Dorit Segal-Engelchin

MICRO- OR MACRO-ORIENTATION? ISRAELI STUDENTS' CAREER INTERESTS IN AN ANTISOCIAL ERA

The growing interest in social work education in Israel over the past 5 years, despite its current social and political context, was the impetus for this study, which attempted to identify the practice orientations of 119 incoming BSW students in an antisocial era. Two distinct, equal-size clusters were found. Half of the students were micropractice oriented, indicating greater interest in working with individuals, couples, and families. The other half were macropractice oriented, more interested in working with communities and in policy-practice and social change activities. Conclusions and implications for social work education are discussed.

Transitions in First-Year Students' Initial Practice Orientations

This study investigates the impact of the first-year program on the initial practice orientations of 2 distinct, equal-sized clusters of entering BSW students: micro-oriented and macro-oriented students. Results indicate that the proportion of students reporting a micro-practice orientation increased from 53.2% to 62.4% between the beginning and end of the year, whereas the proportion of students expressing a strong interest in macro-level practice decreased from 46.8% to 37.6%. At the end of the year, students interested in macro-level practice were also found to be interested in micro-level practice, indicating their generalist practice orientation. The findings are discussed in the light of 3 different approaches, which together provide a deeper understanding of the factors associated with students’ professional socialization.

Implications of ethnic group origin for Israeli women's mental health.

Israel is an immigrant society comprised of diverse ethnic groups differentiated by variables such as emigration history, health status, educational level, and economic status. The major question addressed in this study is whether differences in women’s mental health status are related to ethnic group origin, per se, or rather can be explained by the associated social-demographic strata. The impact of ethnic group origin, social support, health status, education, and economic difficulties was assessed on a set of mental health outcomes. The analysis was carried out in a random sample of 522 women residing in the Negev region of Israel—a culturally diverse area. The findings indicate that social support, economic status, health status, and ethnic group origin all contribute to shaping women’s mental health status.

Gay Men Choosing to Co-Parent with Heterosexual Women

Little is known about openly gay men who elect to conceive and raise children jointly with a heterosexual woman outside of marriage. Drawing on in-depth interviews with nine Israeli gay fathers who are co-parenting with a heterosexual woman, this study examines the factors associated with their unique family choice and the characteristics these men sought in selecting the mother. The findings revealed three key motivations for establishing a hetero-gay family: belief in the essential mother, belief in biological parenting, and the belief that the childs best interests dictate having two parents of the opposite sex. These beliefs, along with seeking co-parents with maternal attributes, reflect traditional attitudes and a wish to reproduce the traditional family. At the same time, however, these men all planned on being “new,” actively involved fathers who shoulder child-rearing responsibilities. Possible implications of holding concurrently traditional and progressive attitudes are discussed.

Mothers’ Coping Styles During Times of Chronic Security Stress: Effect on Health Status

In this study, we investigated the coping behaviors used by Israeli mothers to manage various sources of stress, including security-related stress, based on a life-course perspective of womens health. A random telephone survey of 302 mothers who had children under age 18 living at home was conducted in the Negev area. Measures of stress such as domestic violence, sources of tension in everyday life, and time pressure were assessed together with indicators of exposure to the Intifada for their relationship to indicators of physiological health and depression. Factor analysis revealed three distinct coping styles: social–leisure style, loosening control style, and a restlessness style which were used by 91.4%, 68.5%, and 69.5% of the sample, respectively. Security-related stress was associated with greater reported health symptoms, particularly gynecological symptoms. A history of child abuse and domestic violence and exposure to the Intifada were associated with greater depressive symptoms, but not with physical health indicators. Other sources of stress particularly affected symptoms related to gynecological function. Most mothers used a variety of coping strategies during times of chronic security stress, some of which are health promoting and others that detract from health.

Quality of life of single mothers by choice in Israel : A comparison to divorced mothers and married mothers

Abstract Although single motherhood by choice has become more common in the last three decades, little is known about the influence of this family structure on the quality of life of mothers. To address this gap, the current study examined the quality of life profile of 61 single mothers by choice (SMC) in comparison to that of 53 divorced and 60 married mothers in Israel. The findings indicate similarities between the three groups in the psychological, physical, social, and cultural components of quality of life. However, after controlling for economic and paternal involvement variables, the quality of life of SMC was significantly higher in all four components compared to that of married mothers. No significant differences were found between the SMC and divorced mothers.

The Hetero-Gay Family: An Emergent Family Configuration

Abstract The hetero-gay family is a relatively new family configuration that is headed by a heterosexual mother and gay father who conceive and raise children together, although residing separately. This article presents the unique characteristics of hetero-gay families and the potential implications for child development of growing up in a het-ero-gay family. Recent research on non-marital motherhood and fatherhood among gay men is used to inform the debate. Comparisons of hetero-gay families to other family configurations help highlight central issues and offer directions for future research.

Having It All? Unmarried Women Choosing Hetero-Gay Families

The study presented here considered heterosexual women who chose to conceive and raise children together with gay men outside marriage. In-depth interviews with 10 Israeli mothers who had established hetero-gay families revealed their motivations for choosing this family configuration and the characteristics they sought in the fathers. The findings revealed that the women maintained traditional values with respect to the ideal parental model, two-gender parenting, and the attributes they sought for the coparents of their children. Rather than overtly challenge institutional patriarchy, these women chose to establish an alternative family that circumvented patriarchal impositions.

The contribution of negative reproductive experiences and chronic medical conditions to depression and pain among Israeli women.

This study of 302 Israeli women sought to investigate the associations among stressful reproductive experiences (e.g. fertility problems, abortions, and traumatic births), chronic medical conditions, pain, and depression. The specific aims of the study were to examine (1) the effect of stressful reproductive experiences, chronic medical conditions, and pain on depressive symptoms and (2) the effect of stressful reproductive experiences, chronic medical conditions, and depressive symptoms on pain. Our findings corroborate with previous studies demonstrating that depression and pain are two interrelated, but different phenomena, which have both common and distinct risk factors. The findings are discussed in the light of stress and adaptation theories that point to the long-term effects of stressful life events on emotional and physiological aspects such as depression and pain.

The Experience of Early Marriage Perspectives of Engaged and Married Muslim Women in Israel

The negative impact of early marriage on girls’ psychosocial well-being is well documented in the literature, but little is known about the girls’ motivations and experiences within marriage. A phenomenological case study approach, combining artwork and semi-structured interviews, was used to investigate the motivations and experiences of early marriage among 10 engaged and married young Muslim women who married young in Israel. The findings regarding the engaged women point to their decision to use marriage as a way to fulfill their need for freedom, their wish to experience love in a culturally respectable frame, and to escape from poverty and from difficult family. Conversely, the married women’s narratives point to the heavy price and limited benefits of early marriage, in creating intense new problems and not providing relief from former problems. The regret over having not studied, intense loneliness, lack of money, and the search for a more respect-based marriage are predominant themes. The financial and social motivations for marriage found among the women studied suggest that in their decision to marry young, they were not passive victims of love or society but were rather taking an active pragmatic decision within the very limited options open to them.