PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG RECENT IMMIGRANTS FROM THE FORMER SOVIET-UNION TO ISRAEL .2. THE EFFECTS OF THE GULF-WAR

The psychological effects of the Gulf War were studied on a group of I sraeli civilians particularly at risk, viz. recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. A quasi-experimental design was used. A sample o f immigrants who had already been screened for psychological distress just before the war were reassessed after the war with the same instru ment (PERI demoralization questionnaire). Various parameters related t o the war period were also assessed. Psychological symptoms during the war were significantly associated with pre-war level of distress and with actual physical harm from the missiles, but not with exposure to danger (proximity of residence to areas hit by missiles). Correlates o f behaviour in the face of life-threatening danger during the war (cha nge of residence and help-seeking behaviour) were also identified. Ove rall the level of post-war psychological distress was not found to be higher than pre-war levels. This was explained by the immigrants' feel ings of shared fate, belonging and sense of cohesion, which characteri ze the general Israeli population during war time.