Social Connectedness Moderates the Relationship Between Warfare Exposure, PTSD Symptoms, and Health Among Older Adults

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the current study is to examine whether social connectedness among older adults mitigates the risk of poor health due to exposure to warfare and related symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prior research has indicated a protective role for social connectedness in the face of trauma in general. However, this same association has not been examined among older adults exposed to warfare, even though they are potentially a more vulnerable population with unique social needs. Method: The study used cross-sectional data from the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel; N = 1,557, mean age = 69.03, age range = 50 to 105). It employed a composite scale of social connectedness, data on exposure to war-related events during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, and ensuing symptoms of PTSD. Social connectedness, warfare exposure, and PTSD symptoms were used to predict physical and mental health, as well as engagement in health behaviors. Results: Warfare exposure and PTSD symptoms were related to worse health. Moreover, social connectedness moderated this association, such that persons suffering from PTSD symptoms suffered less from worse health when they were highly connected. This trend was found for physical and mental health and in relation to health behaviors. Conclusions: While war-related PTSD is indeed related to poorer health, social connectedness moderates the strength of the association. Practitioners should be aware of the protective role of social connectedness in the context of warfare exposure in old age, and intervention programs with this population should strive toward bolstering social connections.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental Data

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Additional information

Funding

Wave 4 data collection in SHARE-Israel was funded by the NIH (R01-AG031729) and the Ministry for Senior Citizens. SHARE data collection has been primarily funded by the European Commission through FP5 (QLK6-CT-2001-00360), FP6 (SHARE-I3: RII-CT-2006-062193, COMPARE: CIT5-CT-2005-028857, SHARELIFE: CIT4-CT-2006-028812), and FP7 (SHARE-PREP: N°211909, SHARE-LEAP: N°227822, SHARE M4: N°261982). Additional funding from the German Ministry of Education and Research, the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, the U.S. National Institute on Aging (U01_AG09740-13S2, P01_AG005842, P01_AG08291, P30_AG12815, R21_AG025169, Y1-AG-4553-01, IAG_BSR06-11, OGHA_04-064, HHSN271201300071C), and from various national funding sources is gratefully acknowledged (see www.share-project.org).

Notes on contributors

Ella Schwartz

Ella Schwartz is a PhD candidate in the Israel Gerontological Data Center, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has an MA degree in neuro-clinical psychology. Her research focuses on the associations of social relationships in old age with physical health, mental health and cognitive functioning. Amit Shrira, PhD, is a professor at the Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences in Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and a licensed clinical psychologist. In his research, he focuses on how older adults cope with the aging and dying processes, especially after exposure to adverse and traumatic events and their intergenerational transmission. To date, he has published more than 100 papers and chapters in peer-reviewed journals and books.