Coping with the Stress of Immigration among New Immigrants to Israel from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Who Were Exposed to Chernobyl: The Effect of Age

Abstract

This study examined the differential effect of age on coping and psychological measures among immigrants from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to Israel. Some of these immigrants originated in the Republics adjacent to the Chernobyl Power Plant, site of the 1986 accident. The sample consisted of 708 immigrants who were interviewed between the years 1993-1995 with an average age of 47.5 (sd 11.8). This sample was reinterviewed approximately a year and three months later (n = 520). The sample included two exposure groups--high exposed and low exposed based on the estimated levels of ground cesium contamination from the IAEA maps and a comparison group matched by age, gender, and year of immigration. Those over the age of sixty-five were disadvantaged, compared to those aged fifty to sixty-four, and younger, when it came to the tasks of immigrant absorption; learning the language, working and acquiring an income, and establishing alternative social networks which could offer support in times of illness. The psychological variables showed that over time, somatization, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms related to Chernobyl improved, however at a much slower pace for older immigrants (aged 55 and over) compared to younger ones.

Depression and anxiety disorders among Jews from the former Soviet Union five years after their immigration to Israel

“…One study concerned a selected group of immigrants who came from the Chernobyl area. The authors reported that the improvement in depressive symptoms over time (15 months) was slower among the elderly than among the non-elderly (Cwikel and Rozovski, 1998). Contrary to this, the results of the other study did not indicate age-related differences in psychological distress (Ritsner and Ponizovsky, 1998).…”

“…Other studies carried out among Russian immigrants to Israel (Cwikel and Rozovski, 1998;Ritsner and Ponizovsky, 1998) addressed the assessment of symptoms of distress, but not rates of clinical disorders, and did not control for time passed since immigration. Results were con¯icting.…”

Polysomnographically measured sleep abnormalities in PTSD: A meta‐analytic review

“…Consistent with this finding, PTSD symptom severity in former prisoners of war in WWII and the Korean War was negatively associated with their age at capture (Dikel, Engdahl, & Eberly, 2005). In contrast, older immigrants exposed to either the Oklahoma City bombing or the Chernobyl power plant accident (Trautman et al, 2002; Cwikel & Rozovski, 1998, respectively) were at greater risk of PTSD than were younger immigrants. Greater immigration‐related stress among older immigrants was hypothesized to be one of the factors associated with their increased vulnerability to PTSD (Cwikel & Rozovski, 1998).…”

Mental Health Consequences of the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Nuclear Disasters: A Scoping Review

“…In this review, there were 24 category A studies [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], 10 category B studies [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], and only 1 category C study [ 48 ]. The list of included studies is given in Supplementary Material 2 .…”