Willingness to volunteer during continuous traumatic stress: Psychosocial adaptation profiles following the October 7 attacks in a southern Israeli city.
Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to identify distinct psychosocial adaptation profiles among adults from Ofakim, a southern Israeli city directly and severely affected by the October 7 attacks, based on trauma exposure, trauma history, and selected risk and protective factors.
Method
A sample of 722 participants completed measures assessing exposure to the October 7 attacks, trauma history, posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms, self-rated health, perceived social support, posttraumatic growth, and volunteering-related variables. Latent profile analysis identified subgroups defined by these variables. Sociodemographic characteristics and volunteering-related variables were compared across profiles using three-step procedures that account for uncertainty in latent profile classification.
Results
Four profiles emerged: "normative responses," "resilient," "distressed," and "trauma history." Profiles differed significantly by gender, age, education, residence in conflict-affected neighborhoods, length of residence, and volunteering-related variables. The "resilient" profile demonstrated low distress, higher protective factors, and the highest willingness to volunteer after October 7, whereas the "distressed" profile exhibited high distress, lower protective factors, and the lowest willingness to volunteer. In adjusted manual three-step models, the overall profile difference in willingness to volunteer was attenuated to trend level, but the distressed profile remained significantly lower than the resilient profile.
Conclusions
Identifying psychosocial adaptation profiles can inform targeted interventions following mass trauma. Willingness to volunteer after the attacks should be interpreted cautiously as a correlate of current prosocial motivation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).