Objective: Collective ambiguous loss can arise in communities facing the unresolved absence or presence of loved ones, marked by uncertainty and confusion. This study examines the impact of such loss on the general public in Israel after 251 individuals were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 2023.Method: A diverse sample of 740 participants (ages 18-85, 58.2% women) took part in a comprehensive survey from December 2023 to January 2024. The survey measured boundary ambiguity (BA), separation distress related to disappearance (Ambiguous Loss Inventory Plus - ALI + - SD), general psychological distress (Mini-DASS), and personal resilience factors: ambiguity tolerance (Need for Closure Scale-Revised, NCSR) and psychological flexibility (PF).Results: Public stances indicated that 85% of respondents had moderate to very low confidence in the hostages' return, coupled with high endorsement of psychological engagement indicators such as emotional pain, intrusive thoughts, and survivor guilt. Those acquainted with a hostage (12%) showed no differences in stances or ALI + -SD and Mini-DASS levels, except for higher BA and greater engagement in demonstrations activities for their return. SEM analysis showed that ALI + -SD mediated the relationship between BA and Mini-DASS (high BA related to high general distress). In this model, BA and ALI + -SD explained over half of the variation in general psychological distress (R2 = 53%). A second model revealed serial mediation by BA and ALI + -SD in the relationship between NCSR and Mini-DASS, with lower ambiguity tolerance related to increased general distress. However, no such mediation was observed in the relationship between PF and Mini-DASS, and overall, the effect of personal resilience on general distress was relatively small.Conclusions: Mass hostage-taking substantially impacts society's mental health, extending beyond personal acquaintance with a hostage. The findings underscore the need to shift focus from personal resilience to community-based policies and therapeutic approaches to effectively address communal ambiguous loss amid collective trauma.
Objetivo: La pérdida ambigua colectiva puede surgir en comunidades que enfrentan la ausencia o presencia no resuelta de los seres queridos, marcada por la incertidumbre y la confusión. Este estudio examina el impacto de dicha pérdida en el público general en Israel después de que 251 personas fueran tomadas como rehenes por Hamás el 7 de octubre de 2023.
Método: Una muestra diversa de 740 participantes (de 18 a 85 años, 58.2% mujeres) fueron parte de una encuesta integral desde diciembre de 2023 hasta enero de 2024. La encuesta midió la ambigüedad de límites (BA, por sus siglas en inglés), el malestar de separación relacionada con la desaparición (Inventario de Pérdida Ambigua Plus – ALI + - SD), el malestar psicológico general (Mini-DASS) y los factores de resiliencia personal: tolerancia a la ambigüedad (Escala de Necesidad de Cierre Revisada, NCSR) y flexibilidad psicológica (PF, por sus siglas en inglés).
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Keywords: Collective trauma; ambiguity- tolerance; ambiguous-loss; flexibilidad psicológica; hostage; psychological- flexibility; pérdida ambigua; rehenes; tolerancia a la ambigüedad; trauma colectivo.
Mass hostage-taking, resulting from acts of terror, creates a collective ambiguous loss that profoundly impacts community mental health, extending beyond personal acquaintance.Boundary ambiguity and separation distress related to disappearance significantly contribute to the general psychological distress during collective traumas such as war.Collective mass events can overshadow individual differences in personal resilience such as psychological flexibility and ambiguity tolerance, underscoring the need to integrate community-focused interventions to improve resilience.