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Person. indiuid. IXj’I Vol. 14, No. I, pp. 209-224, 1993
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0191~8869/93 $5.00 + 0.00
Copyright 0 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd
COPING WITH A NATIONAL CRISIS: THE ISRAELI
EXPERIENCE WITH THE THREAT OF MISSILE ATTACKS
MOSHE ZEIDNER’* and HASIDA BEN-ZUR’
‘School of Education and 2Ray D. Wolfe Centre for Study of Psychological Stress, University of Haifa,
Mt. Carmel, Israel
(Received IO November 1991; received for publication 7 May 1992)
Summary-The major aim of this study is 2-fold: (a) to investigate how people cope with disaster, as
evidenced by the specific ways Israelis coped with the impending threat of SCUD missile attacks during
the Persian Gulf War; and (b) to shed light on some background, personality, and affective correlates of
emotion- and problem-focused coping tactics. Data on peoples’ coping tactics, anxiety, physical
symptoms, perceived control, pessimism, and demographics were gathered via structured questionnaires
in the midst of the Desert Storm Operation (January-February, 1991) on a sample of 600 adult
respondents residing in Northern Israel. Overall, respondents reported using a mixture of active coping,
wherever possible, and various forms of emotional coping. The most salient coping tactics found among
men and women alike were active seeking of information by way of the media, acceptance of the situation,
taking action, planning, positive reinterpretation, and seeking out of social support for emotional reasons.
The least frequently reported tactics were the use of alcohol or drugs and seeking of social support for
instrumental reasons. Emotion- and problem-focused coping were found to be modestly associated in this
study, with emotion-focused coping positively related to anxiety and physical symptoms. Emotion-focused
coping varied as a function of sex and age, with females and younger adults, compared to their male and
older adult counterparts, resorting to increased emotion-focused coping. Furthermore, problem-focused
coping varied by sex, with females scoring higher than males on problem-focused coping as well. The
implications of these results for research on stress and coping under crisis situations were discussed and
explicated.
The past decade has spawned a burgeoning literature focusing on the ways people cope with
stressful encounters in their environment. Coping refers to a person’s cognitive and behavioral
efforts to manage (i.e. reduce, minimize, master, tolerate) the internal and external demands of a
stressful transaction (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Coping is currently conceptualized as part of a
transactional process occurring in a series of phases, including: (a) primary appraisal-the process
of perceiving threat to oneself; (b) secondary appraisal-the process of bringing to mind a potential
response to threat; and (c) coping-the process of executing that response (Carver, Scheier &
Weintraub, 1989; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). As is commonly agreed, individual characteristics
(e.g. Krohne, 1989), situational factors (e.g. Lazarus, 1983) and the ongoing transaction between
the person and the environment (e.g. Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) determine how an individual copes
in a specific situation.
Coping essentially has two functions, defining two major coping strategies (Lazarus & Folkman,
1984): (a) problem-focused, designed to manage or solve the problem by removing or circumventing
the stressor; and (b) emotion-focused, designed to regulate, reduce or eliminate the emotional
arousal associated with the stressful situation. These two basic strategies can be further refined and
differentiated into specific tactics and techniques. Carver et al. (1989) suggest that emotion-focused
coping can be broken down into responses such as: seeking of social support for emotional reasons,
ventilation of emotions, and denial and positive reinterpretation. Similarly, problem-focused
coping can potentially involve a wide variety of responses and distinct activities, such as planning,
taking action, seeking assistance, screening out other activities, and sometimes even forcing oneself
to wait before acting.
Recent studies have investigated the pattern of relationships between various coping tactics and
strategies and a wide variety of personality variables, such as anxiety, self-esteem, optimism,
hardiness, and social desirability (cf. Carver et al., 1989). Thus, research has shown that active
coping tends to be related to self-esteem, hardiness, Type A personality, and optimism, but
*To whom correspondence should be addressed.
209
210 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
inversely associated with anxiety. The opposite pattern of associations has been observed for a
number of emotion-focused tactics such as denial and behavioral disengagement. Venting of
emotions was observed to be inversely correlated with perceived control and positively related to
anxiety.
Particular attention will be given in this research to the relationship between coping and
pessimism-a generalized expectancy for negative outcomes. Past theorizing and research in the
field of self-regulation suggests that pessimism is negatively associated with attempts to deal with
a stressor in an active and problem-focused way in Ss who perceived the stressful situation as
controllable (Carver et al., 1989; Carver, Scheier & Pozo, in press; Scheier & Carver, 1987). Thus.
empirical research (Scheier & Carver, 1987) shows that people who see outcomes as attainable
continue to exert efforts at attaining these outcomes, whereas those who see outcomes as
unattainable reduce their efforts and disengage from pursuit of goals. The divergent outcomes of
optimists and pessimists may partly be a function of the strategies they use to deal with stressful
encounters. Optimists may do better because they use strategies that pay off (Scheier, Weintraub
& Carver, 1986).
Furthermore, research shows that people who have unfavorable expectancies focus on these
expectancies and the subjective stress associated with them. Thus, there is some empirical research
showing that pessimism is related to symptom reporting in college undergraduates in a prospective
study, even when initial symptom levels were partialled out (Scheier et al., 1986).
A person’s perceived degree of control of the situation in a stressful encounter is yet another
variable which recently has received some attention in the literature. Although most stressors elicit
both emotion- and problem-focused coping in virtually every type of encounter (Folkman &
Lazarus, 1985; Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, Delongis & Gruen, 1986), the nature of the
coping mode used may vary depending on the perceived controllability of the occurrence of the
stress and its perceived managability (Lennon, Dohrenwend, Zautra & Marbach, 1990). Thus, on
the basis of prior theorizing and research, problem-focused coping tends to predominate when
people feel that something constructive can be done about the situation, whereas emotion-focused
coping tends to predominate when people feel that stress is something that must be endured
(Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). That is, if people cannot remove or reduce the threat they tend to
give up efforts and resort to palliative tactics (Bachrach, 1983; Collins, Baum & Singer, 1983;
Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). Thus, Carver er al. (1989) found active coping and planning to be
positively related to control, whereas the opposite pattern was found for ventilation of emotions
and related strategies. In view of the recent interest in perceived control in the stress process, this
study will also look at the relationship between perceived control and coping tactics.
Coping w;th disaster
Over the past two decades or so, stress researchers have paid increasing attention to people’s
psychological and somatic reactions to community crises and disaster situations. Disaster situations
(Melick, Logue & Frederic, 1982) include both natural occurrences (e.g. hurricanes, tornadoes,
storms, floods, earthquakes, fires, etc.) as well as man-made catastrophes (e.g. nuclear accidents,
war, internment in prison or concentration camps, etc.). Both natural and man-made disasters
may elicit acute and overwhelming reactions (fears, anxieties, bodily symptoms, etc.) and would
be expected to call into play actual coping behaviors people employ in response to realistic
stressors.
