Spousal Coping Strategies in the Shadow of Terrorism

Abstract

The present study focuses on spousal differences in reaction to ongoing exposure to terror and security threats. Sixty-eight married couples with children living in a region exposed to ongoing security threats were evaluated. All participants completed questionnaires on objective exposure (number of incidents) and subjective exposure (sense of fear) to terrorism and security threats, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and their coping strategies with this ongoing exposure. Mothers reported higher levels of fear and PTSD symptoms, although their objective levels of exposure did not differ from those of their husbands. Similarities were found in coping strategies adopted by mothers and fathers to cope with life in the shadow of terrorism. Both mothers and fathers integrated emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies, with greater use of the latter. These similarities partially contradict research findings suggesting gender differences in coping with exposure to security threats. The results support the need for further research into investigating the role of dyadic coping in the context of prolonged exposure to security threats.

Keywords

spouses coping terrorism security threats PTSD symptoms

Introduction

Many countries (e.g., England, France, Belgium, Germany, the United States, India, etc.) have recently been exposed to terror attacks. Other countries suffer from a persistent threat of exposure to terror and security events (e.g., Israel, Iraq). Those afflicted (individuals, couples, and families) are, thus, exposed to stressors in their daily life. In the context of families, parents play a key role in how their children cope with these stressors (Shechory-Bitton, 2013; Tatar, Amram, & Kelman, 2011). But couples also have to attend to their own coping mechanisms, and these too require critical analysis.

As the threat of terrorism enters the social mainstream, mitigating deleterious effects of stressors induced by irruptions of terrorist violence has emerged as an increasingly important therapeutic goal (Falconier, Randall, & Bodenmann, 2016). In fact, a great amount of research on terrorism and its effects has kept pace with the rise of terrorist incidents in diverse contexts and locations (Bensimon et al., 2013; Besser, Zeigler-Hill, Weinberg, Pincus, & Neria, 2015; Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2020). However, limited attention has been paid to parental coping with exposure to security events and terrorism. The spousal dynamic is an especially overlooked dimension of this problem (e.g., Gilbar, Weinberg, & Gil, 2012).

Parental Responses to Security Threats

Long-term exposure to security threats and terrorist incidents may affect parental ability to provide children with support (Gewirtz, Forgatch, & Wieling, 2008; Joshi & O’Donnell, 2003; Qouta, Punamaki, & El Sarraj, 2005). Family cohesion and parental support were found to provide children with resilience and help in coping with exposure to security threats (Laor et al., 1997; Punamaki, Qouta, & El-Sarraj, 2001). However, parental distress was found to be positively associated with the distress of their children (Cobham, McDermott, Haslam, & Sanders, 2016; Shechory-Bitton, 2013).

Parents exhibited a variety of responses: desire for more event-related information, anger, sadness, and emotional avoidance (e.g., Tatar et al., 2011). The few studies that focused on mothers showed them exhibiting symptomatic reactions of fear, anxiety, and distress (e.g., Dekel, 2004; Shechory-Bitton, 2013; Wolmer, Laor, Gershon, Mayes, & Cohen, 2000). They expressed a need for social support, behavioral avoidance, and emotional ventilation (Cwikel, Segal-Engelchin, & Mendlinger, 2010). They also demonstrated an ambivalent range of attitudes, including optimism, humor, and denial (e.g., Hirsch & Lazar, 2012).

Besides the studies mentioned above, there is a general shortfall in the research literature with regard to how fathers cope with continuous security threats. This lacuna exists despite fathers’ integral role as the most meaningful coping resource for their family and children (e.g., Pagorek-Eshel & Dekel, 2015). In addition, only two studies have so far focused on differences between mothers and fathers following exposure to terrorism and security events (Baker & Kevorkian, 1995; Tatar et al., 2011). The first found that Palestinian mothers manifested twice the level of depression and anxiety as fathers (Baker & Kevorkian, 1995). The second briefly dwelled on differences between mothers and fathers, indicating that fathers are more likely than mothers to react with expressions of anger, desire for revenge, and emotional avoidance. Mothers, however, were reported as experiencing higher levels of symptomatic stress and fear (Tatar et al., 2011). However, several studies focused on the spousal dynamic and examined victims and their spouses. The findings indicated an association between victims’ and their spouses’ level of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; for example, Gilbar et al., 2012). Due to the identification process of the spouses with their partner’s trauma, they may experience the pathological symptoms as their own (Dekel, Enoch, & Solomon, 2008).

