The longitudinal associations between attitudes to aging and attachment insecurities among combat veterans.

Abstract

For combat veterans, the trauma of war can have lasting effects, that may later extend to attitudes toward one's own aging (ATOA). The present study sought to examine whether attachment insecurities may help to predict ATOA in later life, while also exploring the moderating role of combat exposure concerning the effects of attachment insecurities on subsequent ATOA. A cohort of 171 veterans of the Israeli 1973 Yom Kippur War (mean age = 68.4, SD = 5.1) were interviewed in 1991 (Time 1; T1) and again in 2018 (Time 2; T2). The present study examined the moderating role of combat exposure, within the associations between T1 attachment insecurities and T2 ATOA. A regression analysis revealed that T1 attachment insecurities, T2 health problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms predicted more negative T2 ATOA. A significant interaction was found between combat exposure and attachment avoidance, suggesting that the effect of attachment avoidance on ATOA was only significant among participants with high levels of combat exposure. The present findings point to the importance of attachment insecurities for ATOA among veterans, and to the role of combat exposure in moderating these associations. Results indicate possible avenues of intervention and policy for those most vulnerable to negative ATOA.