Mental Distress Amongst Ethiopian Youth in Israel

8/13/2019 Mental Distress Amongst Ethiopian Youth in Israel

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WorkInternational Social

DOI: 10.1177/0020872805048709

2005; 48; 63International Social WorkShoshana Ringel, Natti Ronell and Shimcha Getahune

case of Ethiopian Jews in IsraelFactors in the integration process of adolescent immigrants: The

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International Social Work 48(1): 6376

Sage Publications: London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi

DOI: 10.1177/0020872805048709

Factors in the integration process of

adolescent immigrants

The case of Ethiopian Jews in Israel

* Shoshana Ringel, Natti Ronell and Shimcha Getahune

The increasing global migration of non-Western immigrants and

refugees into Western countries and worldwide cultural and ethnic

diversity have become important increasing concerns (Shuval and

Leshem, 1998). Hence, multiculturalism is becoming a crucial issuein post-modern social work. Within the multicultural domain, it is

important to understand how the process of acculturation and inte-

gration of non-Western immigrants into Western societies takes

place.

Since 1973 Ethiopian immigrants have come to Israel in several

immigration waves, and today most of the Jewish Ethiopian com-

munity lives in Israel. The total number of Ethiopian Jews in

Israel was 88,900 in 2002, according to the Central StatisticsBureau of Israel (2002). In Ethiopia, the Jews lived alongside their

fellow Ethiopians. They shared a common economy and a common

language, but had distinct traditions and religious beliefs. Ethiopian

Jews came to Israel following a period of religious persecution

during which they suffered a significant loss of lives. In Israel, they

have had great difficulties in integrating and acculturating into

Israeli society, and continue to suffer from economic stress and a

Shoshana Ringelis Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore,

School of Social Work. Address: 525 W. Redwood St, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.

[email: [email protected]]Natti Ronellis a senior lecturer at the

Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel.Shimcha Getahuneis a social worker for

ELEM, an at-risk youth social service agency, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

*i s w


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high incidence of depression and suicide (Kaplan, 1992; Quirin,

1992).

Ethiopian immigrant culture within a multiculturalframework

Acculturation, which is an important aspect of the immigrant

experience, refers to the extent to which the immigrant has adapted

to the mainstream culture (Hurdle, 1990). The adjustment to the

dominant culture can be painful and difficult, and has been found

to cause stress and low self-esteem (Padilla et al., 1985), as well as

intergenerational conflicts within families (Uba, 1994). In Israel,this stress has also been found to bring about depression and a

high incidence of suicide among Ethiopian immigrants (Arieli et al.,

1996). Older Ethiopian immigrants in particular have found it hard

to integrate into Israeli society and continue to experience serious

economic problems (Lifshitz et al., 1998). Contributing to the diffi-

culties in integration and acculturation are the deep cultural differ-

ences between Israelis and Ethiopian immigrants. First-generation

Ethiopian immigrants living in Israel have a unique cultural identity,expressed through core symbols, behaviors and value systems

(Kaniel et al., 1991; Rosen, 1985). Cultural differences also include

the Ethiopians lack of formal Western education, their emphasis

on non-verbal skills and their lack of familiarity with Western Israeli

society (Kaniel, 1990; Youngman et al., 1999). Ethiopian male

adolescents sometimes internalize prevailing Israeli hostile attitudes

towards their culture and therefore may suffer from low self-esteem

and depression, as do male adults (Arieli et al., 1996; Dothan, 1985).One of the reasons for this, according to Ribner and Schindler

(1996), is that there have been few efforts to maintain the cultural

continuity of Ethiopian immigrants because of a lack of cultural

and religious sensitivity among the Israeli public and professional

people, and because most Ethiopian children are educated in board-

ing schools, separated from their families which live in immigrant

housing sites.

Attitudes towards ethnic and color differences also appear to play

an important part in the Ethiopian immigrants integration process.