The Current Study

The current study intends to expand the field by exploring responses and coping strategies of mothers and fathers residing in towns located in Israel’s Judea and Samaria regions. This area is considered a conflict zone, with residents exposed to a greater number of security threats than most other residents of Israel (Billig, 2015; Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018). Owing to the fact that parents are exposed to the same threats and potential dangers as their children (Tatar et al., 2011), studies on the coping of fathers and mothers as a family unit while residing in conflict zones will add much-needed further depth to the research field. Concurrently with exploring spousal differences, an attempt was also made to examine whether gender differences as described above are retained in the case of parents. Or, alternately, the parental role may be blind to gender differences or generate a type of blurring effect.

A comprehensive review of the literature indicates several variables can be found related to coping strategies relevant to terrorism exposure and security threats. These include association with scope and frequency of exposure, manner of exposure (direct/indirect), place of residence, age of those exposed, and gender (Besser & Neria, 2012; Braun-Lewensohn & Mosseri Rubin, 2014; Cohen-Louck, 2019; May, Herbert, Cline, & Nellis, 2011; Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018).

One variable determined to be significant is coping strategy, which correlates to outcomes in various contexts. Lazarus and Folkman (1984, 1991) defined coping strategies as cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person dealing with stressful situations and events. They suggested two major forms of coping: problem focused (dealing with stress sources and taking proactive steps to change them) or emotion focused (serving to reduce the emotional stress resulting from such situations; see also Folkman, 2013).

Research findings show that greater use of emotion-focused coping is highly correlated with psychological distress (e.g., Ben-Zur, Gilbar, & Lev, 2001; Carver & Scheier, 1993; Gil, 2005; Gilbar, Plivzky, & Gil, 2010; Rodrigues & Renshaw, 2010). However, problem-focused strategies usually show more negative correlations with distress and indicate good mental health (Gil, 2005; Gilbar et al., 2010; Taft, Vogt, Mechanic, & Resick, 2007). Nevertheless, several studies have suggested that emotion-focused strategies may also be beneficial in situations perceived as uncontrollable or in the absence of a viable solution (e.g., war and terrorism).

Studies on the association between general male and female coping strategies (unrelated to parenting) revealed that women consistently report higher levels of fear and develop symptoms of distress, more so than men in similar situations (i.e., exposure to terrorism; for example, Cohen-Louck & Ben-David, 2017; Nellis, 2009; Zeidner, 2006). Interestingly, women experience these elevated fear levels even though they are exposed to a lower probability of injury (e.g., the fear-victimization paradox; Ferraro, 1996; May, Rader, & Goodrum, 2010). Men tend to use problem-focused coping strategies, targeting the problem and its solution (Folkman, 2013; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Women, however, tend to utilize more of an emotion-focused coping strategy (Araya, Chotai, Komproe, & Jong, 2007; Shacham & Lahad, 2004; Solomon, Gelkopf, & Bleich, 2005). These deal mainly with emotional and psychological outcomes of the stress-causing problem (Chesney, Neiland, Chambers, Taylor, & Folkman, 2006; Folkman, 2013; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Nevertheless, some studies found that women tend to combine both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies more than men (Ben-Zur & Zeidner, 1991; Cohen-Louck & Ben-David, 2017; Zeidner, 2006). Research on couples coping with stressful events (e.g., cancer) suggests that in stressful situations, a coping strategy used by one partner can affect the other (Regan et al., 2015).

Based on the literature, it may be assumed that mothers will report higher levels of fear, will develop more PTSD symptoms, and will use both emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies to a greater degree than fathers. However, because this kind of coping requires practical arrangements in everyday life, mothers and fathers will probably make more use of a problem-focused coping strategy than its emotion-focused counterpart.

Method

Participants

The study included 68 married couples. The mothers were significantly younger than the fathers (M = 39.58, SD = 5.90; M = 42.51, SD = 7.37, respectively); t(64) = −6.30, p < .001; however, the difference was small. Most of the couples (87.9%) described themselves as traditional Jews, whereas the rest (12.1%) identified as secular. Of all participants, 77.6% of mothers and 71.2% of fathers had an academic education. Approximately 98% were employed. All had at least two children (M = 5.07, SD = 2.08). All the couples were living in Judea and Samaria communities for an average of 14.88 years (SD = 8.61 years).

