiety was found to be a risk factor by contributing uniquely to posttraumatic symptoms, distress, and fear of death, and as a debilitating factor among rescuers.