Psychopathological aspects of the Ethiopian immigration to Israel

Of the 352 adult Ethiopian Jews who live in the city of Netanya and who immigrated to Israel during the last few years, 87 were examined for evaluation of psychopathology symptoms and also to verify which factors of their immigration and which absorption conditions were related to their psychopathology. The Physician's Outpatient Psychopathology Scale (211-POPS), as well as three other self-rating scales--The Satisfaction Scale, The Events en route to Israel Scale, and The Frequency of Visits to Family Physician Clinics Scale--were completed with the assistance of well-trained Ethiopian interviewers in the homes of the Ethiopian immigrants. The results prove that a high incidence of psychopathology still existed even after 5 years of residence in Israel. The main topics of dissatisfaction (more than 60% of the sample), in order of severity, were their level of fluency in Hebrew, their financial situation, the attitude of the religious institutions towards the Ethiopian community, and the degree of observance of religious customs in Israel. It was found that a high level of psychopathology was related to a high level of suffering on the journey to Israel. It was also found that psychopathology usually declined with the length of residence in Israel. A high incidence of psychopathology was found to be related to an increase in age and to a low level of education.