According to Shuval and Leshem (1998), immigrants may be identi-

fiable by their external visibility. The Ethiopian immigrants who

have darker skin may thus be defined as new immigrants for an

indefinite period of time. Several studies indicate that both within

Israeli society and in the subjective views of Ethiopian immigrants,

64 International Social Work volume 48(1)




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race and ethnicity play an important role in how they are treated and

perceived by the larger culture. One study that compared Israeli atti-

tudes towards Arabs, foreign workers and Ethiopian immigrants

found that Israelis expressed the least racial bias toward Ethiopianimmigrants (Pedahzur and Yishai, 1999). However, a second study

found that Ethiopians believed that at least some Israelis, especially

Russian immigrants, had prejudicial attitudes towards them based

on their African origin. The Ethiopian immigrants in this particular

study also reported a lack of social relationships with the general

Israeli population (Ojanuga, 1993). A third study found a strong

awareness of color differences, and a preference for white and

light skin among Ethiopian pre-schoolers and 1st- and 2nd- gradechildren (Munitz and Priel, 1985), attitudes that seem to mirror

general Israeli social values. According to a fourth study, the subjec-

tive awareness of color discrimination and attitudes in Israeli society

induced despair, sadness and desperation among the Ethiopian

immigrants (Ben-David and Ben-Ari, 1997). The majority of these

studies illustrate that racism plays an important role in the

Ethiopian immigrants adjustment difficulties and their integration

process.Differences in communication systems also seem to be a key factor

in the Ethiopian immigrants integration difficulties. Ethiopian cul-

ture emphasizes non-verbal communication, indirect expression,

silence and soft-spokenness, and this has frequently led to mis-

understandings with their Israeli caregivers, mental health profes-

sionals and others (Andersen, 1997; Ben-Ezer, 1985; Schneller,

1985). A study by Lynn (1994) concludes that Ethiopian immigrant

children and adolescents low verbal expression signifies lower cog-nitive abilities. This conclusion seems to point to misunderstandings

and misperceptions regarding the Ethiopian Jews cultural tradi-

tions, or worse, to indicate that some in Israeli society consider

Ethiopian Jewish culture to be second-class.

As a result, many Ethiopian immigrants experience stress and

depression around their integration process (Schindler, 1993).

Second-generation Ethiopian immigrants face multiple risk factors:

a high percentage of them lives in a one-parent family, a large family

household or with elderly fathers. In many families the parents

ability to speak and write Hebrew is limited, and therefore they

are unable to help their children socially or academically (Lifshitz

et al., 1998). Consequently, Ethiopian immigrant children have a

high incidence of school dropout and delinquency.

Ringel et al.: Integration of adolescent immigrants 65




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This pilot study examines the different attitudes and perceptions

of the Israeli adolescents and Ethiopian immigrant adolescents con-

cerning their process of mutual adjustment and integration, and

makes recommendations to help enhance the integration processbased on the views of the adolescents themselves.

Methods

Participants

The study was carried out in a town in central Israel during the

spring of 1999. It consisted of three focus groups. The first two

groups comprised a total of 24 Ethiopian adolescents of 1215-year-old 7th- and 8th- graders; one group consisted of 13 males

and the other of 11 females. The third group consisted of non-

Ethiopian adolescents (N 16), of which seven were male (44%)

and nine were female (56%). The investigators decided to include

the non-Ethiopian group in order to examine both points of view.

The participants were recruited by the schools administrators

based on their availability from classes during the period the inves-

tigators spent at the school. The schools collaboration with theForum for Children and Youth Affairs allowed the investigators

ready access to conduct the study. The investigators explained to

the participants that they were interested in listening to their perso-

nal views and experiences in order to learn and understand more

about existing problems so as to eventually develop and implement

an intervention program in the school.

ProcedureThe study was conducted using semi-structured group interviews

comprised of open-ended questions that were designed to explore

the issues discussed above. The interviews were conducted in an

orthodox Jewish junior high school, which has a significant group

of Ethiopian immigrants born in Ethiopia. The interviews (see

Appendix A) were based on problems identified in the literature

review and on the objectives of the study. They lasted approximately

1.5 hours each and were manually recorded in Hebrew by a recorder

and later translated into English. In order to maintain confiden-

tiality, participants names were not included.

