Mediating role of social support in relations between psychological capital and subjective well-being among IDF soldiers during conflict: insights from the 2023 Gaza war

The results suggest psychological capital may function as a psychological buffer, positively associated with resilience and well-being. Moreover, the mediation effect of social support highlights the importance of social networks in sustaining psychological resilience and mitigating the adverse effects of combat stress. While these are established constructs, the study embeds them within a real-time war context, offering rare insight into how they operate under acute national trauma. Given the cross-sectional design, findings should be interpreted as associations rather than definitive causal relationships.