Measurements

Objective and subjective exposure to terror and security incidents

Based on Solomon and Lavi’s (2005) Exposure to War and Terror Questionnaire (see also Shechory-Bitton, 2013; Shechory-Bitton & Laufer, 2017), 16 items on different types of trauma-related incidents were used to assess objective exposure to terror and security incidents (all the items are listed in Table 1). Objective exposure was scored as the total number of terror incidents to which the respondent had been exposed; scores ranged from 0 to 16, with higher scores indicating greater exposure. For each incident participants reported experiencing, they were asked to indicate how fearful they felt at the time of the incident on a 4-point scale (1 = not scared, 4 = very scared). Subjective level of exposure (subjective fear) was defined as the mean of the participant’s responses on this scale (see also Shechory-Bitton, 2013).

Table 1.

Percentage of Exposure to Terror Incidents of Mother and Fathers.

	Mothers	Fathers	Z
	n (%)	n (%)	Z
1. Had to forego an activity	42 (62.7)	30 (44.8)	2.08*
2. Did not get to work	7 (10.4)	11 (16.7)	−1.01
3. Left work	2 (3.0)	5 (7.6)	—
4. Family left home	—	2 (3.0)	—
5. Used other roads	24 (35.8)	28 (41.8)	−0.71
6. Stayed home to hide	11 (16.4)	6 (9.0)	1.30
7. House was hit	—	—	—
8. Work hit by missiles	1 (1.5)	5 (7.5)	—
9. Witnessed a terror-related incident but was unharmed	6 (9.0)	15 (22.4)	−2.14*
10. Missile fell close to an acquaintance, no one was injured	7 (10.4)	15 (22.4)	−1.87
11. Wounded by security threat	—	—	—
12. A relative was wounded as a result of a security threat	24 (35.8)	22 (34.9)	0.36
13. An acquaintance was wounded as a result of a security threat	29 (43.3)	23 (37.1)	1.06
14. A relative was killed as a result of a security threat	16 (23.9)	14 (22.6)	0.41
15. An acquaintance was killed as a result of a security threat	31 (46.3)	27 (42.9)	0.70
16. Saw a person killed by security threat	1 (1.5)	9 (14.3)	—
	M (SD)	M (SD)
Total exposure (0-16)	2.96 (2.31)	3.12 (2.82)	t(67) = −0.48*

p < .05.

PTSD symptoms

The PTSD Inventory (Solomon et al., 1993) was used for the assessment of PTSD symptomatology. The questionnaire consists of 17 statements describing PTSD symptoms. This comprises statements reflecting three categories of posttraumatic symptoms: intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Participants were asked to indicate the presence of the symptom on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (very often). The mean number of PTSD symptoms, as well as the mean number of symptoms in each cluster (intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal), were assessed. The number of positively endorsed symptoms was calculated by counting the items on which respondents replied very often and this symptom count was used to operationalize PTSD both as a continuous variable of number of posttraumatic symptoms and as a dichotomized Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnosis. By operationalizing the PTSD diagnosis, using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000) symptom criteria, participants were identified as having PTSD symptoms if they experienced at least one intrusive symptom, three avoidance symptoms, and two hyperarousal symptoms. The questionnaire has proven psychometric properties both in terms of high test–retest reliability (Cronbach’s α = .93) and of concurrent validity compared with clinical diagnosis (Solomon et al., 1993).

Many studies have used this inventory, including in Israel (e.g., Cohen, Zerach, & Solomon, 2011; Shechory-Bitton & Laufer, 2017). In the current study, the questionnaire had high internal consistency for total and subscale scores (Cronbach’s α = .83-.86).

Coping strategies

These were measured by a short 30-item Hebrew version of the COPE Scale (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989), which assesses two major coping strategies: problem-focused scale (15 items consisting of active coping, planning, suppression of competing activity, seeking instrumental support, seeking emotional support, positive reinterpretation and growth, and mental disengagement) and emotion-focused scale (15 items consisting of ventilation, acceptance, behavior disengagement, alcohol/drug disengagement, restraint, and turning to religion). The COPE scale has been used extensively in Hebrew (e.g., Ben-Zur et al., 2001; Gilbar et al., 2012; Shechory-Bitton, 2014). Participants were asked to rate extent to which they used each coping option to deal with stressful situations on a 4-point scale (0 = not at all, 3 = a great deal; data were transformed into a 1-4 scale). In the current study, internal consistency was .91 for problem-focused and .75 for emotion-focused coping.

