Inquiry on Threats of Evil within the Hostile-World Scenario: Emerging Content and Mental Health Concomitants Among Holocaust Survivors

Figures & data

Table 1. Background characteristics of the study groups.

Variable	Holocaust survivors (n = 220)	Comparison group (n = 205)	Difference test t/χ^2
Age M SD Range	79.3 6.4 61–93	69.3 7.5 58–93	t(423) = 14.8***
Gender (%) Women Men	69.1 30.9	59.8 40.2	χ^2(1,424) = 4.0*
Geographic origin (%) Pre-state Israel Europe Asia/Africa/Australia	2.3 95.5 2.2	55.0 24.8 20.2	χ^2(1, 422) = 146.6***
Education^a M SD	3.1 1.5	3.9 1.3	t(420.1) = 5.6***
Marital status (%) Not currently married Married	56 44	34.1 65.9	χ^2(1,423) = 20.3***
Economic status^b M SD	3.3 0.9	3.3 0.8	t(421) = 0.6
Religiousness (%) Not religious Religious	63.5 36.5	70.2 29.8	χ^2(1,424) = 2.2
Health status^c M SD	3.1 1.1	3.7 1.0	t(422) = 6.1***

^aRanging from elementary (1) to academic (5). ^bSelf-rated on a 5-point scale from bad (1) to very good (5). ^cSelf-rated on a 5-point scale from bad (1) to very good (5).

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Table 2. Exploratory factor analysis of the Evil Scale.

Item	Fear of human violence	Interpersonal mistrust
29. I always live in fear that there will be more and more wars	0.84	−.06
48. Sometimes I think it’s not worth living in this horrible world	0.55	0.22
58. I’m very scared of terrorism	0.80	−.03
67. It scares me to think how human beings’ cruelty can hurt me	0.61	0.32
17. It occurs to me that somebody I like might betray our relationship	−.08	0.78
36. There is a possibility that the police – or other government authorities – will sue me with false allegations	0.08	0.66
71. I know from personal experience that I can’t count on getting help from others, even close family members or friends	0.25	0.52
Explained variance (%)	32.27	18.44

Note. N = 299 from both groups, with listwise deletion of missing values. Item numbers are taken from the original HWS Questionnaire.

Table 3. Goodness-of-fit indices obtained in confirmatory factor analysis for four models of Evil Scale.

Model	χ ^2	df	p	GFI	AGFI	IFI	CFI	RMSEA
Model A (1 factor)	72.89	14	.000	.95	.89	.84	.84	.100
Model B (1 factor with correlated errors)^a	38.59	12	.000	.97	.94	.93	.93	.072
Model C (2 factors)	43.84	13	.000	.97	.94	.92	.92	.075
Model D (2 factors with correlated errors)^b	33.41	12	.001	.98	.95	.94	.94	.065

Note. N = 425. Goodness of fit indices are chi-square (χ ²), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI), Bollen’s Increment Fit Index (IFI), Bentler’s Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA).

^aCorrelation of measurement errors was allowed between items 17 and 36, and between items 17 and 71 (see items in Table 2). ^bCorrelation of measurement errors was allowed between items 48 and 58 (see items in Table 2).

Table 4. Univariate Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) comparing the study groups on Evil Perceptions, Hostile-World Scenario (HWS), and Mental Health Indicators.

	Holocaust survivors		Comparison group
Variable	M	SD	M	SD	F Partial eta squared
Overall Evil^a	2.90	0.88	2.39	0.62	F(1,411) = 21.19*** ηp^2 = .049
Fear of human violence^b	3.14	0.93	2.54	0.83	F(1,411) = 25.14*** ηp^2 = .058
Interpersonal mistrust^c	2.12	0.75	2.18	0.70	F(1,319) = 1.76 ηp^2 = .005
HWS-NE^d	2.98	0.71	2.71	0.62	F(1,414) = 12.21*** ηp^2 = .029
HWS-PE	3.17	0.52	3.23	0.46	F(1,415) = 0.002 ηp^2 = .000
Neuroticism (BFI)	2.75	0.87	2.52	0.79	F(1.295) = 3.00 ηp^2 = .010
ABS-PA	2.65	0.84	2.56	0.63	F(1,352) = 4.21* ηp^2= .012
ABS-NA	1.88	0.73	1.58	0.60	F(1,353) = 8.25** ηp^2 = .023
SWLS	4.62	1.37	4.94	1.18	F(1,409) = 4.46* ηp^2 = .011
CES-D	1.83	0.55	1.47	0.21	F(1,121) = 6.03* ηp^2 = .047

Note. ANCOVAs were adjusted for age and gender. HWS-NE = Hostile-World Scenario, Negative Engagement; HWS-PE = Hostile-World Scenario, Positive Engagement; BFI = Big Five Inventory; ABS-PA = Affect Balance Scale, Positive Affect; ABS-NA = Affect Balance Scale, Negative Affect; SWLS = Satisfaction With Life Scale; CES-D = Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale.

^aIn the ANCOVA computed only for those who completed the full version of the HWS questionnaire, p < .01. ^bEvil scale, Factor 1. ^cEvil scale, Factor 2. ^dIn the ANCOVA computed only for those who completed the full version of the HWS questionnaire, p < .01.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Table 5. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses predicting mental health indicators by negative and positive engagement with the Hostile-World Scenario (HWS) and by Overall Evil.

Step/predictor	Neuroticism	Positive affect	Negative affect	Life satisfaction	Depressive symptoms
Step 1 (R^2)	.06***	.02	.09***	.03*	.18***
Age	.04	−.11*	.05	.02	.03
Gender^a	.20***	.04	.19***	−.10*	.21*
Group^b	.15**	−.06	.22***	−.11*	.34***
Step 2 (ΔR^2)	.30***	.02**	.10***	.05***	.13***
HWS-NE	.56***	−.15**	.32***	−.24***	.37***
Step 3 (ΔR^2)	.07***	.09***	.03***	.10***	.03*
HWS-PE	−.27***	.32***	−.19***	.35***	−.17*
Step 4 (ΔR^2)	.003	.002	.03***	.003	.02*
Overall Evil	−.08	−.06	.25***	−.08	−.20*
Step 5 (ΔR^2)	.005+	.000	.01+	.003	.04**
Overall Evil X Group	.15+	.03	.11+	.13	.20**
R^2	.44	.13	.26	.19	.40
F	32.05***	7.53***	17.13***	13.21***	10.79***
df	(7,289)	(7,341)	(7,341)	(7,399)	(7,114)

Note. The table presents standardized beta coefficients for main effects, and unstandardized B coefficients for interaction effects. Results of each Step (2 to 5) are reported only for the additional variable in the particular Step. Continuous variables were standardized. HWS-NE = Hostile-World Scenario, Negative Engagement; HWS-PE = Hostile-World Scenario, Positive Engagement.

^aGender was coded 0 = man, 1 = woman. ^bGroup was coded 0 = non-Holocaust survivor, 1 = Holocaust survivor.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. +p < .10.