PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Levav

Publications and source records attributed to I Levav.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

[Epidemiologic bases of mental health programs for violent behavior].

This article reviews the "case for action" for mental health programs on violent behavior. Mortality statistics for the region of the Americas show that the potential years of life lost due to violent behavior-related causes of death are of higher magnitude than those due to malignancies and intestinal infections. The impact of deaths associated to violent behavior is discussed from the perspective of the grief process and the post-traumatic reactions in the survivors. The possible role of mental health professionals in the prevention of some types of violent behavior and its consequences is indicated.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1990

The epidemiology of demoralization in a kibbutz.

This article reports a true prevalence study of demoralization conducted in a kibbutz. This commune, which assures its members all their instrumental needs throughout the individual life span, is probably one of the few of its kind in the world. All adult members (n = 353) of a kibbutz affiliated with the most orthodox of the federations replied to a self-administered interview containing the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research interview 27-item Demoralization Scale. The response rate approached 95%. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using demoralization rates and mean scores as dependent variables. The overall prevalence of demoralization was 25%. Women exhibited higher rates and mean scores. There was a clear association between occupational prestige scores and demoralization in both sexes. Discussion is based on the comparison between the study findings and those published in the literature, both in terms of the overall results and their pattern of association with key sociodemographic variables.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Mental health attitudes and practices of Soviet immigrants.

A survey of mental health knowledge, attitudes and help-seeking practices was conducted with 415 Soviet immigrants to Israel. The purpose of the study was two-fold: to provide data for mental health services and outreach programs designed for this immigrant group and to obtain a "proxy window" into these attitudes and behaviors in the Soviet Union itself. The results show that almost 20% of the immigrants reported consultation to formal agents in Israel and about half of these reported similar consultation in the USSR. An almost equal proportion consulted the family. Univariate and multivariate analysis show that demoralization, marital status, and religiosity were significantly associated with help-seeking. The second part of the survey explored Soviet immigrant attitudes to mental illness and the mentally ill by means of case vignettes and social situations, respectively. The respondents were able to detect abnormal behavior, but did not label it as psychopathology. Their overall tolerance of such behavior was low. These attitudes did not change over time nor seem to be influenced by reported abuses of psychiatry in the USSR.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Suicide in Israel: crossnational comparisons.

A comparison of rates of completed suicide is made among different national and religious groups in Israel. Rates are higher for Jews than for Arabs. Psychological and sociocultural hypotheses are used to attempt to explain these findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

The epidemiology of suicide in Israel: international and intranational comparisons.

A comparison of overall rates of completed suicide is made between Israel and selected European and North American countries. Rates for Israel are generally lower. A second comparison is made among different national-religious groups in Israel. Rates are higher for Jews than for the Muslim minority. An explanation is attempted for both sets of findings.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1989

Somatic symptoms among older Soviet immigrants: an exploratory study.

This exploratory study investigates the overlap of somatization and depressive symptoms among older Jewish-Soviet immigrants to the United States. It has been suggested that this group has depression often masked by somatic complaints. In order to test this hypothesis fifty-five respondents completed the Symptom Checklist 90, PERI Demoralization Scale and the Social Support Network Inventory. The somatization subscale was found to be significantly higher among older Soviet immigrants than in a depressed group, yet the depression subscale was significantly lower. Compared to a group of normal controls both the depression and somatization subscales were significantly elevated. Somatization, depression, and demoralization were elevated in Soviet immigrants. The results of this study are discussed in the context of the available literature on cross-cultural psychiatry and somatization. The clinical relevance of these findings is highlighted.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1989

[Mental health for all in Latin America and the Caribbean. Epidemiologic bases for action].

The aim of this study was to estimate the needs for mental health services in Latin America and the Caribbean by the year 2000. Two types of data were used: statistics on mortality due to psychosocial and psychopathological causes, and data on psychiatric morbidity which were extrapolated from a study on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Puerto Rico. As a result of a rise in the prevalence of certain psychiatric disorders that lead to death, particularly those that involve violence, it is predicted that gross mortality from these causes will increase by 11.2% between 1985 and the year 2000. Parallel to this trend will be an increase in the number of years of potential life lost. In addition, it is estimated that 88.3 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean will suffer specific psychiatric disorders. This figure represents an increase of 48.1% over 1985. There will also be a rise in the gross prevalence figures for this group of disorders. There is no question that the predicted population growth differential will have a serious impact on the demand for mental health services. The worsening of socioeconomic conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean, coupled with other social factors, may cause the increases to be even greater. Health authorities, administrators, planners, and professionals will need to allow for this increased demand for services if the goal of mental health for all is to be attained by the year 2000.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

An epidemiologic study of mortality among bereaved parents.

