An Integrative Psychological Model of Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Among Israeli LGBT Individuals.

Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals (LGBT) are at high risk for suicide. This study aimed to examine an integrative psychological model of risk factors among LGBT individuals and explore the psychological pathways connecting social stigma, mental pain, and interpersonal characteristics to suicidal ideation and behavior (SIB) in this population. LGBT adults (N = 473) responded to an online questionnaire about stigma, mental pain, interpersonal characteristics, as well as suicidal ideation and behaviors. We found group differences between LGBT respondents in the study variables: Transgender people reported the highest levels of SIB and depression, closely followed by bisexuals. The association between stigma-related variables and SIB was mediated by depression, entrapment, and perceived burdensomeness. These results highlight the role of entrapment and burdensomeness in facilitating suicide risk among LGBT adults, as they may increase the damaging effect of negative societal stigma against LGBTs and thus, elevate the suicide risk in this population.

Does Interpersonal Vulnerability Mediate the Association Between Parental Bereavement and Mental Health?

The current study examined the role of interpersonal vulnerability, that is, self-perceived threats to one's interpersonal domain, in the mental health of bereaved parents. Israeli bereaved parents in older adulthood (N = 105, aged 48-88, M = 64.06, SD = 9.93) were pair-matched with equivalent 105 non-bereaved parents. Participants completed questionnaires assessing interpersonal vulnerability, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. The results showed higher levels of interpersonal vulnerability among bereaved parents compared to their non-bereaved counterparts. Additionally, parental bereavement and interpersonal vulnerability were associated with worse mental health. Finally, interpersonal vulnerability mediated the association of parental bereavement with worse mental health. This study reveals interpersonal vulnerability as an important vulnerability factor among a significant minority in older adulthood.

The moderation of socio-demographics in physical and mental health disparities among Israeli gay and heterosexual middle-aged and older men.

OBJECTIVES: Physical and mental health disparities were explored among Israeli middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men alongside the moderating role of age, relationship status, and place of birth. METHOD: 173 middle-aged and older gay men were individually matched with 173 middle-aged and older heterosexual men at the age range of 50-86 (M = 60.56, SD = 8.42). All participants completed measures of doctor visits, physical health comorbidity, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. RESULTS: Israeli middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men did not significantly differ on physical or mental health indicators. However, a more differential analysis revealed that older age and relationship status had a moderating role, such that older gay men reported more physical health comorbidity in comparison to older heterosexual men. Similarly, gay men who were not in a steady relationship reported more frequent visits to the doctor and more anxiety in comparison to heterosexual men who were not in a steady relationship. Additionally, immigration history appeared as a potential resiliency factor, such that gay men who were not born in Israel reported less frequent doctor visits and less anxiety in comparison to heterosexual men who were not born in Israel. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a pioneering examination of physical and mental health disparities in an Israeli sample of middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men. These results may call the attention of clinicians and policymakers to both vulnerabilities and strengths of middle-aged and older gay men.

Inventory of complicated grief: Factor structure among middle-aged and older bereaved parents.

This study examines the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Hebrew version of Prigerson's Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), on 116 middle-aged and older Israeli bereaved parents. Analysis revealed a three-factor structure: emotional distress, yearning for the dead and social-emotional detachment. A high percentage of explained variance and sound internal consistency were found for the entire scale and for all factors, as well as adequate convergent and construct validity. These findings suggest that the Hebrew version of the ICG questionnaire is reliable, valid and appropriate for evaluation of grief in later life.

Vulnerability and Resilience in Sensitive Research: The Case of the Quantitative Researcher.

The emotional experiences of quantitative researchers, particularly while conducting sensitive research, are largely neglected. This article aims to advance the awareness of possible emotional strains for quantitative researchers engaged in sensitive research. It qualitatively assesses the ethical and emotional experiences of quantitative researchers conducting a study on aging of bereaved parents and people with a physical disability. Based on the detailed minutes of 66 weekly research meetings held during 2015-2017, a thematic analysis of the researchers' experiences was performed. Our analysis identified two main themes: vulnerability and resilience. We delineate these themes, along with their subthemes and affinity to vicarious traumatization, moral stress, and vicarious posttraumatic growth. The current study is among the first to introduce the emotional and ethical experiences of the quantitative researcher. Tentative recommendations for the advancement of the researcher's safety and well-being by training, institutional support, self-care skills, and policy development are provided.

