Q&A with… Dr. Golan Shahar “Does war hurt?”
By Cindy Mindell
Dr. Golan Shahar
According to a new study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), exposure to media coverage of terrorist missile attacks increases pain levels in people already suffering from chronic pain.
The study, “Does War Hurt? Effects of Media Exposure after Missile Attacks on Chronic Pain,” published in the online version of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, showed that exposure to the attacks through the media predicted an increase in pain intensity and in the sensory component of pain.
The study was conducted by Prof. Golan Shahar and Dr. Sheera F. Lerman of the BGU department of psychology, and Dr. Zvia Rudich of Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba.
In addition to serving as professor of clinical health and psychology at Ben-Gurion University, Shahar is also visiting professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Golan completed post-doctoral training in the departments of psychiatry and psychology at Yale from 2000 to 2002 and he served as assistant professor in the department of psychiatry from 2002 to 2004. Since returning to Israel, Golan has maintained a close relationship with Yale, with frequent visits and ongoing collaborations on research grants and publications, particularly around the psychological impact of chronic stress.
Shahar spoke with the Ledger about the study.
Q: How, when, and why was the study first conceived?
A: The study was conceived following the missile attacks on the southern region of Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces’ “Cast Lead” military operation. We had a unique opportunity to be able to assess the effects of a stressful situation on individuals who were taking part in an unrelated study on psychological adjustment to chronic pain conducted as part of Dr. Sheera Lerman’s doctoral dissertation, which I was supervising. Thus, we were able to compare patients’ conditions before and after the three-week-long missile attack, making this a rare and unique prospective study on exposure to terrorism.
Q: How did you recruit subjects? Were they from one area of the country or spread out?
A: The study assessed 55 chronic pain patients at a specialty pain clinic in a large hospital in the south of Israel. Accordingly, most patients live in a radius of 80 kilometers or less from the hospital, which is the same approximate area that was affected during the missile attacks.
The patients completed self-report questionnaires regarding their pain, depression, and anxiety before and after the three-week missile attack.
Q: It seems obvious that when we take in negative images and information, negative emotional/psychological reactions can ensue. Is this study exploring new territory by investigating the physical impact?
A: There are very few studies exploring the physical impact of terrorism on individuals who were not directly injured. Exposure to the attacks through the media predicted an increase in pain intensity and in the sensory component of pain during the pre-post war period, but did not predict depression or anxiety. Intuitively, negative images and information cause more emotional distress. However, we did not find this pattern in our study. We found that individuals with chronic pain experienced more pain but not more emotional distress as a result of exposure to war-related media coverage on TV. Patients’ previous levels of emotional distress may affect their ability to cope with stressful situations, making stressors more prominent and influencing them to seek out more information about the situation.
Q: What were some of the more unexpected or surprising discoveries in the study?
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