To study the health consequences of parental bereavement, we compared the mortality in two groups of bereaved Israeli parents with that in the general population. One cohort comprised the parents of all 2518 soldiers 18 to 40 years of age who were killed during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The second consisted of the parents of 1128 men 18 to 30 years of age who died in accidents between 1971 and 1975. Both groups were followed through 1983. The comparison population was the entire population of Jewish Israelis for which sex-, age-, and calendar year-specific mortality rates were available. The 10-year age-adjusted life-table mortality was higher among fathers whose sons died in accidents rather than in war (P = 0.045), but mortality did not differ significantly between the two groups of mothers. Overall, we found no excess mortality among the bereaved parents as compared with the general population. The standardized mortality ratios for the fathers and mothers of sons killed at war were 0.91 and 0.90, respectively; for fathers and mothers whose sons died by accident, they were 1.04 and 0.91, respectively. None were significantly different from unity. There was no consistent evidence of an elevated risk of death, early or late, after the loss. Widowed and divorced parents who lost a son did have increased mortality, which was statistically significant in mothers. Our findings provide no support for the hypothesis that the loss of an adult son is associated with increased short-term or long-term mortality in married parents.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

[Intervention technics in the community: community diagnosis].

The practice of community mental health care demands the introduction of suitable models of intervention. Community medicine, which has preceded the development of community mental health, offers operative models based on epidemiologic concepts and techniques. This paper analyses the different components of community diagnosis, a necessary step in the process of community intervention. A practical example illustrates the use of the latter by the mental health worker.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1988

Screening for depressive symptoms among the elderly in Israel. A reliability and validity study.

The Hadassah Elderly Depression Screening Scale (HEDSS)--a modified version of Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale and Beck's Depression Index--was developed for use among the elderly in Israel. In a sample of 183 elderly residents of Jerusalem, the scale proved to be highly reliable and able to differentiate between persons diagnosed as depressed and those defined as healthy. Moreover, it was found to be valid among subpopulations grouped by sex, education and ethnicity. Various cutoff points were tested for targeting screening at specific populations.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Life stress and psychopathology: progress on research begun with Barbara Snell Dohrenwend.

This is a progress report on some of the research that was planned and begun with Barbara Dohrenwend before she died in 1982. The main focus is on two of the studies. One was conducted in New York City; the other is still underway in Israel. The New York study is a retrospective case/control study of social and psychological factors that may put people at risk for developing schizophrenic episodes and episodes of major depression. The Israel research consists of epidemiological, case/control, and family studies of these two disorders together with other types of psychopathology that are inversely related to social class. Preliminary findings from both studies are reported, and their implications for primary prevention are discussed.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1987

The etiology of schizophrenia: a replication test of the social selection vs. the social causation hypotheses.

A quasi-experimental design was used to test the social causation-social selection hypotheses for the etiology of schizophrenic disorders. It was based on first admissions to psychiatric in-patient facilities for Jerusalem Jewish residents aged 15 years and over. Data were extracted from hospital charts; diagnoses were made based on the NHSI, DSM III and RDC classificatory systems. The results showed that among the lower class the ethnically advantaged had higher rates of schizophrenic disorders than the ethnically disadvantaged. The results were statistically significant when the ethnic contrast was maximized. Though the results support the social selection hypothesis, social stress factors are not entirely ruled out.

Educational Status↗
PubMed1986

The use of khat. An epidemiological study in two Yemenite villages in Israel.

Chewing of khat leaves has been noted to be widespread in Yemen. Immigrants to Israel brought that practice along and have kept it alive ever since their initial settlement over thirty years ago. The small epidemiological study reported here made an inquiry into the extent of khat use in two agricultural villages. It also explored the association of that practice with social and psychiatric variables. Of interest was the finding that--contrary to most addictions--the prevalence rate of psychopathology was not higher among users than among abstainers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Emotional distress among concentration camp survivors--a community study in Jerusalem.

Three hundred and eighty former concentration camp inmates were identified and interviewed in the course of a community health survey in Jerusalem. A set of 8 questions derived from the Cornell Medical Index was used as an index of emotional distress. The concentration camp survivors had a higher prevalence of emotional distress and more symptoms of this type than other European-born members of the community, controlling for age and education. The findings suggested that 16.0% of the emotional distress observed in male camp survivors and 22.9% of that among female camp survivors could be attributed to the camp experience almost three decades after the Holocaust. In this survey, data were elicited in a context unrelated to benefit-seeking such as clinic or compensation claims.

Concentration Camps↗