Demographic characteristics

The questionnaire gathered information on place of residence, age, gender, marital status, number of children, religiosity, level of education, and so forth.

Procedure

Convenience sampling was used to recruit couples with children, residing in an area considered a conflict zone, in Israel’s Judea and Samaria regions. They were approached mainly through research assistants residing in the area. Notably, this method has been used in other studies where accessing participants was difficult (e.g., Pagorek-Eshel & Dekel, 2015). At first, the research assistants contacted, by telephone, couples they knew who were living in relevant conflict zones. The initial telephone conversation clarified that the study intended to examine the coping strategies of parents of children residing in these areas. Meetings were coordinated by telephone and conducted at the participant’s home. Most families had several children. All the parents who agreed to participate in the study signed an informed consent form. Each participant completed the questionnaires separately. Finally, the parents were given the opportunity to ask questions about the study. The compliance rate was particularly high. After screening for families that matched the criteria set (parents of children), some 10 families refused to participate in the study. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the university.

Data Analysis

Differences between exposure of mothers and fathers to terror-related incidents were examined with Z tests for the comparison of percentages. A t test was used to obtain the total exposure score. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to assess differences in PTSD symptoms and coping strategies between mothers and fathers. The prediction of parent PTSD symptoms based on exposure, fear, and coping strategies was conducted from a multilevel perspective with hierarchical linear mixed (HLM) models (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002), with the unit of analysis being the couple. The moderating role of gender was examined, for which purpose all independent variables were standardized, and their interactions with parent gender were defined. A simple slopes analysis (Aiken & West, 1991; Dawson, 2014) was used to analyze the significant interactions.

Results

Objective Exposure to Terror Incidents and Subjective Fear

In general, exposure of mothers was lower than husbands (see Table 1). However, the score for the former’s fear was M = 6.19 (SD = 4.42), whereas the score for fathers’ fear was M = 4.72 (SD = 4.30). The difference was significant at t(75) = 1.42 (p < .001).

PTSD Symptoms Among Mothers and Fathers

Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to assess the differences in PTSD symptoms between mothers and fathers (a univariate analysis for the total score and a multivariate analysis for the three dimensions; see Table 2). Parental age, child’s age, parent education, years of living in the area, and number of children were unrelated to PTSD symptoms, and were, thus, not controlled for.

Table 2.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Mothers and Fathers.

	Mothers		Fathers		F(1, 57)(η²)
	M	SD	M	SD	F(1, 57)(η²)
Total	21.11	5.21	19.30	3.59	6.03* (.096)
Intrusion (5-20)	6.37	1.96	5.89	1.50	3.47 (p = .068) (.057)
Avoidance (7-28)	8.02	1.68	7.43	1.13	5.98* (.095)
Hyperarousal (5-20)	6.75	2.61	6.00	1.82	4.26* (.070)

p < .05.

As seen in Table 2, mothers reported posttraumatic symptoms more than fathers. As mentioned in the “Measurements” section, participants were identified as having PTSD symptoms if they endorsed at least one intrusive symptom, three avoidance symptoms, and two hyperarousal symptoms in the PTSD symptoms inventory. None of the respondents met the criterion for avoidance (at least three symptoms). Only six mothers and six fathers (8% of each group) met the criterion for intrusion (at least one symptom). Eight mothers (11.8%) and four fathers (5.9%) met the criterion for hyperarousal (at least two symptoms).

Coping Strategies Among Mothers and Fathers

A multivariate repeated-measures ANOVA was used to assess the differences in coping strategies between mothers and fathers (Table 3). Again, parental age, child’s age, parent education, years of living in the area, and number of children were unrelated to the coping strategies, and were, thus, not controlled for. The results show that mothers scored higher than fathers for both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Another repeated-measures MANOVA revealed that for both mothers (p < .001) and fathers (p = .049), problem-focused coping received higher scores than emotion-focused coping.

Table 3.

Coping Strategies Among Mothers and Fathers.

