The relationships between family functioning and attachment orientations to post-traumatic stress symptoms among young adults who were evacuated from Gaza Strip settlements as adolescents

Background and Objectives: This study examined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among young adults that were evicted from their residences in Gaza settlements (“Gush Katif”) as adolescents and actively participated in the resistance events. Furthermore, we examined the moderating role of exposure to forced relocation on the association between attachment orientations and family functioning and PTSD symptoms. Design: We conducted a correlative, cross-sectional study in 2013. Methods: Participants were Israeli evicted residents (ER group; N = 102), comparison groups of evicted nonresidents (ENR group; N = 27), and nonevicted nonresidents (NENR group; N = 53). All participants completed a battery of self-reported questionnaires. Results: The ER group reported a higher number of PTSD symptoms as compared to the comparison groups. However, ER participants did not differ from ENR and NENR participants in their perception of family functioning. Importantly, the group (ER vs. NENR) moderated the association between attachment-anxiety and PTSD symptoms and between family adaptability and PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Nine years after the forced relocation from Gaza settlements, young adults that were evicted from their residences as adolescents suffer from PTSD symptoms that are more related to the relocation itself than the stress entailed in the resistance events.