Associations between psychological strengths and PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms among Israeli female veterans: A network approach

Female veterans who serve in combat roles encounter diverse and cumulative stressors, such as combat exposure and gender-based hostility, that heighten their risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms. However, little is known about the protective role of psychological strengths in mitigating these outcomes. This study applied a network analytic framework to examine the interrelations among psychological strengths, contextual stressors, and psychological distress, among Israeli female combat veterans. A sample of 450 Israeli female combat veterans completed online self-report questionnaires in a cross-sectional design study. Results show a network with two distinct clusters representing psychological distress and psychological strengths, with dense within-cluster and weaker cross-cluster connections. Bridge analyses identified self-esteem and self-compassion as key psychological strengths negatively associated with PTSD and depression symptoms and positively connected with meaning, hope, and self-efficacy. Among psychological strengths, hope, self-esteem, and meaning-centered coping demonstrated the highest node centrality, highlighting their integrative role within the network of psychological strengths. Findings underscore that resilience among female combat veterans reflects the dynamic interplay of adaptive strengths, rather than the mere absence of symptoms. Self-esteem, self-compassion, and hope may be important correlates of lower distress and stronger psychological functioning among female combat veterans, warranting further longitudinal and intervention-based research.