This analysis examined mortality among late-life Soviet Jewish immigrants in Israel, and the contribution of post-migration work status to their survival. The study linked 1997 survey data to mortality records, seven years hence. The results revealed that mortality was associated with older age, male gender, morbidity, and having less resourceful social networks. More importantly, after controlling for these background variables work status remained a significant correlate. Late-life immigrants who had never worked in the host country had a significantly greater risk of death than their immigrant counterparts who had ever worked (or were still working).

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Intimate partner homicide is a major public health concern around the world and the most lethal outcome of domestic violence. Its impact on the surviving bereaved offspring is immense, yet there is a significant gap in the literature regarding the long-term effects of this type of loss. The current qualitative study is aimed at filling this gap. The study used the constructivist paradigm of bereavement as a theoretical background to reveal the meanings constructed by bereaved Israeli daughters whose biological mothers were killed in acts of intimate partner homicide by their biological fathers. Three main themes of meaning emerged from 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews: “destruction of one’s home”; “blast injury”; and “in doubt”. An examination of the three themes in the current study reveals a deep shatter in participants’ world of meaning to its very basic foundations. In light of intense psychological and social forces, the participants constructed and reconstructed such narratives of meaning in a continuous process of meaning making throughout their lives, years, and decades post loss. Derived from the findings are implications for practice. Mental healthcare professionals must attend to this basic shatter with an extreme level of caution, as they help homicide survivors reconstruct a world of meaning shattered by loss. Moreover, the long-lasting effects emphasize an appropriate legal and political involvement; specifically, policy regulations and rights should provide psychosocial care programs that are suited to the needs of offspring co-victims of intimate partner homicide in particular. In light of the strong social influence on participants’ loss experience, further efforts are required to raise social awareness about this burning social concern and to fight the stigmatization of co-victims of homicide in general and co-victims of intimate partner homicide in particular.

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Objectives To identify mental health prospective trajectories before and after a second lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associations with somatic symptoms. Design Prospective Study. Setting Population-based study drawn from a probability-based internet panel of over 100 000 Israelis. Participants Adults aged 18 years or more, representative of the adult Israeli population. The participants were measured at two time points (time 1 (T1) pre-second lockdown N=1029; response rate=76.17%; time 2 (T2) post-second lockdown N=764; response rate=74.24%). Main outcome measures Trajectories of anxiety and adjustment disorder based on clinical cut-off score for probable diagnoses across T1-T2, somatic symptoms at T2. The four trajectories: stable-low, (no probable diagnosis), stable-high (stable probable diagnosis), exacerbation (no probable diagnosis at T1, probable diagnosis at T2), recovery (probable diagnosis at T1, no probable diagnosis at T2). Results Three anxiety trajectories predicted probable somatic symptoms (stable-high OR=6.451; exacerbation OR=5.379; recovery OR=2.025) compared with the stable-low trajectory. The three adjustment disorder trajectories also predicted somatic symptoms (stable-high OR=4.726; exacerbation OR=6.419; recovery OR=4.666) compared with the stable-low trajectory. Conclusions Our data show elevated somatic symptoms among those whose mental health trajectories were poor, exacerbated and those who recovered following the second lockdown. The presentation of somatic symptoms may mask psychological vulnerabilities, even among those who appear to have recovered from the stressor. This indicates that lockdown may be a double-edged sword and should be carefully administered given these populations vulnerabilities.