Academic Journal
Associations between early-life unpredictability and mental health during the Israel-Hamas war.
| Title: | Associations between early-life unpredictability and mental health during the Israel-Hamas war. |
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| Authors: | Szepsenwol O; Department of Education and Educational Counseling, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel. Electronic address: ohads@yvc.ac.il., Shmulewitz D; Department of Psychology and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health (ICAMH), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel., Svirksky V; Department of Psychology and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health (ICAMH), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel., Mikulincer M; Department of Psychology and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health (ICAMH), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. |
| Source: | Journal of affective disorders [J Affect Disord] 2026 May 15; Vol. 401, pp. 121249. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jan 30. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7906073 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-2517 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01650327 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Affect Disord Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press. |
| MeSH Terms: | Jews*/psychology , Affective Symptoms*/psychology , Adverse Childhood Experiences*/psychology , Psychological Distress* , War Exposure* , Emotional Regulation*, Retrospective Studies ; Stress, Psychological ; Mental Health ; Israel ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged |
| Abstract: | Exposure to war increases the risk for emotional and psychological distress, especially among people with pre-existing vulnerabilities. According to life history models of development and psychopathology, unpredictability experienced in the first years of life should forecast greater vulnerability to emotion dysregulation and psychological symptoms in adulthood. Moreover, the sensitization hypothesis posits that such effects should be particularly manifested in currently stressful environments. The present research investigated trajectories of emotion dysregulation and psychological distress experienced by adult Israeli Jews before and during the Israel-Hamas war that started on October 7, 2023, as well as the moderating role of early-life unpredictability. The participants (N = 720) were assessed twice before the war and twice during the first six months of the war. In each assessment, they completed measures of emotion dysregulation (DERS-18) and general psychological distress (SCL-10R). Retrospective reports of early-life unpredictability were collected at T1 regarding the first 10 years of life. Multilevel models indicated that psychological distress and emotion dysregulation increased co-dependently after the war started. Early-life unpredictability was associated with greater psychological distress and emotion dysregulation before the war and a larger increase in psychological distress after the war started. Moreover, early-life unpredictability was associated with a greater increase in psychological distress among war-exposed individuals. These findings indicate that the Israel-Hamas war exerted an emotional and psychological toll on Israeli adults. They further suggest that early-life unpredictability is a general risk factor for emotion dysregulation and psychological distress in adulthood and predicts worse mental health in war-exposed individuals. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Childhood unpredictability; Emotion regulation; Israel-Hamas war; Life history theory; October 7; Psychological distress; War exposure |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260131 Date Completed: 20260731 Latest Revision: 20260731 |
| Update Code: | 20260801 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jad.2026.121249 |
| PMID: | 41620178 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1573-2517 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jad.2026.121249 |