the immigration of english

THE IMMIGRATION OF ENGLISHSPEAKERS TO ISRAEL: 1981 & 1983 Michael Roskin* Jeffrey L. Edleson** ABSTRACT

[New immigrants represent a population at risk for increased emotional distress frequency of major life changes they experience. Utilizing emotional health this study describes the differing effects of immigration scores, SCL-9&sl0; upon 162 recent English-speaking immigrants to Israel and compares them to the results of a similar study of 135 immigrants completed in 1981. In contrast to the 1981 study sample, it was found that among 1983 immigrants : (1) longer stays in immigrant absorption centers were not necessarily correlated with decreasing emotional health; (2) American immigrants were no different than other English-speakers on measures of emotional health; and (3) separation problems were considered the area of greatest difficulty compared to the earlier immigrants’ claim that interactions with the complex Israeli bureaucracy was its most difficult adjustment. In both groups greater emotional health was associated with the presence of at least one relative or friend upon arrival in the country]. due to the number and

As the internal and external situations of various nations and regions of the

A~ ~

world change, so do the tensions, positive and negative, that motivate individuals to migrate. This is particularly true of the English-speaking immigrant to Israel who must consider not only the political both

situation of the Middle East but his or her commitment to various religious and nationalistic values and the internal situation of nations as diverse as South Africa, New Zealand, Britain and the United States to mention a few. own

This

ing

identify the changEnglish-speaking immigration and, more generally, the changing

study attempts

.n~ature of

to Israel

to

impact of the immigration process upoz~ new immigrants’ emotional health. Such information will hopefully lead to the development to utilizatian of appropriate winterventions aimed at preventing emotional disturbance among new immigrants. samples of English-speaking immigrants compared here. The first is a were living in immigrant absorpgroup who tion centers in and around the city of Jerusalem in 1981 ~~ The second sample consists of 162 new English-speaking immigrants living in the same absorption centers Two

are

in 1983. The emotional health of both groups is compared and contrasted.

* Hadassah Medical Organization, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Running head: Israeli Immigration 1981 & 1983. **University of Minnesota, Running head: Israeli Immigration 1981 & 1983. 1. The authors would like to acknowledge and especially thank Phillip Heller and Robert Mednick for providing and securing the funding for this project, and also to thank Chana Pesach and Pamela Deutsch for helping to bring this

study

to

fruition.

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2 The process of immigration brings about and frequent changes in a person’s life over a very short period of time. The research on life changes has pointed out that the greater the number and the more frequent the changes in an individual’s life, the greater the potential for emotional and physical illness.2-7 numerous

have severed their previous social ties and usually have few social support systems upon which to depend during resettlement. Studies of individuals during life changes indicate that those with fewer social ties and support systems experience greater emotional distress than those experiencing the same life changes but having a larger support networks.8,9

Immigrants

time. In fact, this transition appears so stressful that a large number of English-

speaking immigrants return to the country previous residence.10 Thus, the questions this comparative study

of their

seeks to answer include; (1) &dquo;What are the behavioral expressions of new immigrants shortly following the act of immigration?&dquo; and (2) &dquo;What conclusions can be drawn regarding the changing risk for decreased emotional health among this group of immigrants ?&dquo; By answering these questions, we hope to identify the various types of immigrants and immigrant ’ problems that will most likely be effected by varying types of preventive interventions.

