Substance abuse studies and prevention efforts among Arabs in the 1990s in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority‐a literature review

Abstract

This paper is the result of a collaborative project of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian scientists gathered to reveal the current extent of substance abuse and efforts at prevention among Arabs in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority territories, in order to identify needs and suggest future collaborative activities and directions for regional cooperation. The article provides data and covers the current state of substance abuse prevention and research among Moslems, Christians and Druze in the trilateral region in the 1990s by reviewing prevention materials and studies published in the professional literature, as well as in reports and Doctoral and Master's theses in Arabic, which have been located in academic libraries and other institutions, in the framework of a comprehensive search. This manuscript is the first to summarize Jordanian and Palestinian findings in the substance abuse domain. The review shows that most of the Israeli research in the Arab sector deals with alcohol use among youth, that the majority of Jordanian studies focus on illicit drug use, that the research among Palestinians is in its infancy, and that comprehensive prevention programs are lacking in the trilateral region. It describes the key results of most of the 12 Israeli studies among Arabs, 11 Jordanian studies and four Palestinian studies. It reveals that drug abuse among Israeli Arab students is probably more prevalent than among Jewish adolescents, that the typical Jordanian drug addict has a higher level of education than the typical Palestinian drug addict, and that the Palestinian is more likely to be a multiple drug user. Recommendations for future activities include organization of a regional collaborative workshop in order to establish data collection systems for basic statistics relevant to drug abuse and development of comprehensive prevention programs, as well as studies in the substance abuse domain concerning knowledge, attitudes and behavior among the general Arab population.

Hazardous and Harmful Alcohol Consumption Among Non-Psychotic Psychiatric Clinic Attendees in Oman

“…Therefore dependence on alcohol would be expected to be rare in such societies (cited in Mandelbaum, 1965, p.281). On contrary, this preliminary study, together with others from similar societies (Rissel et al, 2000;Bilal et al, 1987;Hafeiz, 1995;Weiss, Sawa, Abdeen, & Yanai, 1999), unequivocally suggests the existence of harmful drinking among Arab/Islamic populations. It needs to be noted that clinical populations cannot always be generalized to the general public.…”

Druze Adolescent Dropouts in Israel and Their Use of Psychoactive Substances

“…The personality variables examined were linked with the use of alcohol. This lends partial support to the reported link 10 F. Azaiza et al between mental health and maladaptive behaviors (Weiss, Sawa, Abdeen & Yanai, 1999). An important limitation that should be noted is that data collection in this study was based on self-reports and was therefore subject to some inconsistencies in perception and to possible misunderstandings.…”

“…However, the past few decades have seen many changes in the lifestyle and socioeconomic circumstances of this population as well as some changes in the status of women (Weiner-Levy, 2006). Exposure to the Jewish-Israeli population and to western culture in everyday life and through the media leads to the perception that behaviors typical of western cultures are modern and desirable (Weiss et al, 1999). Such behaviors may be adopted almost blindly by adolescents (Abu-Rukun, 2006).…”

Considering Cultural and Religious Perspectives When Conducting Health Behavior Research with Jordanian Adolescents

“…However, it is essential to examine the extent of illicit drug use, predisposing factors, and desired attributes before designing intervention programs. 48 It is possible to use proxy measures for health behaviors unlikely to be directly reported by Middle Easterners, for instance, alcohol intake. As noted above, some researchers have accessed autopsy and death certificates and arrest records from law enforcement agencies to estimate the extent of risky health practices leading to accidents, injury, and death.…”