Psychological well-being and ratings of psychiatric symptoms in bereaved Israeli adolescents: differential effect of war-versus accident-related bereavement.

Eight hundred seventy-one Israeli adolescents, 375 boys and 496 girls, mean age 16.7 +/- 1, participated in this study. Twenty-three of them lost relatives in war and 19 in road accidents. All participants were administered the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the General Well-being Scale (GWB), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Perceived Social Support-Family/Friend (PSS-Fa and PSS-Fr) measures. War-bereaved adolescents showed significantly higher scores in psychological well-being (GWB) and significantly lower scores in reported psychiatric symptoms (BSI) than accident-bereaved adolescents. War-bereaved adolescents also had significantly better BSI and GWB scores than the general nonbereaved adolescent population. These results persisted after controlling for family socio-economic status, gender, and the degrees of closeness of the deceased relative. War-bereaved adolescents did not differ either from accident-bereaved adolescents or from the nonbereaved general adolescent population in social and family support systems (PSS-Fr, PSS-Fa) and did not experience different basic parental attitudes (PBI). Results are discussed in terms of the different meanings ascribed to death in battle versus death in a road accident.

The role of psychological variables in a group of melanoma patients. An Israeli sample.

This study examined whether there is a difference in the psychological distress and/or coping modes of patients with early localized malignant melanoma. The authors compared the patients diagnosed at stages IA and B of the disease with those diagnosed at stages IIA and B. The population consisted of 100 melanoma patients who agreed to take part in a study of adjustment to chronic disease. The patients were individually interviewed at home and completed six self-reports. Three of the reports assessed psychological outcome, two assessed coping, and one assessed support systems. No substantial differences were found between the patients treated at stages I and II on any of the psychological measures, despite the fact that those with greatest thickness and depth (stage IIB) are at higher risk of recurrence. The women showed greater distress than the men, confirming earlier observations made in patients with colon cancer.

Physical punishment and signs of mental distress in normal adolescents.

Adolescents (375 males and 496 females) were administered the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the General Well-Being Scale (GWB), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and two questions about each parent, supplementing the PBI, tapping violent punitive behavior. Signs of mental distress in adolescents and reported physical punishment from parents were analyzed. Results indicated that greater physical punishment was associated with higher levels of psychiatric symptoms and lower general well-being. These results persisted after controlling for parental attitudes, as quantified by the PBI, and socioeconomic status. The findings of this study can contribute to efforts to raise public awareness of the negative consequences of physical punishment on the mental health of children.

Crossing new bridges: the process of adaptation and psychological distress of Russian immigrants in Israel.

Between the end of 1989 and June 1992, 380,152 Russian Jews left the former Soviet Union for Israel, swelling Israel's Jewish population by nearly 10%. Absorbing great waves of immigrants was not new to Israel. Since its establishment in 1948 and the enactment of its Law of Return, large population groups from dozens of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds had immigrated into the country. In 1992 Israel's Jewish population totaled 4,242,500. Of that number, 360,949 had been born in Asian countries, 458,009 in Africa, 1,252,131 in Europe, and 184,317 in America and Oceana.

Depressive symptoms in hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the level of depressive symptoms among medical inpatients, and to examine the associations with sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics. METHODS: A point prevalence study (1 day) of all adult medical patients hospitalized at Hadassah University Hospital. Patients who were too incapacitated to be interviewed were excluded. The questionnaire included sociodemographic data, social supports (MOS Social Support Scale), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), and depressive symptoms (CES-D scale). Medical data were collected from the patients' charts. Of the 331 eligible patients, 256 (77%) were interviewed. RESULTS: The level of depressive symptoms was high (mean = 21, s.d. = 12). About 60 percent of the patients had scores above 16, which is the suggested cut-off point for psychopathology. A multifactorial analysis of covariance showed that higher scores of depression were significantly (p < 0.01) associated with being a female, with lower scores of internal and higher scores of external health locus of control and only marginally (p = .08) with medical diagnosis (multiple R2 = .33, multiple R = .58). Depressive symptoms were not associated with age, education, marital status, social supports, type of admission, ward, or length of stay prior to evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The high levels of depressive symptoms found across medical and most of the personal and social characteristics in this first survey of its kind in Israel may reflect a reaction to the event of hospitalization; sex and locus of control may be suggested as risk markers of elevated depression to be used for screen and prompt psychiatric consultation in this population.

The association between adolescents' attitudes toward suicide and their psychosocial background and suicidal tendencies.

The present study examined the relationship between adolescents' attitudes toward suicide and their psychosocial background. It also evaluated the association between attitudes toward suicide and the subjects' own suicidal tendencies. A questionnaire assessing these issues was administered to 525 Israeli adolescents. Results indicated that significantly more females, nonreligious adolescents, those exposed to suicidal behavior, and those with increased suicidal risk held more accepting attitudes. Ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, and living in intact/nonintact families were not associated with adolescents' attitudes toward suicide.