METHOD Due to the number and

frequency of stressful life changes they experience and because of the few social networks upon which they are able to depend, immigrants represent a population at risk of increased emotional distress. Immigrants, therefore, represent a group of individuals that may benefit from a program aimed at preventing the onset of emotional distress during immigration and resettlement. Before developing such a preventive program it is necessary to more clearly understand the impact of immigration upon targeted populations. As stated above, the focus of this study on one of many new immigrant groups settling in Israel. It focuses upon immigrants from English-speaking countries who have, on their own, decided to resettle in Israel. Relative to other immigrants, this group possesses greater personal and financial resources and, as such, represents immigrants resettling under some of the best is

possible conditions. major

matter

life

changes

The 1983 cohort consisted of 162 immigrants of whom 4~.5% were male, 85% married and 71% orthodox in religious practice. This was almost identical to the 1981 cohort of 135 immigrants of whom 44% were male, 82% married and 70% orthodox. Both groups were close in age and their number of offspring- In 1983 the average immigrant was 33.2 years old averaging 1.49 children while in 1981 the average age was 33 years with 1.68 children. As in 1981 when 62% of the English-speaking sample was from the United States, in 1983, 61 % claimed the United States as their country of origin. The immigrants interviewed in 1981 had been in Israel ten months on the average

10.39, median - 5:94 months) when interviewed. This compares to the 1983 cohort who had been in Israel eight months

{~

_‘

the average when interviewed 7X- = 8.18 = 4.86 months). One-third of both samples had visited Israel from one to three times prior to immigrating. on

what the conditions, the immigration process still involves a series of No

Subjects

over a

short

period

of

months, median

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‘

3 In summary, the typical subject in both samples was in his or her early thirties, married with one or two children and orthodox in his or her religious beliefs. He or she would most likely be American with family or a close friend already residing in Israel.

Differences between the cohorts were noted in Hebrew speaking ability. In the 1983 cohort, 18% were beginning Hebrew speakers and 57% claimed adv.anced knowledge of the language. This compared to the 1981 group in which 33% claimed beginning and 49% advanced knowledge of Hel~rew., : Measurement Procedures All subjects completed (1) the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) reported by Derogatis and his colleagues and (2) a questionnaire

requesting demographic and immigration information as well as asking for information concerning problems confronted during immigration.&dquo;1 Symptom Checklist. The SCL-90 requires subjects rate each of 90 symptom statements using a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). The checkthat

list asks &dquo;How much discomfort has this item caused you during the past seven days including today?&dquo; Examples of symptom statements include &dquo;Feeling critical of others,&dquo; Difficulty making decisions’ and &dquo;Nausea or upset stomach.&dquo;

The empirically validated dimensions of emotional health measured by the SCL-90 include: depression, anxiety, somatic equivalents of anxiety, obs~ssive9eompulsi~en~ess and interpersonal sensitivity. These dimensions have been empirically established and validated in a series of clinical investigations involving over 2,500 individual patients and non-patients)2,13

The empirically validated dimensions of emotional health measured by the SCL-90 include : depression, anxiety, somatic equivalents of anxiety, obsessive-compulsiveness and interpersonal sensitivity. These dhnensions have been empirically established and validated in a series of clinical investigations involving over 2,500 individual patients and Additional subscales innon-paflents,12>13 ‘

clude paranoia, psychotic symptoms, phobic reactions and hostility as well as three overall scales.

Questionnaire. A questionnaire designed

by

the authors elicited information on vari-

demographic characteristics, language ability, date of and reasons for immigration. Three additional questions related to the problematic interpersonal situations with which the subjects were confronted during immigration and how these situations were ous

handled. RESULTS All subjects were asked to rank the factors involved in adjusting to the new country in order of difficulty. In 1981, the greatest difhculty involved cross-cultural interactions, the next separation from their community of

origin and, thirdly, financial problems. In 1983, this order changed. The area rated most dif~cu3t was separation followed by financial concerns and, in third place, cultural-bureaucratic problems. more recent sample no difference found between most di;~’zcult area of adjustment and measures of emotional health. This is different than the reports of

In the

were

the 1981 sample where those reporting cultural-bureaucratic problems as their greatest area of difficulty were generally more emotionally distressed (higher scores) than other immigrants.

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4

TABLE 1 Friend

or

Relative in Country and Emotional Health of 1983 Immigrant

n==118, df==U7, data

.. p

was

incomplete

on

44

Sample

subjects.