Depression Illness Representations Among Arabs in Israel: a Qualitative Study Comparing Younger and Older Adults

Abo-Rass, Fareeda; Shinan-Altman, Shiri; Werner, Perla

doi:10.1007/s10823-020-09413-9

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Tree explanations may account for our fndings. First, the process of modernization in the Arab society in Israel has been shown to positively afect prevailing attitudes to mental illness, treatment, and stigma [22,23] and may therefore have also afected MHL positively. Second, most of our participants are women, with educational attainments higher than the average for the Arab society in Israel [30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We adopted this combined approach to data collection in order to make sure that not only Internet users completed the survey, but also potentially biasing our fndings. Conversely, we also sought to include participants who might have felt uneasy participating in a study on mental health in a stranger's presence, given the stigma on mental health prevalent in the Arab society [22,23].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mental Health Literacy among the Palestinian‐Arab Minority in Israel and Its Correlates with Mental Health Service Use

Abo-Rass

Abu-Kaf

2023

Perspectives in Psychiatric Care

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Background. Mental health literacy (MHL) has been proposed as a factor in facilitating the utilization of mental health services. This study examined MHL among the Palestinian-Arab minority in Israel, based on Jorm’s six-dimension framework, and the contribution of each MHL dimension to mental health service use. Methods. A cross-sectional study consisting of a convenience sample of 214 Palestinian-Arabs (Mage = 36.40 ± 10.77 years, 68.2% female), who completed measures of MHL, psychological distress, mental health service use, and sociodemographic characteristics. The differences between participants who reported using mental health services (30.38%) and those who did not were examined using t- and χ2 tests. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify service use determinants. Results. Participants reported moderate or high levels on all MHL dimensions. Compared to those who did not report mental health service use, those who did had significantly ( p < 0.001 ) higher MHL levels on three dimensions: knowledge of professional help available, knowledge of where to seek information, and attitudes that promote recognition or appropriate help-seeking behavior. The regression analysis indicated that the main determinants of mental health service use were psychological distress (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.44–2.01), knowledge of where to seek information (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.02–1.32), and attitudes that promote recognition or appropriate help-seeking behavior (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02–1.14). Practice implications. This study underlines MHL’s crucial role and indicates that it is not only objective characteristics or psychological distress that determine service use among Palestinian-Arabs in Israel. Rather, individuals’ knowledge of where to seek information and attitudes promoting recognition or help-seeking behavior are also important determinants. Interventions targeting these two MHL dimensions may help increase mental health service use among this population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Literacy among the Palestinian‐Arab Minority in Israel and Its Correlates with Mental Health Service Use

Abo-Rass

Abu-Kaf

2023

Perspectives in Psychiatric Care

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“…Affecting more than 264 million people of all ages across the globe (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020), and serving as a leading cause of disability, depression contributes greatly to the global burden of disease and is associated with various negative individual consequences such as impairment in activities of daily living (WHO, 2020). In recent decades, in an effort to reduce the disorder’s serious consequences, increased attention has been devoted to better understanding the perceptions of people diagnosed with depression, toward their disorder (Abo-Rass et al, 2020a; Baines & Wittkowski, 2013; Prins et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies that have examined IRs among individuals with depression have shown that they perceived the disorder as chronic, and as having many symptoms and negative consequences for their lives, but as being controllable nevertheless (Abo-Rass et al, 2020a; Antoniades et al, 2017; Baines & Wittkowski, 2013; Brown et al, 2007; Ward et al, 2014). In addition, in earlier studies, depression cognitive IRs were found to be significantly related to various health outcomes such as coping strategies, help seeking, and treatment adherence (Alderson et al, 2012; Baines & Wittkowski, 2013; Care & Kuiper, 2013; Glattacker et al, 2012; Hagerty et al, 2018; Ward et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression reported lower levels of HRQoL (Abo-Rass et al, 2020b), a finding that aligns with studies showing that individuals with depression from minority groups report lower levels of HRQoL (Daly et al, 2010; Trivedi et al, 2006). Moreover, although culture plays an important role in forming cognitive IRs (Diefenbach & Leventhal, 1996), to the best of our knowledge, only one qualitative study has assessed cognitive IRs among Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression (Abo-Rass et al, 2020a). The study’s findings indicated that depression cognitive IRs appeared to be associated with the Israeli Arabs’ unique cultural background, highlighting the importance of quantitatively examining cognitive IRs among this population specifically.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cognitive illness representations among Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression and their relationship with health-related quality of life

Abo-Rass

Werner

Shinan-Altman

2021

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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Background: The number of studies that have assessed cognitive illness representations among people diagnosed with depression, and their relationship to health outcomes, has clearly grown. Nevertheless, the relationship between cognitive illness representations and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has received very little research attention. Aims: This study examined cognitive illness representations, based on the self-regulation model (SRM), and the contribution of each dimension of these cognitive illness representations to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression. Methods: A convenience sample of 160 Israeli Arabs with depression completed measures of cognitive illness representations (identity, timeline, consequences, personal control, treatment control, and coherence), HRQoL, and sociodemographic and health characteristics. Results: Participants reported high levels of negative perceptions in the identity, timeline, and consequences dimensions, and moderate levels in the dimensions of personal control, treatment control, and coherence. Also, participants reported low levels of HRQoL. Identity, consequences, and coherence were found to be the main determinants of HRQoL. Conclusion: This study underlines the crucial role of the identity, consequences, and coherence dimensions in the HRQoL of individuals diagnosed with depression. The findings indicate that clinical interventions targeting cognitive illness representations of individuals with depression, and in particular identity, consequences, and coherence, might be helpful in improving the HRQoL of this population.

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Self-stigma formation process among younger and older Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression

Abo-Rass

Werner

Shinan-Altman

2020

Aging & Mental Health

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Depression Illness Representations Among Arabs in Israel: a Qualitative Study Comparing Younger and Older Adults

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Mental Health Literacy among the Palestinian‐Arab Minority in Israel and Its Correlates with Mental Health Service Use

Mental Health Literacy among the Palestinian‐Arab Minority in Israel and Its Correlates with Mental Health Service Use

Cognitive illness representations among Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression and their relationship with health-related quality of life

Self-stigma formation process among younger and older Israeli Arabs diagnosed with depression

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