	Mothers		Fathers		F(1, 64)(η²)
	M	SD	M	SD	F(1, 64)(η²)
Problem focused (0-3)	1.29	0.74	1.05	0.74	6.41** (.09)
Emotion focused (0-3)	1.03	0.42	0.91	0.45	4.60* (.07)

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

Predicting Parent PTSD Symptoms Based on Exposure, Fear, and Coping Strategies

To predict parent PTSD symptoms based on exposure, fear, and coping strategies, HLM models were used with the unit of analysis being the couple. As mentioned above, parent PTSD symptoms were unrelated to various demographic variables, and thus, these were not controlled for. Other demographic variables showed no variance (family status, education, religiosity, employment, and type of residence). PTSD symptoms were found to differ by parent gender, and thus, gender was included in the analyses (1 = males, 0 = females). Furthermore, the moderating role of gender was examined. For this purpose, all independent variables were standardized, and their interactions with parent gender were defined.

The results show significant main effects for parent gender, problem-focused coping, and emotion-focused coping (Table 4). PTSD symptoms, as shown in Table 2, were higher for mothers than for fathers. These were higher corresponding to greater use of emotion-focused coping and lower for problem-focused coping, and were unrelated to exposure to terrorist incidents and fear.

Table 4.

Mixed Models Predicting Parent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Based on Exposure, Fear, and Coping Strategies (n = 68 Couples).

Parent Predictors	B	SE	t(df)
Parent gender	−1.76	0.82	t(75.45) = −2.13*
Exposure	−1.34	1.65	t(108.63) = −0.82
Fear	1.39	1.43	t(108.81) = 0.97
Problem-focused coping	−1.95	0.73	t(108.32) = −2.69**
Emotion-focused coping	2.67	0.78	t(108.31) = 3.44***
Parent Gender × Exposure	2.31	1.89	t(105.73) = 1.22
Parent Gender × Fear	−1.29	1.84	t(101.40) = −0.70
Parent Gender × Problem-Focused Coping	2.59	1.03	t(90.74) = 2.50*
Parent Gender × Emotion-Focused Coping	−3.15	1.05	t(95.37) = −2.99**

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

Two significant interactions were found as well: for parent gender by problem-focused coping and for parent gender by emotion-focused coping. A simple slopes analysis was used to analyze these interactions (Aiken & West, 1991; Dawson, 2014), as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1.

The moderating effect of gender in the relationship between problem-focused coping and PTSD symptoms.

Figure 2.

The moderating effect of gender in the relationship between emotion-focused coping and PTSD symptoms.

For problem-focused coping, the slope for mothers was found to be significant (B = −1.66, t = −2.20, p = .030), wheareas the slope for fathers was not (B = 1.07, t = 1.38, p = .170). Likewise, for emotion-focused coping, the slope for mothers was found to be significant (B = 2.40, t = 3.08, p = .003), wheareas the slope for fathers was not (B = −0.073, t = −0.97, p = .334). That is, problem-focused and emotion-focused coping were associated with PTSD symptoms only for mothers: Lower problem-focused coping and higher emotion-focused coping were associated with higher PTSD symptoms. No significant relationships were found for fathers.

Discussion

This study focused on differences between spouses following ongoing exposure to security threats. We looked at levels of objective exposure, subjective exposure (e.g., sense of fear), PTSD symptoms, and coping strategies. We attempted to determine whether spouses coping with a continuous threatening life routine (in our case, exposure to terrorism) share greater similarity to each other or whether they exhibit established gender-based differences. Ultimately, our research findings on this question were somewhat ambiguous. Concurrent with persistent gender differences, we also found, interestingly, intriguing findings that contradict the literature and facilitate deductions about spouses’ responses unrelated to their gender.

Consistent with previous studies (see Bleich, Gelkopf, & Solomon, 2003; Nellis, 2009; Sever, Somer, Ruvio, & Soref, 2008), we hypothesized that gender differences would be maintained when examining spousal levels of fear and posttraumatic symptoms. Indeed, this claim was supported, with mothers reporting higher level of fear and more PTSD symptoms than their spouses. However, male spouses were exposed to a higher level of security incidents, including extreme events such as witnessing the direct injury or death of others. This phenomenon is known as the fear-victimization paradox (Ferraro, 1996), and is corroborated by the current findings. Women report higher levels of fear and distress than men even though female probability of injury is lower (see also Bleich et al., 2003; Nellis, 2009). We also found additional corroboration of the assumption that sense of fear depends on subjective inner feelings—not only actual exposure to threatening incidents (Silver, Holman, McIntosh, Poulin, & Gil-Rivas, 2002; Solomon & Lavi, 2005). This finding is also confirmed in mothers from Sderot and the Gaza envelope (Shechory-Bitton, 2013; Shechory-Bitton & Laufer, 2017), a residential area that has been exposed to missiles for years

