War and Well-Being: The Association between Forgiveness, Social Support, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Well-Being during and after War Michael Weinberg, Hila Harel, Michal Shamani, Keren Or-Chen, Pnina Ron, and Sharon Gil Exposure to war can lead to numerous traumatic experiences affecting the daily lives and personal well-being of the civilian population. However, no research to date has examined the associations between postwar well-being and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, tendency to forgive, and social support during and following war. Authors examined a sample of 160 Israeli civilians who were exposed to rocket and missile fire dur- ing the 2014 Gaza War. Time 1 (Tl) started approximately one week after the beginning of the war and ended four weeks later following the first 72-hour ceasefire declaration by the United Nations. Respondents were re-approached by personal e-mail approximately one month after T1. A structural equation model design showed that higher postwar tendency to forgive, and social support, are associated with higher postwar well-being. It is notable that higher social support during the war had a negative effect on postwar well-being. In addition, higher posttraumatic symptoms and well-being during the war had a positive effect on higher postwar well-being. The study findings reinforce the importance of per- sonal variables in postwar well-being. However, increased awareness of both social support and PTSD symptoms as “double-edged sword” resources is advisable, considering the dif- ferent effects of social support and PTSD symptoms on well-being both during and after the war. KEY WORDS: posttraumatic stress disorder; social support; tendency to forgive; war; well-being C ivilian exposure to war can involve numer- ous traumatic experiences including feelings of insecurity, witnessing extreme violence, separation from family, and incarceration (Dahl, Mutapcic, & Schei, 1998). Over the past decade, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has involved several mili- tary operations during which thousands of rockets and missiles have been fired at both armed forces and civilian populations, causing widespread fear, inju- ries, and casualties (Weinberg, Besser, Campeas, Shvil, & Neria, 2012). Several studies have examined the psychological consequences of this exposure, mainly focusing on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression (Neria, DiGrande, & Adams, 2011; Weinberg et al., 2012). However, civi- lians exposed to traumatic events may also suffer from additional emotional consequences that affect their daily lives and personal well-being. The present study aimed to identify factors associated with individual civilians’ well-being during and following exposure to war. Well-being includes emotional responses, domain satisfaction, and global judgments of life satisfaction (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). The positive effects of well-being on health and longevity have been clearly demonstrated (Lucas & Diener, 2015). In addition, research has demonstrated that trauma- tized individuals who suffer from traumatic symp- toms are less satisfied with their lives, experience significant impairment in their daily life, and report poor psychological well-being (Chung & Hunt, 2014; van Zelst, de Beurs, Beekman, van Dyck, & Deeg, 2006). Hence, growing evidence suggests that perceived benefits following trauma often promote adjustment and well-being ( Helgeson, Reynolds, & Tomich, 2006; Joseph & Linley, 2005). The ability to emotionally cope with extreme traumatic events such as exposure to war may largely depend on the individual’s vulnerabilities and internal and external resources. Research has demonstrated that social support is one of the most important exter- nal resources for coping and adjustment (Hobfoll, 2002; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Social support refers to perceived assistance from others, including emo- tional, informational, and tangible assistance (Rosario, Salzinger, Feldman, & Ng-Mak, 2008). Social support doi: 10.1093/sw/swx043 © 2017 National Association of Social Workers. 341 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/sw/article/62/4/341/4080390 by guest on 25 April 2021