War-Time Stress and Sexual Well-Being in Israel.

Objective: This study explored the relationship between war-related stressors and sexual well-being among a civilian population during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, emphasizing a comprehensive assessment of sexual satisfaction, function, and distress. We aimed to investigate how direct exposure, media exposure, and acute stress symptoms during the war contribute to various dimensions of sexual well-being using a quasi-longitudinal online survey method. Methods: An online survey with a convenience sample of 1033 Israeli adults, utilizing measures of direct and media exposure to war stress, acute stress symptoms, and various aspects of sexual well-being, both pre-war and present was distributed. Data analysis involved Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression. Results: There were significant associations between stress-related variables and sexual well-being, highlighting the differential contribution of direct exposure, media exposure, and acute stress symptoms. Direct exposure to stress was uniquely associated with sexual dysfunction, while media exposure and acute stress symptoms contributed significantly to predicting various aspects of sexual well-being. Conclusions: Recognizing the multifaceted impact of stress during wartime on sexual well-being is crucial for developing comprehensive mental health interventions that address individual and societal factors. This study contributes valuable insights into the relationships between stress-related variables and sexual well-being during wartime, emphasizing the need for holistic approaches in addressing the intimate challenges individuals face during times of conflict.

The Moderating Effect of Religiousness on the Relation Between Sexual Guilt and Shame and Well-Being Among Jewish Religious Single Men.

Jewish religious singles may feel guilty and ashamed due to sexual behaviors that violate religious law, such as pre-matrimony sexual relations, viewing pornography, and masturbation. This study examined the relation between sexual guilt and shame (SGS) and psychological well-being, and whether this relation was moderated by level of religiousness. It was hypothesized that SGS would be negatively related to psychological well-being and that this relation would be stronger at higher levels of religiousness compared to lower levels of religiousness. Participants were single young-adult men (N = 165, Mage = 23.3) belonging to the national-orthodox Jewish community in Israel who completed online questionnaires. SGS was positively associated with anxiety and depression and negatively associated with life satisfaction. Additionally, the relations between SGS and measures of psychological well-being were moderated by the level of religiousness. However, contrary to the hypothesized moderation effect, SGS was positively related to negative psychological consequences and negatively related to life satisfaction at a low level of religiousness, whereas at a high level of religiousness no significant relationship between SGS and the psychological outcome measures was found. These findings may indicate that there may be adaptive elements in religion that can help an individual cope with SGS, and thus to negate its detrimental effects on psychological well-being.

Development of a scale quantifying expectations regarding active processes in therapy: The Expectations of Active Processes in Psychotherapy Scale (EAPPS).

Despite accumulating theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field of process research in psychotherapy, not much is known about individuals' expectations of the mechanisms that produce change in psychotherapy. In this article we present the Expectations of Active Processes in Psychotherapy Scale (EAPPS), aimed to assess and quantify psychotherapy process expectations derived from current process constructs. Two studies with a total of 381 participants were conducted in order to assess the scale factor structure, reliability, and validity. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a seven-factor structure, which consisted of dimensions related to the patient-therapist relationship, the secure exploration of sensitive personal contents, and specific functions of the therapeutic process. The derived factors were found to have satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and were correlated with clinically relevant variables as well as other expectations scales, thus supporting the scale's convergent validity. The EAPPS can allow an in-depth examination of the effects of psychotherapy process expectations on therapy outcomes, as well as their mediating effects through patients' ongoing evaluations of the therapeutic process.

Moderating Effects of Religiousness and Marriage Duration on the Relation Between Sexual and Marital Satisfaction Among Jewish Women.

This study examined the moderating effects of religiousness and relationship duration on the association between sexual and marital satisfaction. For this purpose, 240 married Jewish women-religious and secular-responded to an online survey. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that religiousness moderated the association between sexual and marital satisfaction which was found to be stronger for secular women than for religious women. Relationship duration also moderated the association between sexual and marital satisfaction which was found to be stronger for longer marital duration than for shorter marital duration. In addition, a significant three-way interaction (religiousness × relationship duration × sexual satisfaction) was also found where the association between the two types of satisfaction was stronger for religious women married for a longer time in comparison with those married for a shorter time. For secular women, relationship duration did not moderate the relation between sexual and marital satisfaction. An explanation based on differences in the manner in which religious and secular women perceive and relate to the sexual aspects of their marital relationship at different stages of the marriage is offered.

Religious support, motives for having large families, and psychological functioning among religious Jewish mothers.

The effects of religious support, maternal motivations for having large families, and their interactions on psychological functioning were assessed in a sample of 79 religious Israeli Jewish mothers of six or more children. Religious support from religious leaders, community, and G-d--as well as faith-focused maternal motivation--were all positively related to adaptive psychological functioning. In contrast, self-focused maternal motivation was negatively related to adaptive functioning. Moreover, religious support and maternal motivation were both related to psychological functioning even after controlling for social support. Finally, several significant interactions between religious support and maternal motivation emerged and are also discussed.

Spirituality and job satisfaction among female Jewish Israeli hospital nurses.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study conducted to examine the relationship between spirituality and hospital nurses' work satisfaction and to determine the unique contributions of various specific aspects of spirituality to their work satisfaction. BACKGROUND: Spirituality has been indicated as a possible contributor to nurses' job satisfaction. However, few researchers have examined the relationship between spirituality and nurses' job satisfaction. METHOD: During 2007, 120 female Jewish Israeli hospital nurses responded to a questionnaire including a multidimensional measure of spirituality and a measure of overall job satisfaction. RESULTS: Correlation analysis indicated a positive relationship between life coherency aspects of spirituality and spiritual values with job satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated the particular importance of an idealistic spiritual orientation (positive contribution) and a transcendent spiritual orientation (negative contribution) to the prediction of nurses' job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The relationship between spirituality and nurses' job satisfaction is complex. Hospital managers may be able to enhance job satisfaction by providing opportunities for nurses to satisfy their spiritual needs (in particular, altruistic and ideological orientations) on the job. In addition, nurses with a strong transcendent orientation may be identified and given special attention to increase the likelihood of job satisfaction.

Ageism among Israeli students: structure and demographic influences.

BACKGROUND: Research concerning negative attitudes toward the elderly among samples of North American respondents has uncovered two distinct yet comparable three-factor structures: (1) avoidance, antilocution and separation; and (2) discrimination, stereotypes and affective attitudes. In addition, previous research has demonstrated that men and younger people have more negative attitudes toward the elderly than do women and older people. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which these findings can be generalized to individuals from a different culture. METHOD: The Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) was administered to 491 Israeli participants aged 20-50 years. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation uncovered a three-factor structure, similar to previous investigations. In contrast to the literature, however, no simple group (gender, age) differences were found for ageism. However, discriminant function analysis revealed a more complex relationship between age, gender and ageism. Older males, in contrast to older females, demonstrated a tendency to perceptions of the elderly that associated avoidance of the elderly with negative stereotypes whereas older females, in contrast to younger females, held perceptions that associated avoidance of the elderly with a negative perception of the elderly person's contribution to society. CONCLUSIONS: Despite cultural differences between Israel and North America, the similarity of findings provides support for the generalizabilty of the structure of attitudes toward the elderly as measured by the FSA to various cultures. In addition, the combined effect of age and gender on differential forms of ageism is complex and should be examined in future research.