The link between exposure to violence and psychological distress among middle-aged Muslims in Israel: the role of gender.

Publisher: Frontiers Editorial Office Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101616579 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2296-2565 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 22962565 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Front Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Lausanne : Frontiers Editorial Office

Islam*/psychology ; Exposure to Violence*/psychology ; Exposure to Violence*/statistics & numerical data ; Psychological Distress*; Humans ; Israel/epidemiology ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Sex Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Adult ; Cohort Studies ; Stress, Psychological/psychology

Introduction: To date, it is still unclear if exposure to violence affects psychological distress in middle-aged adults and if the effects are gender specific. This age group is of special interest as it is at the onset of the aging process and is often overlooked or understudied in scholarly research. Specifically, targeted research on middle-aged Muslims living in Israel, a unique population exposed to increasing violence, is lacking.
Methods: We examined the relationship between exposure to violence and psychological distress in a cohort of 363 middle-aged adults (223 women) from three Muslim villages in northern Israel, collecting data on violence exposure (Screen for Adolescent Violence Exposure (SAVE) questionnaire), psychological distress (Kessler 6 Psychological Distress questionnaire), and other demographic characteristics including education level and socioeconomic status. We used this data to answer two questions: (1) is exposure to violence a predictor of psychological distress in middle-aged Muslims, and (2) does the relationship between exposure and distress differ between men and women?
Results: We revealed a positive link between exposure to violence and psychological distress ( β  = 0.145, p  = 0.017) when controlling for gender, age, education level, and socioeconomic level.
Discussion: Despite previous evidence of gender-based differences in this interplay in younger cohorts, we did not find a significant interaction between gender and the violence exposure-psychological distress interplay. Our findings are some of the first to focus on middle-aged individuals and show that both men and women exhibit connections between exposure to violence and psychological distress when considering covariates. This research provides insights that can be used when planning community-wide interventions and treatment schemes to support healthy aging.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 Iktilat, Isacson, Tzemah-Shahar and Agmon.)

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Keywords: exposure to violence; healthy aging; mental health; middle-aged Muslims; psychological distress

Date Created: 20240621 Date Completed: 20240621 Latest Revision: 20240622

20240622

PMC11188443

10.3389/fpubh.2024.1382053

38903569