Content analysis was used as a data analysis method. The investi-

gators initially translated the manually recorded interviews into

English. The data were then analyzed starting from raw data and

moving to aggregate data and to basic content questions. These





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were given names and codes and the codes were then organized into

major themes after the data had been saturated. The data were

analyzed by two of the investigators, who then compared their

results with each other and consulted with the third investigator inorder to provide an inter-rater reliability.

The limitations of the study included its subjective nature and

limited number of participants, which may have affected its external

validity and made it difficult to generalize the findings. In addition,

peer pressures may have affected the internal validity of the study, as

the interviews were done in a group context. Discussion of the find-

ings between the researchers, however, helped to increase reliability

and to recognize and minimize any cultural or racial biases in thefindings, as one of the researchers was an Ethiopian immigrant.

One researcher did not participate in the data collection phase and

therefore served as an external agent. Another limitation is that

the interviews were manually recorded because of the Ethiopian par-

ticipants distrust of and discomfort with the tape-recording process.

Results

Three predominant themes emerged from the findings. These themes

were perceived by the participants to be crucial to the integration

process of Ethiopian immigrant adolescents into the Israeli culture.

Racism and discrimination

Racism and discrimination emerged as the richest and most complex

theme in the study. This area included the Ethiopian immigrant

adolescents perception of racist attitudes in their teachers, Israeliparents and the larger society, as well as their peers. The Israeli par-

ticipants also raised racist attitudes as the most important area for

discussion and exploration. Although in some ways the Ethiopian

and the Israelis perspectives differed, there were surprising similari-

ties as well. In addition, there were some differences in perspectives

among the Ethiopian immigrant adolescents themselves.

Generally, there seemed to be a consensus between both groups

that their teachers did not treat the Ethiopian immigrant students

equally and that they favored the Israeli students. For example, an

Ethiopian student stated, We would like them to teach us as equal,

without race or color differences. Another said School teachers

are part of the problem, because they take part in discrimination.

They give more projects and encouragement to native Israeli (stu-

dents) rather than to us, the immigrants. Generally, both groups





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agreed that there was less racism from their Israeli peers and that

there was some level of socializing. For example, both groups men-

tioned that students visited each others homes and played together.

Initially, the Israeli students denied the existence of any racialproblems at all. However, eventually they suggested that racial ten-

sions between the two groups did exist. But one of the Ethiopian

adolescents, referring to his Israeli peer, stated that The problem

exists but its natural, because they are still children, suggesting

that Israeli students racist attitudes started at home, when some of

the parents would tell them that Ethiopians are dirty, dont play

with them, but that some of the Israeli children disobeyed their

parents. Both groups agreed that race and color were importanttopics to explore in mutual discussion groups. For example, when

asked what would be important topics for mutual discussions,

several Israelis noted skin color, differences in skin color.

Although the Israeli students vehemently denied their own racist

attitudes, they asked the Ethiopian investigator questions about

several Ethiopian customs that they found problematic, indicating

a lack of knowledge and understanding that could potentially

encourage or maintain racist attitudes and stereotypes towards theEthiopians immigrants. They wanted to know, for example, why

Ethiopians in Ethiopia lived in houses made of cow manure, it

must be stinky, and why Ethiopians wore tattoos. The Ethiopian

investigators ability to explain the origins and meaning of these

customs seemed to be an important step towards constructing new

meanings and thereby developing a greater cross-cultural under-

standing and acceptance between the two groups.

Intergenerational conflicts

The Ethiopian immigrant students who participated in our study

stressed the significance of intergenerational conflicts with their

parents during their adjustment and integration process. The adoles-

cents noted that as they became more acculturated to Israeli society

and its norms, they began to go out in the evenings rather than help-

ing their parents at home, and that their parents did not understand

the new Israeli customs and behaviors that they had adopted. One

participant noted, They dont know the (Israeli) culture and look

at what we do as useless. Another stated, They want us to

behave in accordance with Ethiopian cultural values. Some partici-

pants described fights and conflicts that occurred as a result of the

cultural differences that had developed. Several Ethiopian adoles-

cents also suggested that they were forgetting their native culture





9/16

and language, a fact that further contributed to conflicts and mis-

understanding with their parents.