Much of the previous research on the psychological effects of exposure to a community disaster
situation has focused on people’s immediate and long-term psychological or somatic reactions to
the disastrous events. Salient examples of this line of research include: (a) reports of depression,
anxiety, demoralization, and fear among nearby residents of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant,
following the nuclear accident (Baum, Gatchel & Schaeffer, 1983); (b) reports of sadness, fatigue,
anxiety, and depression among survivors and observers of the collapse of the Hyatt Regency
(Wilkinson, 1983); (c) reports of symptoms (jumpiness, trouble sleeping) among observers
following the Baldwin Hills fire (Maikda, Gordon, Steinberg & Gordon, 1989); and (d) the
incidence of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress (intrusive thoughts, insomnia, and
numbing of responsiveness) among victims following the Mount St Helens volcanic eruption in
1980 (Shore, Tatum & Vollmer, 1986).
Coping with a national crisis 211
Only recently is attention being directed to understanding what specific coping processes people
use in adjusting to community disaster or traumatic experiences (Pijawka, Cuthbertson & Olson,
1987/88). One interesting study (Wilkinson, 1983) focused on the reactions of victims, guests and
rescue workers to the collapse of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Skywalks in Kansas City. The S group
was interviewed about a week after the event and reported coping with their difficulties mainly by
talking about and ventilating their emotions and experiences, with about 37% stating it was their
principal outlet. Whereas about 18% of the respondents felt that getting back to the routine of
work was helpful, and a small number went on vacation, only one respondent reported drinking.
Environmental supports were also reported to be an important aid to adjustment. Collins et af.
(1983) provided evidence that 2 years after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, residents in the
affected area employed primarily emotion-focused coping strategies, presumably because little
could be done to change what had occurred.
One recent study (North, Smith, McCool & Lightcap, 1989) examined the coping strategies and
short-term adjustment in survivors of a Florida tornado in 1988, with 42 Ss interviewed within
1 month of the event. Rates of psychiatric disorders and even symptoms were not especially high.
Over two-thirds of the Ss reported turning to family for emotional support-which was the most
frequent coping method. About 20% used what the authors categorize as ‘active’ techniques, such
as staying up at night and talking about the disaster, reading about it, crying, and helping other
victims through their disaster-related problems. Others dealt with their experience by avoidance,
trying not to think about the tornado, avoiding reminders of it, keeping busy, and letting the time
pass to allow healing. Many also reported that religious and philosophical perspectives helped. Few
required medication to relieve their upset and none depended on alcohol. In spite of the destruction,
individuals frequently found positive things to say about the event, learning to value their lives and
loved ones more than material goods.
The above research shows that relatively little work has focused on coping with ‘community
stressors’, i.e. those affecting a large number of people in a given area and requiring collective action
(Bachrach & Zautra, 1985). Although the research carried out so far provides some clues to the
ways people cope with disaster, data were gathered mainly via observational or interview
techniques, with few studies based on validated tools related to theories of stress and coping. Thus,
much research is needed to systematically assess people’s tactics for coping with stress under a
major crisis situation.
It has been claimed that Israel is a natural laboratory for the study of psychological stress
(Lazarus, 1982). Indeed, during the 43 years of Israel’s existence as an independent state, the Israeli
population has been frequently exposed to the threats of war, continuous terrorist activities directed
at the civilian population, and acts of bombing and violence on its borders. This is coupled with
the various other stressors impinging upon Israeli society in the economic, social, and political
domains. The recent events during the Persian Gulf War tend to provide ample evidence in support
of Lazarus’s claim.
The contextual backdrop of the Persian Gulf War
A wide array of political, economic and geographical factors contributed in concert to the
eruption of the Gulf War in January 1991, some of which will be highlighted below to provide the
historical backdrop for the missile attacks. Soon after the end of the drawn out and bloody war
between Iraq and Iran, tension mounted between Iraq and Kuwait, who had been playing cat and
mouse for years. Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, had earlier accused the Kuwaitis of advancing
their border with Iraq 45 miles to the north and demanded that the border be rectified. In addition,
Iraq complained that Kuwait had stolen 2.4 billion dollars worth of oil from its Rumaila oil fields
and also demanded a long lease on two Kuwaiti Islands that block unrestricted Israeli access to
the Gulf. Furthermore, Iraq accused Kuwait of helping to drive down oil prices by exceeding its
OPEC quota and demanded that Kuwait pay 13 to 15 billion dollars in reparations as well as release
Iraq from about 10 billion dollars in war debts. The Kuwaitis were noncompliant and felt
exasperated by Saddam’s ingratitude for billions of dollars of Kuwaiti aid during the Iran-Iraq
war. Most leaders believed that the dispute could be settled by a few concessions on both sides.
However, when Kuwait did not comply to these demands, Saddam contended that national
interests were at stake and that he was forced to take military action. Iraq massed over 100,000
212 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
troops on Kuwait’s border and on August 2, 1990, invaded Kuwait in Blitzkrieg fashion, taking
over Kuwait in less than a day. After serious attempts at negotiation, boycott, international appeals
and a flurry of diplomatic efforts to convince Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, the U.S. formed a
38 nation coalition to oppose Iraq. After about 5 months of a massive buildup of troops, the U.S.,
Britain, France, and allies unleashed its massive firepower on January 15, 199 1 and deployed the
largest military might since World War II. The U.S. flew close to 100,000 sorties and dropped over
5.5 million kilograms of explosive on targets in Iraq and Kuwait.
A recent case of acute disaster: the SCUD missile attacks on Israel. Saddam had repeatedly
threatened that if his country is attacked by the allied forces he would retaliate against his
arch-enemies, most notably Israel. Whereas the Israeli population has participated in many
conflicts since the foundation of the State, it was not officially a participant in this conflict and
was not directly involved in the air or Desert Storm ground operation, although Israeli planes had
bombed Iraq’s nuclear facilities several years previously. Yet, the civilian population was
nevertheless subjected to continuous missile attacks for almost the first time, with most of the
missiles directed at Tel-Aviv and Haifa-two of Israel’s major cities.
From mid-January until the latter part of February (l/18/91-2/25/91) 39 Iraqi SCUD missiles
were launched at civilian targets in Israel. These attacks resulted in 290 wounded civilians and 1
death casualty. There were also a number of indirect casualties due to mishandling of gas masks
or heart attacks-presumably caused by the acute stress elicited by missile alerts. Following the
SCUD attacks, the U.S. hurriedly sent several batteries of Patriot antimissile missiles to Israel to
help defend the country. Damage, estimated in hundreds of millions of dollars, was incurred to
over 10,000 apartment buildings, single homes, shops, and business establishments. Following a
SCUD hit, the Mogen David (= Israeli Red-Cross), fire department, and civil defense units moved
in, providing victims with first aid, food, clothing, and shelter. Hundreds of emergency workers
rallied with cranes and bulldozers to begin clearing the debris and commence the rebuilding process.
The SCUD-ravaged communities carried the physical scars of a war zone for months after.
During the first few days of the Gulf war, Israeli citizens were asked to stay at home, and in
fact most refrained from going to work or school. Even when allowed to go to work, they were
requested not to leave their homes after dark, as most missile attacks occurred at night. Schools
and kindergartens were closed during the first 2 weeks of the war and were gradually reopened.
