Rational and Irrational Beliefs and Coping Strategies Among Transylvanian Holocaust Survivors: An Exploratory Analysis

Ioana Cosman, Bianca Macavei, Madalina Sucala, Daniel David

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study aims to identify rational and irrational beliefs, as well as coping mechanisms, as expressed spontaneously by Transylvanian Holocaust survivors during oral history research. The participants (N = 22) were born between 1917 and 1928 and were detained in concentration camps for at least 6 months. A total of 95.4% of the participants expressed irrational beliefs; 63.6% expressed rational beliefs. In addition, 72.7% of the participants displayed emotion-focused coping, and 54.5% displayed problem-solving coping. The most common irrational beliefs were awfulizing (81.8%) and global evaluations of others (59.1%). This study provides the first information on cognitions and their association with coping strategies adopted by Holocaust survivors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)179-194
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Loss and Trauma
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2013

Keywords

  • Transylvanian Holocaust Survivors
  • rational and irrational beliefs

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