Getting a Life: Gender Differences in Postwar Recovery

Abstract

This study examined gender differences in stress symptoms and recovery one year after the end of war, among two Israeli samples (adults n = 870 and adolescents n = 810). MANOVA analysis indicated that females reported higher levels of stress symptoms and lower levels of postwar recovery compared to males. Adolescents reported lower levels of stress and higher levels of recovery compared to adults. Path analysis supported the following: Gender associated negatively with family support and sense of danger. Sense of danger associated positively with symptoms and negatively with recovery, while family support associated with these variables in the opposite direction. Mediation test indicated that family support and sense of danger served as mediators between gender and recovery and between gender and stress symptoms.