Family, migration, and psychosocial adjustment to illness

The present study examines the coping style of new immigrants in Israel from the former Soviet Union who have been diagnosed with cancer. One hundred and six new immigrants, who were being treated at the Linn Clinical Oncological Institute in Haifa during the first six months of 1992, participated in the study. They were assessed regarding family functioning, the stresses of the migratory process, other life stresses, and psychosocial adjustment to the illness. Contrary to expectations about the influence of family adaptability and cohesion on coping with illness, immigrant participants reported that the combination of stressful events related both to the migratory process and to the illness itself is the best predictor of coping with illness.