Y. Lerner et N. Zilber, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG RECENT IMMIGRANTS FROM THE FORMER SOVIET-UNION TO ISRAEL .2. THE EFFECTS OF THE GULF-WAR, Psychological medicine, 26(3), 1996, pp. 503-510
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.