Based on the theoretical view of Terror Management Theory, the current research examines whether higher levels of death anxiety symptoms, in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, increase the extent to which participants are exposed to information regarding the spread of the pandemic, as well as the fear of contagion and symptoms of hypochondriasis, which all in turn increase symptoms of adjustment disorder. A total number of 302 participants filled out self-report questionnaires regarding death anxiety, adjustment disorder, the extent of exposure to information regarding COVID-19, fear of contagion, hypochondriasis, and demographic information. Structural Equation Modeling analysis indicated a very good fit of the theoretical model with the data, confirming the mediation effect of exposure to information, fear of contagion, and symptoms of hypochondriasis on the association between death anxiety and adjustment disorder symptoms. Implications for practice are discussed.

In April 2020, early in the COVID-19 outbreak, governments restricted public gatherings and ordered social distancing. These demands led to challenging adaptations, which in some cases resulted in mental health issues, including adjustment disorder. Guided by the transactional stress model, the current study aimed to examine the relations between personality traits and adjustment disorder in crisis situations and vagueness and the role of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy in these relations. During Israel’s first lockdown, 673 Israeli adults completed self-reported e-version questionnaires regarding Big Five personality traits, adjustment disorder, intolerance to uncertainty, self-efficacy, and background variables. The study was designed to examine the association between personality traits and adjustment disorder and the potential mediation of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy in associations. The findings revealed that intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy mediated the association between personality traits and adjustment disorder. The results are consistent with the transactional stress model. They shed light on the role of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy as cognitive mechanisms that promote the development of adjustment disorder. Recommendations for future studies and practice are discussed.

Intimate partner homicide is a major public health concern around the world and the most lethal outcome of domestic violence. Its impact on the surviving bereaved offspring is immense, yet there is a significant gap in the literature regarding the long-term effects of this type of loss. The current qualitative study is aimed at filling this gap. The study used the constructivist paradigm of bereavement as a theoretical background to reveal the meanings constructed by bereaved Israeli daughters whose biological mothers were killed in acts of intimate partner homicide by their biological fathers. Three main themes of meaning emerged from 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews: “destruction of one’s home”; “blast injury”; and “in doubt”. An examination of the three themes in the current study reveals a deep shatter in participants’ world of meaning to its very basic foundations. In light of intense psychological and social forces, the participants constructed and reconstructed such narratives of meaning in a continuous process of meaning making throughout their lives, years, and decades post loss. Derived from the findings are implications for practice. Mental healthcare professionals must attend to this basic shatter with an extreme level of caution, as they help homicide survivors reconstruct a world of meaning shattered by loss. Moreover, the long-lasting effects emphasize an appropriate legal and political involvement; specifically, policy regulations and rights should provide psychosocial care programs that are suited to the needs of offspring co-victims of intimate partner homicide in particular. In light of the strong social influence on participants’ loss experience, further efforts are required to raise social awareness about this burning social concern and to fight the stigmatization of co-victims of homicide in general and co-victims of intimate partner homicide in particular.