The findings of the regression analysis for predicting PTSD symptoms confirm the gender differences found in this context. Lower problem-focused coping and higher emotion-focused coping were associated with higher PTSD symptoms only among mothers. The correlation between coping strategies and level of distress experienced was also found in other studies (Gidron, Gal, & Zahavi, 1999; Gil, 2005; Gilbar et al., 2012). It seems that how mothers cope affects their well-being, whereas this is not the case with their spouses. A possible explanation may be related to the fact that women perceive their ability to cope with terror as less efficacious and perceive terrorism as more threatening and as more severe than men (e.g., Solomon et al., 2005). Thus, it can be postulated that whereas how women cope affects their PTSD symptom levels, men perceive their ability to cope as more effective and are not concerned by their manner of coping.

Nonetheless, it is notable that, in the current study, both spouses reported only few PTSD symptoms and did not suffer from PTSD. As will be discussed, coping strategies typical of mothers (as well as fathers) is largely oriented around a problem-focused approach. Therefore, the correlations found can be seen as mostly corroborating the findings of other studies (e.g., Braun-Lewensohn, Sagy, & Roth, 2010; Gil, 2005; Gilbar et al., 2012; Nuttman-Shwartz & Dekel, 2009) that indicate an association between ways of coping and levels of distress experienced.

In this context, it is interesting to see that both spouses do not fit the definition of victims who suffer from symptoms of avoidance. The category of avoidance referred to steering clear of activities, people, or situations reminiscent of terrorism. Of course, it can be assumed that avoidance of routine activities is almost impossible when living in the shadow of prolonged exposure to security threats, and this is all the more so if one is a parent. Routines then require appropriate arrangements, and the research findings, indeed, indicate that both spouses, with no gender differences, report greater use of problem-focused coping strategies (as opposed to emotion-focused coping).

In the current study, parents were asked to answer a questionnaire that examined coping strategies, with reference to how they cope with a life routine in the shadow of terrorist and security threats. Indeed, a problem-focused coping strategy fits the need to find practical solutions under continuous exposure to situations of stress and pressure (Hirsch & Lazar, 2012; Sever et al., 2008) along with the parental imperative to protect their children. For example, Zeidner (2006) also explains the relationship between using a problem-focused coping strategy and exposure to terrorist incidents as an attempt at family protection. Nevertheless, it is known that the distribution of coping strategies is not so dichotomous (Cohen-Louck & Ben-David, 2017; Zeidner, 2006). In this research, mothers and fathers both reported employing a combination of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. This strategic fusion emphasizes a unique parental coping adaptation to living in the shadow of terrorist incidents. It is perfectly logical for parents to use emotional (e.g., concern for their children) in conjunction with practical coping strategies (e.g., attempts to protect them).

The similarity between spouses in terms of coping strategies contradicts research findings that point to gender differences. As noted, they suggested that women exhibited a greater tendency to utilize emotion-focused coping strategies, whereas men favored problem-focused coping strategies (e.g., Araya et al., 2007; Shacham & Lahad, 2004; Solomon et al., 2005). Nonetheless, these studies focused on gender differences in the general population and not between spouses.

According to the systemic transactional model (STM; Bodenmann, 1997, 2005), the stress and coping reactions of couples dyadically affect one another. That is, the stress of one partner affects the other one and the resources of one partner expand the resources of the other. The STM model emphasizes the interdependence and mutuality among couples. Accordingly, we suggest that the similarity between the spouses can be a result of family life under routine threatening conditions. Routine coping requires, and arguably even obligates, spouses to coordinate responses (Bodenmann, 2005), and this is certainly the case when their children are involved.

In parallel with similarity of spousal coping strategies, we see mothers utilize both types in greater amount. For instance, mothers reported the need to forego their routine due to potential threats more than fathers. This constraint may stem, for example, from the need to care for children when it is not possible to attend school due to the security situation. Dekel (2004) well described the routine of mothers who live in conflict areas, and emphasized the practical dimension of their coping. They protect their children physically and emotionally, are preoccupied with advance planning and mental preparedness for potential onset of terror, shield their children from grim realities of terrorism, and create a sense of normalcy and routine.