Although the missiles launched at Israel carried conventional warheads, there was considerable
apprehension among military and government officials that chemical warheads would be used at
some stage of the war. Therefore, civilians were required to carry gas masks with them at all times
and to set aside a special sealed-off room in their home, well stocked with provisions for several
days, to be entered upon sounding of the missile alert. When a missile alert was sounded people
rushed to their sealed rooms, put on their gas masks, checked to see that small children were in
special safety kits, and remained in their sealed rooms until the alert was called off. Many families
left the targetted towns over night or for extended periods and sheltered in more remote areas (e.g.
Jerusalem, Beer-Sheba, Eilat) which were at lower risk from missile attack.
In addition, since people generally refrained from going out in the evenings and many stayed
at home to care for their families, the situation severely impacted the business sector and paralyzed
various aspects of Israeli economic, cultural, and social life during the war. After 43 days of fighting
and winning, the allied troops liberated Kuwait and imposed an unconditional cease fire, at which
time the missile attacks against Israel also ended.
The missile crisis was characterized by its sudden onset; its extended duration (6 weeks); its severe
disruption of most facets of day to day life for a prolonged period; the tremendous degree of impact
it had on the civilian population+ausing considerable property destruction, physical injury, and
several fatal casualties; and its grotesque and extraordinary accompanying features well beyond
the limits of daily living for the majority of the civilian population. Thus, by most criteria (Solomon
& Maser, 1990), the missile attacks constituted a ‘community crisis’ or ‘disaster’ situation.
Goals and hypotheses of the present research
The major aim of this study is 2-fold: (a) to investigate how people cope with disaster, as
exemplified by the specific tactics Israelis used in coping with the impending threat of SCUD missile
attacks during the Persian Gulf War; and (b) to shed light on some background, personality, and
Coping with a national crisis 213
affective correlates of emotion- and problem-focused coping tactics. Because most crisis-related
events are acute, unpredictable, and usually short-termed, most previous research focusing on
how people coped with a community or national crisis is characterized by either nonsystematic
on-site observational reporting or post-hoc investigations. However, retrospective reports are
subject to a variety of methodological problems and pitfalls (e.g. distorted perceptions of prior
experiences, memory lapses, projecting current coping on past coping), and should be interpreted
with great caution. Thus, very little systematic or reliable information is currently available
bearing on the tactics people use in engaging a disaster or on the relationships between coping
behaviors and stress reactions during the crisis situation. The present study sets out to assess how
people cope with an acute traumatic stress situation in virtual time and to assess the relationships
between coping, as the criterion variable of interest, and key background, personality, and stress
variables.
Based on previous theorizing and research in the stress and coping literature (e.g. Carver et al.,
1989; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) the following relationships are hypothesized:
(a) Given the traumatic and prolonged nature of the stressful encounter, respondents were
predicted to employ a wide variety of both problem- and emotion-focused tactics.
(b) Emotion-focused coping is predicted to be positively related to stress reactions and
negatively to perceived control.
(c) Emotion-focused coping is also predicted to vary as a function of gender, with women
expected to rely more on emotion-focused coping than men.
(d) Problem-focused coping is predicted to be positively related to a dispositional optimistic
outlook and to perceived control of the situation.
METHOD
Sample
Data were gathered via student research assistants in the midst of the Persian Gulf War
(January-February, 1991) on a sample of 600 adult respondents residing in Northern Israel. The
sample was unevenly divided by gender, composed of 38% males and 62% females. Close to 80%
lived in the Haifa municipality-officially rated as one of the two areas highest at risk, along with
Tel-Aviv, for SCUD missile attacks during the crisis. The respondents’ age ranged from 16 to 80,
with a mean age of 35.06 (SD = 13.67). The majority of respondents were engaged in a wide variety
of mainly white-collar professions, with about 22% college students. About 34% of the sample
reported being single, 61% married, 2% divorced, and 3% widowed. About 21% of the
respondents were of Eastern extraction whereas the remaining 79% were of Western extraction
(European-American or second generation Israelis).
Instruments
Coping strategies were assessed via selected items from the COPE scale (cf. Carver et al., 1989
for an explanation of most of the COPE scales). The various COPE subscales were rationally
derived and partially supported by factor analytic research. Due to considerations of time and
space, and taking into account the possibility of low S responsiveness to a lengthy and tiresome
measure under the specific stressful conditions in which this study was conducted, the full subscales
were not used. Instead, each scale was represented by two (out of four) of the items, selected by
two psychologists using face validity procedures. The scales were: (1) active coping (taking action
or putting forth effort to remove or circumvent the stressor); (2) planning (thinking about how to
confront the stressor, planning one’s efforts); (3) seeking instrumental social support (seeking
information or assistance or advice about what to do); (4) seeking emotional social support (getting
sympathy or emotional support); (5) suppression of competing activities (suppressing one’s
attention to other activities in order to concentrate more fully on the stressor); (6) religion
(increased engagement in religious activities); (7) positive reinterpretation (making the best of the
situation by viewing it in a positive light); (8) restraint coping (coping passively by holding back
one’s coping efforts); (9) acceptance (accepting the fact that the stressful event has occurred and
is real); (10) ventilation of emotions (increased awareness of stress and tendency to ventilate or
214 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
discharge emotions); (11) denial (attempt to reject reality of the stressful situation); (12) mental
disengagement (using alternative activities to distract oneself from the problem or withdrawing
mental effort from the attempt to attain the goal with which stressor is interfering); (I 3) behavioral
disengagement (reducing efforts to deal with the stressor or giving up efforts to attain the goal with
which the stressor is interfering); (14) alcohol/drug use (turning to alcohol or other drugs as way
of disengaging from stressor); and (15) humor (joking about the stressor).
Two additional items, designed to assess the active seeking out of information through the
media (newspaper, T.V.), comprised the 16th cluster. These items were added to the list following
pilot testing in an attempt to broaden the base of items bearing directly on the situation at
hand.
Respondents indicated the degree to which they actually used each of the coping strategies during
the crisis period (0 = not at all, 3 = great extent). Each subscale total is computed as an unweighted
sum of responses to the two items that make up that scale. Internal consistency reliability estimates
were deemed to be inappropriate due to the small number of items per scale.
Pessimism was measured by Scheier and Carver’s (1985) Life Orientation Scale (LOT). The
LOT is an 8-item scale with five response options relating to people’s positive or negative
outlook on life, with options ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’. The items were
scored such that high values indicate greater pessimism. The scale reliability was found to be
somewhat lower (IX = 0.66) than reported for the English version (c( = 0.76; Scheier & Carver,
1985).
Perceived control was assessed by a dichotomous item asking respondents to determine if they
had any control over the crisis situation (1 = helpless, 2 = feel in control).