Benefiting From Digital Use: Prospective Association of Internet Use With Knowledge and Preventive Behaviors Related to Alzheimer Disease in the Israeli Survey of Aging.

BACKGROUND: Previous work documented the beneficial association between internet use and improved cognition, functional capacity, and less cognitive decline among people in late adulthood. This work focused on potential mechanisms of such an association: knowledge on Alzheimer disease (AD) and preventive behaviors related to AD. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine prospective associations of internet use and perceived computer skills with knowledge on AD and preventive behaviors related to AD. METHODS: The sample included 1232 older adults (mean age 71.12 [SD 9.07]) drawn from the Israeli branch of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel). The sample is representative of Israeli households of adults aged 50 or older and their spouses. Data analyzed were collected in person during 2015 (Wave 6), and in a drop-off questionnaire following the in-person 2017 data collection (Wave 7). RESULTS: Although both internet use and perceived computer skills were prospectively associated with knowledge and behaviors related to AD in bivariate analyses, after controlling for sociodemographics, only internet use was associated with more such knowledge (ß=.13, P<.001) and behaviors (ß=.22, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Internet use emerged as a prospective predictor of protective factors against AD. Policymakers should advance digital engagement so as to enhance knowledge on AD and preventive behaviors among older adults.

Do past and prospective adversities intersect? Distinct effects of cumulative adversity and the hostile-world scenario on functioning at later life.

Objectives: Studies have barely juxtaposed the effect of cumulative adversity over one's past life on health in later life with the related effect of one's actual or anticipated adversities. The latter adversities, anchored in the individual's present and future, are referred to by the concept of the hostile-world scenario (HWS). The aim of the current study was to examine the distinct effects of cumulative adversity and the HWS on changes in health over time using various markers of physical and mental health.Method: The study examined a subsample of 1,081 three-wave survivors drawn from SHARE-Israel using a cumulative adversity measure at Wave 1, a HWS measure at Wave 3, and six health markers at the three waves (with four-year intervals).Results: Cumulative adversity was associated with health markers at Wave 1, but it did not predict almost any short or long-term change in the health markers. The HWS showed unique associations with all concurrent health markers as well as with their changes over the last 8 years. In one emerging interaction, the advantage of lower HWS to better cognitive functioning decreased as cumulative trauma increased.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the dialectical experience of potential trauma survivors, combining both vulnerability and resilience in the face of past adversity and prospective challenges. It seems that the HWS has a significantly adaptive role in identifying one's functional status at present as well as functional changes that have occurred over time.

The association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health among middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men in Israel.

OBJECTIVES: The association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health (indicated by depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and happiness) was explored among Israeli middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men. METHOD: In a community-dwelling sample, 152 middle-aged and older gay men and 120 middle-aged and older heterosexual men at the age range of 50-87 (M = 59.3, SD = 7.5) completed measures of negative attitudes toward aging, depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and happiness. RESULTS: After controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, the association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health was moderated by sexual orientation, demonstrating that negative attitudes toward aging were more strongly associated with adverse mental health concomitants among middle-aged and older gay men compared to middle-aged and older heterosexual men. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest vulnerability of middle-aged and older gay men to risks of aging, as their mental health is markedly linked with their negative attitudes toward aging. This vulnerability should be addressed by clinicians and counselors who work with middle-aged and older gay men.

Interpersonal vulnerability among offspring of Holocaust survivors gay men and its association with depressive symptoms and life satisfaction.

The aim of the current study was to examine whether offspring of Holocaust survivors (OHS) gay men report higher interpersonal vulnerability in comparison to non-OHS gay men, and to further assess whether that vulnerability mediates the association between having a Holocaust background and mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms and life satisfaction). For this purpose, a community-dwelling sample of 79 middle-aged and older OHS and 129 non-OHS gay men completed measures of hostile-world scenario (HWS) in the interpersonal domain, satisfaction from current steady relationship, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Results indicated that OHS reported higher HWS interpersonal vulnerability and lower satisfaction from current relationship in comparison to non-OHS gay men. Also, having a Holocaust background had an indirect effect on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction through HWS interpersonal vulnerability as well as through satisfaction from current relationship. These findings are the first to suggest interpersonal vulnerability of older OHS, in comparison to non-OHS, gay men, and an association between this vulnerability and adverse psychological outcomes. This interpersonal vulnerability, possibly representing HWS threats of both early family-based trauma and current sexual minority stress, along with its implications, should be addressed by practitioners who work with older gay men having a Holocaust background.