Finally, we found relatively low levels of distress and fear in the general context of prolonged exposure to terrorist incidents and security threats. These findings corroborate other studies (e.g., Benzion, Shaharabani, & Shavit, 2009; Sagy & Braun-Lewensohn, 2009; Shechory-Bitton, 2013). This can be attributed to the development of adjustment processes in threatening environments, while distinguishing between exposure to a one-time incident and ongoing exposure. That is, ongoing exposure operates a regulation process characterized by a gradual drop in pathological mental symptoms (Sagy & Braun-Lewensohn, 2009; Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018).

Research Limitations, Contributions, and Future Study

A number of considerations limit the scope of our findings. We used a convenience, rather than probabilistic, sample. Furthermore, although the study sample is unique, the small size of the sample could limit generalization of the findings to a broader population. These were partly due to difficulty in the collection of data that required a sample consisting of parent dyads. Although this type of sampling is typical for studies of parents, owing to difficulties in recruiting them as research subjects (e.g., Pagorek-Eshel & Dekel, 2015; Shechory-Bitton, 2013), it may limit research generalizability to broader contexts. Also, this study is cross sectional, and, thus, care must be taken in reaching conclusions on directionality of correlations.

In addition, the original motivator of coping research is the distinction between problem- and emotion-focused copings (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, 1991); however, these are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps it is necessary to examine other divisions of coping styles and not only the primary divisions.

Another point worth mentioning is that, in the current study, we used the PTSD Inventory (Solomon et al., 1993) for assessing the PTSD symptoms. The questionnaire has proven psychometric properties both in terms of high test–retest reliability and of concurrent validity compared with clinical diagnosis and it has been used in various studies lately (e.g., Weinberg, Besser, Zeigler-Hill, & Neria, 2018; Zhou, Levin, Stein, Zerach, & Solomon, 2017). However, the questionnaire examined PTSD according to the DSM-IV-TR. Thus, in future research, it would be worthwhile using the definitions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; APA, 2013; for example, see Gil, Weinberg, Or-Chen, & Harel, 2015).

Finally, most couples who participated in the study defined themselves as religious, a variable found to be related to feelings of resilience (e.g., Kaplan, Matar, Kamin, Sadan, & Cohen, 2005), and this may affect perception of sense of fear and distress.

These findings suggest the need for further research to examine additional variables such as spousal cooperation, role division, and similarities in broader coping strategies unrelated to exposure to security threats. Dyadic coping research has developed rapidly over the last two decades, presenting theoretical frameworks and models typically used to examine the role of dyadic coping with illness of a spouse or family member. Among these are the RFC (relationship-focused coping), STM of dyadic coping, and coping congruence (for review, see Regan et al., 2015). However, to our knowledge, this research is quite novel in its initial findings on spousal coping with life in the shadow of security threats and terrorism. Our results show that investigation of joint parental coping is critical, a vital extension of research on previous variables such as education, religion, gender, origin, objective exposure, subjective exposure, and so on (Braun-Lewensohn, 2012; Kaplan et al., 2005; Solomon et al., 2005). In fact, children who sense parental anxiety and pressure demonstrate high levels of anxiety themselves and suffer from symptoms of distress (Cobham et al., 2016; Shechory-Bitton, 2013).

In conclusion, some of our findings indicate the maintenance of gender differences in spouses (consistent with the general literature). This is particularly so in the case of emotional effects such as women’s higher level of fear experienced and higher level of distress. However, our research findings also suggest a similarity powerfully manifested in the context of spouses coping with routine life in communities in Judea and Samaria while living in the shadow of terrorism and security threats. The current findings raise the need for suitable intervention programs that will provide parents with psychological guidance and include information on gender differences, as well as the intersection between parent coping and responses. Such programs can help the family as a holistic unit cope with life routines in conflict zones (Tatar et al., 2011).

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Mally Shechory-Bitton is the vice rector and the chair of the criminology department at Ariel University. Her academic work includes both practical and theoretical experience in the fields of victimology, violence, and aggression.

Keren Cohen-Louck, PhD, is a lecturer in the Department of Criminology at Ariel University. Her main research interests are terrorism—fear of terrorism, coping with terrorism, and the terrorists characteristics.

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