Anxiety was assessed by five items taken from the State-Anxiety subscale of the Hebrew Version
(cf. Zeidner & Ben-Zur, 1989) of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI; Spielberger et al.,
1979). Items were carefully chosen on the basis of previous psychometric information on a
normative sample of the STPI as well as their relevance to the particular crisis at hand. Respondents
rated their typical level of anxiety during the Desert Storm operation on a series of items (i.e.,
‘calm’, ‘nervous’, ‘tense’, ‘worried’, ‘frightened’) using four response options (I = not at all,
4 = very much). A total scale score was formed, following reversal of scoring for the ‘calm’ item,
by summing item scores (values range from 5 to 20). The reliability of the 5-item scale in this sample
was satisfactory (cz = 0.82).
Selected symptoms from the Personal Stress Symptom Assessment (PSSA; Numeroff, 1983) were
used to measure the occurrence of physical symptoms during the crisis period. Respondents were
asked to identify those symptoms they experienced since the beginning of the Gulf War by circling
the frequency with which each occurred, from 1 = not at all to 5 = almost always. These symptoms
were: fatigue, dryness of the mouth, difficulties in breathing, back or neck aches, insomnia,
headaches, stomachaches, loss of appetite or overeating, palpitations, vomiting, frequent need to
pass urine, constipation or diarrhoea. A total symptom score was based on the sum of the responses
for all 12 items (CY = 0.82).
Additional variables. In addition, background data were collected bearing on a variety of
variables, including gender, ethnic background, age, and marital status.
Because of the large number of statistical tests conducted in the various analyses reported
in this paper, we used a conservative criterion and did not discuss findings unless they
were significant at the 0.01 level. It should be noted that degrees of freedom for the various
statistics varied from measure to measure due to missing values, particularly on the anxiety
scale.
Procedure
Data were gathered from Thursday, January 24, 1991, following the third (of 39) SCUD missile
attack on Israel, until February 26, 1991, the last day of the war. The majority of the data were
gathered via questionnaires mainly distributed individually by research assistants to students and
general population respondents, with close to 90% return rate. In addition, 400 questionnaires were
distributed by mail to the nonacademic personnel of a major northern university by internal
university mail, with a return rate of about 33%. The majority of questionnaires were completed
in January (75%), with the remainder completed in February.
Coping with a national crisis 215
RESULTS
Interrelationships among coping tactics
Table 1 presents the intercorrelations among the coping scales for the sample as a whole. Because
initial inspection of the coping subscale intercorrelation matrices for men and women revealed that
they were highly comparable, data were collapsed across sex groups.
A number of pairwise correlations presented in Table 1 are worthy of mention. Similar to what
is reported in prior research (Carver et al., 1989), active coping and planning were strongly
correlated [r(592) = 0.56, P -C O.OOl]. Also, as reported previously (Carver et al., 1989) social
support tends to bridge the gap between clearly functional tendencies (e.g. active planning) and
palliative tendencies (ventilation of emotions). Thus, emotional social support correlated positively
with both active coping [r(589) = 0.37, P -C O.OOl] and instrumental planning [r(588) = 0.33,
P < O.OOl], on one hand, and ventilation [r(590) = 0.56, P < O.OOl] and restraint [r(584) = 0.21,
P < O.OOl], on the other. Instrumental social support exhibits the same pattern of relations with
the foregoing variables.
Active information seeking via the media correlated with both active coping [r(564) = 0.30,
P < O.OOl] and emotional social support [r(561) = 0.23, P < O.OOl], thus shedding some light on
the dual function of this specific coping device. Humor and positive reinterpretation and growth
are moderately correlated [r(590) = 0.27, P < O.OOl], lending some support to the notion that
humor involves some reinterpretation of common or existing elements.
For purposes of further exploration among scales and in order to develop a reduced number of
scales that would assess relatively distinct and clearly focused aspects of coping, the 16 coping
subscales (using scale totals as raw data) were submitted to a principal-axis factor analysis, followed
by varimax rotations of the two factors. The analysis yielded the following two factors:
(4
(b)
Emotion-focused coping, accounting for 15% of the total variance, was marked by the
following subscales: emotional social support, instrumental social support, suppression of
competing activities, ventilation of emotions, restraint, alcohol and drug use, cognitive and
behavioral disengagement;
Problem-oriented and cognitive restructuring coping, accounting for 10% of the total
variance, was marked by: active coping, planning, acceptance of the situation, positive
reinterpretation and growth, and humor.
Factor scores were derived for each of these two factors by a linear sum of subscale scores with
loadings of 0.30 and beyond on the designated factors. When a subscale loaded above 0.30 on both
factors, assignment to a factor was based both on rational considerations as well as relative size
of the scale loading. The two factor scores proved to be modestly correlated in the sample
[r(595) = 0.34, P < O.OOl]. This suggests that respondents cope with prolonged stress situations by
using a variety of different coping strategies, with a tendency for those using problem-oriented
coping tactics to use emotion-focused coping as well.
Table I. Matrix of intercorrelations among coping scales for total sample
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 IO II 12 13 I4 I5 I6
I. Active - 56 37 21 38 II 22 21 I3 27 00 25 I3 IO II 30
2. Planning 33 25 36 07 29 I7 25 I9 00 22 12 05 I6 I8
3. Social support I” 38 35 I2 21 21 -06 56 -13 25 16 I7 04 24
4. Social support 2b - 26 22 I9 29 -07 30 03 I7 12 I8 09 I3
5. Suppression 19 I8 28 IO 38 -04 I8 21 I4 07 14
6. Religion - I3 I8 -07 20 04 I4 I3 II 05 II
7. Positive reinterpretation I4 I6 IO -03 07 I7 00 27 II
8. Restraint - 01 29 I5 I9 29 I3 03 04
9. Acceptance - -II 06 00 -03 -07 I3 -07
IO. Ventilation - -07 20 24 28 -03 I3
I I. Denial - 05 09 08 -05 -07
12. Mental disengagement I2 07 I6 II
13. Behavioral disengagement - I4 02 01
14. Alcohol/drug use - 01 05
15. Humor - 06
16. Media
Due to missing values, ns ranged from 566 to 595. Correlations above 0.1 I were significant at the 0.01 level.
“Social support I = emotional social support.
%cial support 2 = instrumental social support.
216 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
Prevalent coping tactics and background correlates
Prevalent coping tactics. Table 2 presents the means and SDS, by sex, for the coping measures
addressed in this study, along with t values for tests of sex group differences on specific scales. As
shown in Table 2, the three most salient coping tactics reported by both men and women in the
sample were: (a) active seeking of information by way of the media (males, M = 4.73; females,
M = 5.11); (b) acceptance of the situation (males, M = 3.76; females, M = 3.64); and (c) taking
action wherever possible, i.e. active (males, M = 3.05; females, M = 3.88). Additional forms of
coping reported to be relatively popular in both gender groups were: planning, positive reinterpre-
tation, and seeking out of social support for emotional reasons. The least frequently reported tactics
among both men and women were the use of alcohol or drugs (males, M = 0.10; females,
M = 0.42), and seeking of social support for instrumental reasons (males, M = 0.40; females,
M = 0.84).
