The effects of insecure attachment orientations and perceived social support on posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms among civilians exposed to the 2009 Israel–Gaza war: A follow-up Cross-Lagged panel design study

A follow-up Cross-Lagged-design was used to test the effects of attachment orientations and perceived social support on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder symptoms (MDD) in a sample of 135 Israeli students who were evacuated from a university campus located near the Israel–Gaza border in response to increased missile-fire in the area. An internet-based data collection procedure enabled the simultaneous survey of evacuees located up to 40 km from the border at war, both during the fighting and 4 months after the ceasefire. Proximity to the border did not affect levels of PTSD or MDD symptoms, attachment orientation, or levels of perceived social support. Analyses involving Cross-Lagged Panel Correlation (CLPC) path models revealed that Attachment–Anxiety had significant positive effects on PTSD, MDD, and perceived social support. Neither PTSD nor MDD nor perceived social support had any reciprocal follow-up effect on Attachment–Anxiety. These findings underscore the central role of individual trait personality differences in predicting changes in both mental health problems and interpersonal relations over time, following exposure to trauma.