World Assumptions and Psychological Functioning Among Ultraorthodox and Secular Holocaust Survivors

The present study examined whether world assumptions change as a function of Holocaust experience and religiosity. A convenience sample of 103 participants (mean age = 78.58, SD = 6.65, range 65 to 94) contained four groups: (a) ultraorthodox Holocausts survivors, (b) ultraorthodox comparisons, (c) secular Holocaust survivors and (d) secular comparisons. Results revealed that secular Holocaust survivors reported the lowest scores in world assumptions and psychological functioning. In addition, the correlations between world assumptions and psychological functioning were higher among both groups of Holocaust survivors than among the comparison groups. Our results point to the potential buffering effect of religiosity against long-term traumatic effects and also point to the growing importance of worldviews to one’s psychological functioning following trauma