Since the two composite coping factors, i.e. emotion- and problem-focused, were based on a
different number of subscales, they were not directly comparable. However, in order to shed some
light on their relative prevalence, notwithstanding the differences in the number of scales they were
based on, the subscales marking each of the factors were summed and averaged and then submitted
to a repeated measures ANOVA-with emotion- and problem-focused coping treated as within-S
factor. The results showed a highly significant effect for coping strategies, with a clear preference
for problem- vs emotion-focused coping [3.10 > 1.45, F(1, 563) = 1221.42, P < O.OOl].
Background correlates. Gender correlated significantly with both emotion-focused [r(572) = 0.39,
P < O.OOl] and problem-focused [r(572) = 0.12, P < 0.0031 coping. Specifically, women scored
higher on both emotion-focused [12.33 > 7.01, t(567) = 11.18, P < O.OOl] and problem-focused
coping [15.92 > 14.59, t(572) = 2.93, P < 0.011. In fact, significant gender differences in average
ratings, typically higher among women, were observed for the majority of specific coping tactics.
A notable exception is denial, with men evidencing significantly higher mean ratings than women
[1.27 > 0.89, t(569) = -3.49, P < O.OOl]. However, comparing men and women on the averages
of problem- and emotion-focused coping scales showed a significant interaction between gender
and type of coping [F(l, 550) = 17.08, P < O.OOl], suggesting that women tend to respond with a
higher level of emotion-focused coping relative to men.
An impressively high correlation [r (14) = 0.906, P < O.OOl] was found between the arrays of male
and female mean ratings for the 16 coping tactics. Thus, notwithstanding the meaningful mean
gender group differences in usage of various coping strategies, the relative hierarchy or profile of
coping tactics is practically the same for the two gender groups.
Scales
Table 2. Coping scales: means and SDS, by sex
Males Females
M SD M SD I values
Coping factors
Emotion-focused
Problem-focused
Coping subscales
Active
Planning
Social support
(emotional)
Social support
(instrumental)
Suppression of
competing activities
Religion
Positive reinterpretation
Restraint
Acceptance
Ventilation
Denial
Mental disengagement
Behavioral disengagement
Alcochol/drugs
HUmOr
Media
**p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
7.01 4.59 12.33 6.80 11.18”
14.59 5.01 15.92 5.44 2.93**
3.05 I.54 3.88 I.54 6.25”’
2.13 1.64 3.29 1.64 4.03***
I .38 I .52 3.22 I.91 12.72’*’
0.40 0.84 0.84 I .28 4.99***
1.77 1.60 2.35 1.79 3.90***
1.51 I .96 I .93 2.16 2.38*
2.68 1.71 2.98 1.70 2.04.
0.90 1.34 I .34 1.59 3.48.”
3.76 1.79 3.64 1.75 -0.80
I .03 1.22 2.33 I .84 9.96’**
1.27 I .25 0.89 1.24 -3.49***
1.49 1.53 1.92 I.58 3.16”
1.04 I .30 I .24 1.35 I .69
0.10 0.49 0.42 1.29 4.69***
2.49 I .90 2.18 I.81 - I .92
4.73 1.35 5.11 I.14 3.50”’
Coping with a national crisis 217
In addition, emotion-focused coping was found to be inversely related to the following
background variables: age [r(576) = -0.21, P < O.OOl], ethnicity [coded 1 = Western, 0 = Eastern,
r(596) = -0.13, P c O.OOl], and number of offspring [r(559) = -0.18, P < O.OOl]. Thus, younger
folks, folks with fewer children, and those of Eastern extraction tend to rely more heavily on
emotion-focused coping relative to older folks, folks with more children, and respondents of
Western extraction, respectively. Problem-focused coping was modestly related to age alone
[r(576) = -0.12, P < 0.0041.
Coping and stress reactions
Anxiety. As shown in Table 3, which depicts the intercorrelations among the key measures
addressed in this study, emotion-focused coping and anxiety covaried strongly in the sample
[r(520) = 0.16, P < O.OOl]. In particular, the following specific emotion-focused tactics were most
notably related to anxiety: (a) ventilation [r(519) = 0.65, P < O.OOl]; (b) emotional social support
[r(518) = 0.52, P < O.OOl]; (c) suppression of competing activities [r(519) = 0.34, P < O.OOl]; (d)
restraint [r(514) = 0.27, P < O.OOl]; and (e) religion [r(518) = 0.24, P < O.OOl].
Problem-focused coping and anxiety were found to be negligibly related [r(520) = 0.08, NS]. It
is noteworthy that acceptance of the situation was the only tactic inversely, though weakly,
correlated with anxiety [r(520) = -0.17, P < O.OOl].
Physical symptoms. The patterning of correlations between coping and physical symptoms
parallels that found for coping and anxiety. Thus, similar to what was found for anxiety,
emotion-focused coping correlated strongly and in a positive direction with symptoms
[r(596) = 0.56, P < O.OOl]. Similar to what was reported for anxiety, respondents who reported a
higher incidence of somatic symptoms tended to use more ventilation [r(592) = 0.59, P < O.OOl],
emotional social support [r(590) = 0.43, P < O.OOl], suppression of competing activities
[r(592) = 0.33, P < O.OOl], religion [r(591) = 0.32, P < O.OOl], restraint [r(588) = 0.32, P < O.OOl],
and mental disengagement [r(594) = 0.31, P < O.OOl] tactics. Also, similar to what was reported
for anxiety, problem-focused coping correlated slightly with reported symptoms [r(596) = 0.11,
P < 0.011. It should also be noted that physical symptoms correlated strongly with anxiety, as
reported in an earlier paper (Ben-Zur & Zeidner, 1991).
Coping, control and pessimism
Perceived control. Emotion-focused coping [r(569) = -0.36, P < O.OOl] covaried negatively with
perceived control or mastery of the crisis situation (1 = helpless, 2 = in control). Specifically,
respondents who believed they were in control of the situation tended to resort less frequently to
ventilation [1.33 < 3.05, t(569) = - 10.17, P < O.OOl], emotional social support [2.09 c 3.50,
t(569) = -8.19, P < O.OOl], use of alcohol [0.51 < 0.20, t(569) = -2.84, P < O.OOl] and religion
[1.58 -C 2.39, t(569) = -4.20, P < O.OOl] compared to those who felt they were not in control of
the situation.
Emotion-focused coping and perceived control were correlated to a comparable degree among
both men [r(206) = -0.295, P < O.OOl] and women [r(339) = -0.325, P < O.OOl]. It is also
interesting to point out that degree of perceived control varied as a function of gender, x( 1) = 18.90,
P < 0.001, with twice the percentage of females (36%) feeling loss of control compared to their
male counterparts (18%). Problem-focused coping and perceived control were not significantly
associated.
Table 3. Matrix of intercorrelations among key measures
1 2 3 4 5 6
I. Anxiety - 0.61* 0.13’ -0.42* 0.08 0.61.
2. Symptoms - 0.15’ -0.33. 0.11* 0.56’
3. Pessimism -0.17* -0.211 0.11’
4. Control 0.06 -0.36’
5. coping
Problem-focused - 0.34’
6. Cooine
Emotion-focused
Due to missing values ns ranged from 572 to 598 for the various variables, save for anxiety
(n = 523). Correlations significant at 0.01 level are marked by an asterisk.
