Posttraumatic growth during ongoing war: The mediating role of subjective traumatic outlook and resilience among evacuated Israeli civilians.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between objective exposure to terror during the October 7 attacks and subsequent war and posttraumatic growth (PTG), focusing on the mediating roles of subjective traumatic outlook (STO) and resilience among evacuated Israeli civilians.

METHOD: A total of 185 Israeli participants (88% female; Mage = 44.88, SD = 6.06) evacuated from high-threat areas completed measures assessing objective exposure to terror events, STO, resilience, and PTG. Parallel mediation models tested whether STO and resilience mediated the association between objective exposure and PTG, controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

The mediation analysis revealed a distinct pathway to growth. Objective exposure to terror was not directly associated with PTG, nor was its effect mediated by resilience. Instead, the relationship was mediated exclusively by STO: Higher objective exposure predicted greater STO (β = .34, p < .001), which in turn strongly predicted PTG (β = .37, p < .001). Resilience resources, while present, did not contribute significantly to the growth process in this model.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that, during ongoing conflict, PTG is driven primarily by the subjective shattering of one's worldview (STO), rather than by objective terror exposure or resilience resources. The lack of association with resilience suggests that high external resources may preserve stability rather than trigger the deep cognitive restructuring required for growth. Clinical interventions should therefore prioritize the cognitive processing of the individual's shattered worldview, rather than focusing exclusively on strengthening resilience resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).