Social Support and Psychological Distress among the Bedouin Arab Elderly in Israel: The Moderating Role of Gender

Abstract

In Israel, as in other developed countries, mental health problems are common among older adults who are members of disadvantaged ethnic minorities that are experiencing cultural and social changes. The main goals of the current study were: (a) to examine gender differences in the levels of psychological distress and social support among Bedouin elders, and (b) to examine the moderating role of gender in the associations between social support indices and psychological distress. We used a cross-sectional design, and independent t-tests and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed. The study was conducted in homes and in social clubs and community centers for elderly people and involved face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. A convenience sample of 170 Bedouin Arab elderly people living in Israel participated in the study. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that assessed psychological distress, perceived social support, instrumental social support, and socio-demographic characteristics. Male elders reported lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of instrumental support. Female elders, who reported low levels of both perceived and instrumental support, also reported higher levels of psychological distress. Among the women, there were significant associations between psychological distress and perceived social support, and instrumental support only when the levels of support were low. This study underscores the moderating role of gender in the associations between different types of social support and psychological distress among elderly people belonging to ethnic and cultural underprivileged minority groups.

Correlates of Caregiving Burden among Bedouin-Muslim Mothers of Children Diagnosed with Epilepsy

“…The mothers in this study reported a relatively high level of social support. This finding, consistent with other studies on the Bedouin society [ 53 , 64 ], might reflect the core values of a collectivistic culture. The negative association found between social support and CB is comparable to findings among parents of children diagnosed with epilepsy and other chronic conditions [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Job satisfaction and well-being among college-educated Bedouin Arab and ultra-Orthodox women in the Israeli workforce: the roles of individual, familial, communal, and organizational resources

“…The only resource that was found at a level lower than the midpoint of its scale was SOCC among the Bedouin Arab women and we can suggest two explanations for that finding. The first explanation is related to the rapid changes in the cultural values and norms, as well as in the social structure of Bedouin Arab society (Abu-Kaf et al 2020 , 2022 ). Those changes may affect the strong relationship between the individual and this community, particularly among more educated individuals (Braun-Lewensohn et al 2021b ).…”

“…This finding may be explained by the social structure and cultural values of Bedouin Arab society. Despite the cultural and the social changes in the Bedouin Arab society, it is still a socio-cultural context characterized by a high degree of power distance , which means accepting hierarchy and power relations (Abu-Kaf et al 2020 , 2022 ). In other words, Bedouin Arabs value authority figures, in general, and over the past two decades, professional authority figures have gained the status of authority figures within that society (Abu-Kaf et al 2020 , 2022 ; Kalagy et al 2021 ).…”

“…Despite the cultural and the social changes in the Bedouin Arab society, it is still a socio-cultural context characterized by a high degree of power distance , which means accepting hierarchy and power relations (Abu-Kaf et al 2020 , 2022 ). In other words, Bedouin Arabs value authority figures, in general, and over the past two decades, professional authority figures have gained the status of authority figures within that society (Abu-Kaf et al 2020 , 2022 ; Kalagy et al 2021 ). Inclusive managers who have high levels of awareness of their employees’ characteristics and backgrounds, act fairly toward them and their needs, and believe in their abilities and skills, are especially important for the job satisfaction levels of young Bedouin Arab women.…”

Empirical Analysis of Population Urbanization and Residents’ Life Satisfaction—Based on 2017 CGSS

“…Life satisfaction is not only the preferred index to describe happiness but also an important index to describe the quality of life [6], which can evaluate the individuals' life status at that period [7]. With the emergence of the global aging problem, sociological research has focused on the elder, paying closer attention to their demographic characteristics [8], physical health status [9], human capital [10], family capital [11], living environment [12] and social care [13] for the elderly. Some current research results show that with the increase in age, individual life satisfaction will significantly decrease [14], especially when there is economic tension in old age [15].…”