218 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
It is also noted that perceived control correlated inversely with anxiety [r(493) = -0.42,
P < O.OOl]. Accordingly, respondents feeling in control were significantly less anxious
[lo.76 < 14.26, t(493) = - 10.13, P < O.OOl] and reported fewer physical symptoms [19.98 < 25.67,
t(569) = -7.46, P < O.OOl] than those who did not feel in control.
Comparably, perceived control correlated inversely with physical symptoms [r (569) = - 0.330,
P < O.OOl]. Accordingly, respondents feeling in control were not only less anxious but also
reported fewer physical symptoms [19.98 < 25.67, t(569) = -7.46, P < O.OOl] than those who did
not.
Pessimism. Problem-oriented coping was found to be inversely related to pessimistic dispositions
[r(589) = -0.21, P < 0.011; emotion-focused coping was found to be positively related, though very
modestly, to pessimistic dispositions [r(589) = 0.11, P < 0.011. In particular, pessimism was
inversely related to planning [r(587) = -0.20, P < O.OOl], acceptance [r(585) = -0.16, P < O.OOl],
and positively related to behavioral disengagement [r(585) = 0.20, P < O.OOl] and ventilation
[r(585) = 0.17, P < O.OOl]. Also, there was a tendency for pessimism to be inversely related to
humor [r(585) = -0.10, P < O.OOl].
When the relationship between problem-focused coping and pessimism was examined separately
by gender, a moderate correlation between the two variables was found among females
[r(340) = -0.30, P < O.OOl] but not among males [r(216) = -0.05, NS]. A direct test for the
moderating effect of sex on the relationship between pessimism and problem-focused coping was
conducted via ANCOVA procedures (cf. Freund & Littell, 1981). Accordingly, when problem-
focused coping was regressed on pessimism, sex, and the sex x pessimism interactions (which
tests for homogeneity of regression slopes by gender), significant effects were found for pessimism
[J’(l) 565) = 28.55, P < O.OOl], sex [F(l, 565) = 7.87, P < O.OOS], and the sex x pessimism inter-
action [F(l, 565) = 8.62, P < 0.0041.
It is noted that pessimism was found to be a relatively weak predictor of stress reactions and
outcomes, with only marginal associations with anxiety [r(514) = 0.13, P < 0.011 and physical
symptoms [r(590) = 0.15, P < O.OOl] experienced during the missile crisis.
Regression analyses
As a first step towards the development of a model of coping with stress under crisis conditions,
we regressed problem- and emotion-focused coping, in turn, on a series of demographic (sex, age),
personality (pessimism, perceived control) and stress (anxiety, symptom) variables, via hierarchical
multiple regression procedures (see Table 4). Each variable was added sequentially into the
regression equation, and the regression analysis shows the change in RSQ at entry for each variable.
With problem-focused coping as dependent measure, age [t (460) = -2.45, P < 0.01, j3 = -0.111,
pessimism [t(460) = -5.07, P < 0.001, p = -0.231 and physical symptoms [t(460) = 3.54,
P < 0.001, j3 = 0.201 contribute significantly to the regression equation, with the stock accounting
for only about 9% of the problem-focused variance. Thus, when controlling for other predictors,
problem-focused coping was inversely related to age and pessimism and positively related to
physical symptoms.
Table 4. Copinp variables: multiple regression results
Variable b SE CB) , P RSQ change
Problem-focused coping (IN)
Sex 0.50
Age -0.04
Pessimism -0.21
Control 0.59
State anxiety -0.06
Somatic symptoms 0.14
Emotion-focused coping (DV)b
Sex 2.03
Age -0.04
Pessimism 0.00
Control - 1.58
State anxiety 0.55
Somatic symptoms 0.23
0.52 (0.05) 0.96
0.02 (-0.11) - 2.45 0.:;
0.04 (-0.23) - 5.07 0.001
0.56 (0.05) 1.06 ns
0.08 (-0.04) -0.69
0.04 (0.20) 3.54 o&
0.50 (0. IS)
0.02 (- 0.09)
0.04 (0.00)
0.54 (-0.11)
0.08 (0.33)
0.04 (0.26)
4.05 0.001
-2.30 0.009
0.14
- 2.92 o.noso4
7.19 0.001
6.21 0.001
0.01
0.00
0.05
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.17
0.04
0.01
0.07
0.14
0.04
“Adjusted RSQ = 0.09, F(6, 461) = 7.33, P < 0.001.
hAdjusted RSQ = 0.48, F(6, 461) = 71.30, P < 0.001
Coping with a national crisis 219
A second hierarchical regression of emotion-focused coping, as a dependent variable, on the
foregoing stock of variables revealed significant effects for sex [t(460) = 4.05, P < 0.001, /I = 0.151
age [t(460) = -2.30, P < 0.001, p = -0.091 anxiety [t(460) = 7.19, P -C 0.001, /I = 0.331 physical
symptoms [t(460) = 6.21, P < 0.001, /I = 0.271; and control [t(460) = - 2.92, P < 0.005,
b = -0.111. Together, the predictors account for about 48% of the variance in emotion-focused
coping. That is, when adjusting for the effects of other predictors, Ss who were female, younger,
more anxious, had more symptoms, and less perceived control, also tended to evidence greater
emotion-focused coping as well
DISCUSSION
The recent situation in Israel attests that periods of community crisis and disaster provide a
unique opportunity to learn how people actually cope with highly stressful encounters under
real-time conditions.
Salient coping tactics
The two most widely recognized functions of coping are regulating stressful emotions and
altering troubled person-environment relations (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985). In the present crisis
situation, respondents were reported to use a wide variety of both problem- and emotion-focused
responses.
A factor analysis of the coping scales employed in this study yielded two meaningful and global
coping factors, which we interpreted to be emotion- and problem-focused coping. However it is
noted that the two factors may include more than their labels suggest and that the solution partially
overlaps other classifications. Thus, the problem-solving factor is composed of such subscales as
active coping and planning already mentioned by Carver et al. (1989) and Folkman and Lazarus
(1985). In addition, it is loaded on acceptance, humor, and positive reinterpretation; in themselves,
the latter behaviors are not generally considered problem-solving activities, but they may facilitate
problem-solving behavior by helping people attend to or focus on the threat rather than avoiding
it. Also, the latter two subscales may change a person’s perception of the stressful encounter by
making it seem less stressful and therefore easier to manage, hence facilitating activities for dealing
more effectively with it.
The emotion-focused factor is best characterized by three themes. The first two involve
expressing distress through ventilation and seeking emotional social support, as well as avoidance
of the threat by various means (i.e. mental, behavioral and alcoholdrug disengagement). These
two qualities have been discussed by others (e.g. Carver et al., 1989; Folkman & Lazarus, 1985).
A third theme involves an inactive mode of behavior, i.e. asking others for advice or help
(instrumental social support), suppression of competing activities, and restraining oneself from
acting. Thus, while these forms of coping are sometimes construed as problem-solving responses,
their passive and uninitiative nature may make them more related to the emotional domain. In sum,
the problem-solving factor is characterized by an active and vigilant mode of coping while the
emotion-focused factor is characterized by a more passive and avoidant mode. It is suggested that
the structure of coping under grave and stressful circumstances may be somewhat different than
that found under normal circumstances.
For comparison, note that a similar factor analysis on 15 subscale scores of the COPE, conducted
by Carver et al. (1989) yielded four factors, i.e. problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping,
disengagement, and an acceptance and restraint factor, with the first two factors accounting for
most of the variance. The Carver et al. structure is active, planning, and suppression of competing
activities as markers for the problem-focused factors, and social support-instrumental, social
support-emotional, and ventilation of emotions as markers for emotion-focused coping.
Overall, the present data conform with our predictions and with previous studies showing that
adults use both forms of coping in practically all stressful encounters (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980,
1985). Also, the results showing a moderate correlation between the two coping strategies are
consistent with some previous research (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). Moreover, the present data
showed a prevalence of problem-solving types of responses even in a situation characterized by low
objective personal control. It is plausible that Israelis, who have had considerable experience
220 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
dealing with war and political violence over the years, may have come to adopt a problem-solving
attitude towards environmental stressors, tending to deal with stressful encounters in active ways
even under the most trying of conditions (see Guttman & Levy, 1983).
With respect to specific tactics, the most frequently reported mode of coping with the missile
threat was active gathering of information through the media (e.g. reading the papers, listening to
the radio). This result conforms with preliminary research on disasters suggesting that the media
plays an important role in the stress and coping process, particularly with respect to the formation
of both risk perceptions and attitudes (Pijawka et al., 1987/88).
The relative salience of emotional social support and relative infrequency of instrumental social
support in this study attests to the notion that emotional social support may tap a primal need
for human contact in times of stress, for reasons beyond whatever material aid or advice one may
receive. Furthermore, the relative salience of emotional social support as a coping tactic conforms
to some previous research (e.g. Folkman er al., 1986) that high stake conditions are associated with
more seeking of social support. Thus, in a study by North et al. (1989) investigating the ways people
coped with a tornado disaster, emotional social support was cited as the most frequent coping
method.
Denial is one of the documented behaviors used by individuals when faced with life threatening
events (Lazarus, 1983; Pijawka et al., 1987/88). Surprisingly few people in this study reported using
denial to cope with the missile situation. To be sure, avoidance coping such as denial may be
adaptive in the short run because it gives one a breather from stress and protects one from having
to deal with the aversive implications of the stressful situation. In this particular situation, however,
denial would have been maladaptive by causing people to delay initiating self-protective devices
(e.g. sealing off rooms, taping windows, etc.), thereby placing them and their families at greater
physical risk under the impending threat of missile attacks.
Background correlates of coping
Overall, our data indicate that women rely more heavily than men on both problem- and
emotion-focused coping, with more sizable gender group differences observed in the latter. The only
tendency that was observed to be stronger among men, relative to women, was to engage in denial.
These data are consistent with our hypothesis and prior empirical research (e.g. Scheier et al.,
1989) showing a tendency for women to seek social support and focus on and vent emotions. These
data also support previous research among Israeli adolescents, in times of peace, showing that
support seeking is employed more frequently among girls than boys (Seiffge-Krenke & Shulman,
1990). The results also support research showing that women, relative to men, hold more positive
attitudes towards seeking and receiving help and actually seek help more and receive higher levels
of help (Hill, 1991).
Although a variety of factors may underlie observed gender group differences in emotion-focused
coping, evidence suggests a strong influence of gender-role prescriptions or stereotypes. For
example, whereas women tend to be evaluated more positively when they vent emotions and
disclose a personal problem, men tend to be evaluated more negatively and are also viewed as less
well adjusted when they engage in these behaviors (cf. Derlega, Durham, Gockel & Sholis, 1981).
This finding, reflecting Western societal values which encourage men not to express their emotions,
is also consistent with some previous research showing that men tend to keep their feelings to
themselves (Folkman, Lazarus, Pimley & Novacek, 1987).
Contrary to stereotypic societal expectations and some previous research (Billings & Moos, 1984)
showing that men rely more than women on problem-focused coping, women also showed higher
overall patterns of problem-focused coping under these crisis conditions. The observed tendency
for greater problem-focused coping among women may be partly due to the unique role assumed
by women in this particular crisis-where damage to one’s home and physical injury to one’s self
and family were major stakes. In direct contrast to previous wars in Israel, where men fought at
the front line and most women assumed passive roles behind the lines, during the missile crisis
women tended to assume a major responsibility in the ‘defense’ or protection of their homes and
families from missile attacks (sealing off rooms, preparing provisions, staying at home and caring
for small children). Consequently, women may have actually had a greater opportunity than men
to cope with the stress in an active way.
Coping with a national crisis 221
Although males and females did not differ, on average, in their dispositional pessimism, gender
was found to moderate the relationship between pessimism and problem solving: pessimistic
women, but not men, tend to rely less on active problem-focused strategies than their optimistic
counterparts. This suggests that women may get a bit more mileage out of their optimistic outlook
in terms of enhanced levels of instrumental coping behaviors than their male counterparts. Thus,
optimism, as a personal resource, may have greater adaptive utility for females than males.
Overall, we know relatively little about the ways in which younger and older people differ in stress
and coping under normal conditions (Folkman et al., 1987). In the present study, younger adults
were found to rely more heavily on emotion-focused coping than their older counterparts. These
findings are at variance with predictions generated from the adult development literature suggesting
that older adults are more anxious and use less adaptive coping devices when compared to their
younger counterparts (cf. Zeidner, 1988). The findings may best be understood on the basis of
differential role constellations. Accordingly, younger adults, frequently parents of young children,
may have sensed increased personal responsibility for their children’s welfare during the crisis and
also may have been more stressed because they missed out on work. Parenthood and work, which
are generally viewed to be among the most pervasive sources of daily stress, were less salient for
older adults during the crisis period. This is consistent with past research suggesting that
curtailment of the role of older folks at home and in the workplace should bring with it a decrease
in anxiety associated with these roles.
Coping tactics and distress
The data are consistent with our predictions in showing a positive relationship between stress
reactions and most forms of emotion- but not problem-focused tactics. Interestingly, although
reports of emotion-focused coping tactics were relatively less frequent in the present sample, the
correlation of these reports with stress reactions were substantial. These substantial correlations
imply that those suffering from elevated levels of anxiety and physical symptoms tend to rely
heavily on emotion-focused coping methods. It appears that respondents who were anxious needed
to ventilate their anxiety by expressing it to others and sought social support in times of stress.
Overall, this study conforms with previous findings in the literature (Carver et al., in press) that
coping tactics that coalesced around optimism and pessimism (acceptance, humor, positive
reframing) are inversely related to distress. Furthermore, these data, showing a strong association
between emotional social support and anxiety, conform with the notion that emotional support
is a most important correlate of well being (cf. Hill, 1991). However, an interesting paradox emerges
in these data and similar findings in other studies on emotion processing. Better adjustment at times
is equated with less use of ventilation and talking. Curiously, this seems to go against one of the
cherished beliefs of various groups of therapists and traumatologists that expect the opposite.
It should be pointed out that active coping is generally found to be a useful strategy in that it
helps remove or circumvent the stressor or obstacle in the way of goal achievement, thus bringing
about positive changes in consequent aversive emotions, such as reduction of anxiety. However,
in the present crisis, even the most efficient type of active coping would merely involve
circumventing the threat or mitigating its potential harm to property or life by taking protective
measures against the potentially devastating consequences of a missile attack. The various active
devices (preparing shelters, sealing off rooms, taping windows, insulating apartments, moving to
low risk areas, etc.) nevertheless did not remove the threat itself (i.e. missile attacks) by any means
and were essentially ‘safety measures’ at best. In this situation, for those who would not or could
not run away or leave the country, emotion-focused coping may have been the only alternative
to help relieve or reduce anxiety because the stressor was indeed unchangeable for them.
In attempting to unravel the causal direction in the anxiety-coping relationship, it is commonly
hypothesized that anxiety impacts upon coping (anxiety-tcoping) by triggering coping tactics
designed to reduce the distress by removing or circumventing the threat. In situations where a
person’s actual control over the threat is minimal, such as the present one, the anxious individual
may resort to emotion-focused rather than problem-focused strategies. This notion is consistent
with the evidence presented that those who were in greater distress focused on their distress.
Focusing on one’s distress or emotions through ventilation and emotional social support may also
facilitate adaptation to the situation, thereby freeing the person from problem-focused coping. In
222 MOSHE ZEIDNER and HASIDA BEN-ZUR
the study of nuclear anxiety, Hamilton, Keilin, Knox and Naginey (1989) found that Ss high in
negative affectivity indicated they engaged in emotion-focused coping along with confrontive
coping, possibly alternating between these two modalities in a pattern of engage, disengage,
reengage, to regulate emotional distress.
However, there is always the possibility of reverse causality: high levels of certain coping
responses induce higher levels of stress, with coping recycling back to anxiety (coping+anxiety).
Thus, people who tend to rely on emotion-focused coping methods may be less effective in reducing
their anxiety levels relative to those using instrumental strategies, thereby further increasing their
level of anxiety. Although these correlational findings are uninformative about the direction of the
relation, there is most likely a bidirectional relationship between coping and outcomes. At present,
there are no firm answers to the question whether coping actually influences anxiety and adjustment
or coping tactics merely covary with anxiety and the qualities are mutually intertwined.
Coping and optimism
The data, showing a modest inverse correlation between problem-focused coping and pessimism
(or conversely, a positive correlation between problem-focused coping and optimism), is consistent
with our predictions and with some prior research (Scheier & Carver, 1987). Furthermore, these
data replicate findings in the area of health psychology (Carver et al., in press) that people with
a pessimistic tendency tend to rely less on a variety of adaptive coping tactics, such as planning,
positive reappraisal, acceptance, and humor, and tend to rely more on behavioral disengagement
and ventilation.
Overall, these data are consistent with theorizing in the coping literature (Scheier et al., 1986)
that the divergent outcomes of optimists and pessimists following a stressful encounter are partly
a function of the differential strategies they use to deal with stress. Accordingly, optimists may do
better because they use strategies that pay off, such as active coping. However, it is noted that
although the patterning of the relationship between pessimism and various coping tactics reported
in this study is generally consistent with prior research findings, the magnitude of the correlations
is generally weaker.
Consistent with previous research (Carver et al., in press), this study shows that optimism is
positively related to self-reported acceptance, which, in turn, is related to both perceived control
and lower levels of self-reported anxiety. These data provide further evidence that optimistic
individuals accept the reality of the stressful situation facing them and tend to cope actively with
the situation (Carver & Scheier, 1981). Acceptance is commonly viewed as adaptive in that it
enables one to work through the experience and to actively come to grips with the problem thereby
integrating it into the evolving world rather than trying to isolate it from other aspects of
experience. By contrast, focusing on one’s emotional distress, as is the case among pessimists, may
lead to anticipations of bad outcomes, which in turn, lead to disengagement and further distress.
Indeed, the modest positive association between pessimism and behavioral disengagement supports
the claim that disengagement is antithetical to problem-focused coping and thus perhaps
maladaptive.
This study, pointing to a slight tendency for pessimists to experience more anxiety and physical
symptoms relative to optimists, is consistent with our predictions and some prior research. Thus,
these data are consistent with past studies in the area of health psychology showing that pessimism
is concurrently associated with distress (Carver et al., in press). In fact, Scheier & Carver (1985)
found a prospective inverse correlation between optimism and symptom reporting in undergradu-
ates, even when initial level of symptoms was partialled out. Thus, this study supports the
observation (Carver et al., in press) that optimism offers benefits even in extreme circumstances
where one can do little about it.
The potential buffering effects of optimism against stress reactions may have been weakened in
this study because optimists were confronted with a situation that was uncontrollable and
frustrating. As Carver et al. (in press) point out, optimism may be good in theory whenever the
threat can be met and there is a comparative benefit of being an optimist. But where struggling
gets a person nowhere and the threat (such as missile attacks) is so discrepant with one’s view as
to challenge the validity of the view, optimists may fare no better than pessimists in this sort of
situation (cf. Tennen & Affleck, 1987).
Coping with a national crisis 223
CONCLUSION
The Persian Gulf War and its outcomes served as a major source of prolonged objective stress
for the majority of the Israeli population, with people having little actual control over the sources
of the stress. Interestingly, coping with this awesome threatening situation did not manifest itself
through total disengagement or escape from reality. Instead, people reported using a mixture of
active coping tactics, wherever possible, and various forms of emotional coping.
As is commonly agreed upon by researchers (Carver et al., in press; Folkman & Lazarus, 1985;
Solomon & Maser, 1990) we know very little about what constitutes a good adjustment to a
traumatic event and no empirical methods can actually determine which respondents are coping
more adaptively with threat. Given the specific nature of the context at hand, with the imminent
danger faced by the Israeli general population of being attacked by ballistic missiles, it is truly hard
to say what a normal response to such a situation would be. Some may contend that directly facing
the threat and taking whatever defensive direct action that can be taken is the healthiest method.
Others would argue that where no personal action can be taken to alleviate the actual danger, i.e.
the missile attacks, emotion-focused or denial-like processes may be quite adaptive. Indeed,
focusing on one’s emotion in the present circumstances may help facilitate adaptation to stressful
emotions.
In sum, it is important to assess a particular form of coping with specific reference to the context
in which it is used. An interesting question for further research, which we are currently conducting,
is how various forms of coping strategies employed by an individual throughout the crisis will
differentially predict that person’s psychological and physical well being over time.
Acknowledgements-Thanks are due to Dr Charles Carver of the University of Miami for providing us with his seminal
papers on coping and making the Pessimism/Optimism and COPE scales available to us. The order of authorship was
randomly determined and both authors contributed equally to this paper.
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