The adolescents conveyed deep respect for their parents and for

their native culture. They expressed a strong desire to mend anyintergenerational conflicts through mutual discussions with their

parents and by learning the native Ethiopian language (Amharic)

and culture. They suggested that these subjects be added to their

schools curriculum. They also noted that they would like to help

their parents to learn more about Israeli culture so that they would

better understand and value their own new behavior. One of them

noted that We need to give respect and status back to our parents

and another added We need to teach them about Israeli society.Consequently, these adolescents seemed motivated to find a way

to bridge their native culture with the new Israeli way of life and

to forge a new bicultural identity that would encompass both

cultures.

Differences in verbal and non-verbal communication styles

Because the interviews were done through focus groups, it was diffi-

cult to accurately assess the impact of differences in communicationstyles on the integration process between the Ethiopians and the

Israeli adolescents. However, the interviewers observations of the

differences in communication among the Israeli and Ethiopian

groups, and indirect comments from several of the participants, indi-

cated that misunderstandings regarding verbal and non-verbal com-

munication signals and differences in communication styles could

contribute to difficulties in the integration process. Several Israeli

participants, for example, maintained that the Ethiopian immigrantsseemed shy, did not say much and that maybe it was necessary for

teachers to ask them questions, rather than wait for them to speak

up. Some Ethiopians participants, on the other hand, stated that

maybe they should take more initiative to speak up, or to approach

the Israeli students in order to develop friendships rather than wait-

ing for them to make the first move. One unusually outspoken

Ethiopian participant, a girl who was born in Israel, made an inter-

esting comment about some of the Ethiopian students who tended to

stand quietly in a corner, and stated that Israeli students should

show compassion and empathy, rather than make fun of them.

However, she also suggested that some of the Ethiopian students

themselves behaved with similar insensitivity and that perhaps this

behavior was more a function of personality style, rather than

typical Israeli behavior. This participants observations made it





10/16

clear that cultural stereotypes could be easily developed and sus-

tained by either side. Other Ethiopian participants also noted that

the Israelis behaved in a typically loud and aggressive manner and

that the more acculturated Ethiopians typically emulated them.It appeared that the communication styles between the Israelis

and the Ethiopian immigrants in this study differed, but not as greatly

as previous research indicates. In general, the Ethiopian participants

seemed more soft-spoken and shy compared with the Israeli group,

which was more verbally expressive. It is possible that the partici-

pants in both groups were relatively open and expressive because

they perceived the investigators to be truly interested in what they

had to say, and consequently felt safer and more able to participate.

Discussion

The findings suggest that biases in Israeli social attitudes based on

differences in color and ethnicity, intergenerational conflicts between

traditional immigrant parents and their acculturated adolescent

children, and differences between Ethiopian and Israeli communi-

cation systems all contribute to difficulties in the integration andadjustment process of Ethiopian adolescents in Israeli society.

This study, unlike much of the previous research, was based on a

young adolescent group. Consequently, some of the differences in

findings from previous research may be attributed to the partici-

pants developmental stage as well as other factors. These differences

included the Ethiopian immigrants attitudes towards their parents

and their native culture and their perceptions regarding racism and

discrimination in Israeli society. The differences in the studys find-ings may have also been influenced by the presence of an Ethiopian

researcher who was familiar with the Ethiopian culture, and with

whom the Ethiopian adolescents may have felt more at ease.

The study found that the Ethiopian adolescents experienced anger

and resentment towards perceived racist attitudes in the Israeli

society, especially from their teachers. This finding differs from an

earlier study, which found Ethiopian students to experience depres-

sion, despair and low self-image as a result of racism and discrimina-

tion in Israeli society (Ben-David and Ben-Ari, 1997). The findings

also diverge from Munitz and Priel (1985), that found Ethiopian

children to have low self-image, expressed by their stated wish to

be lighter. The adolescents in this study seemed proud of their

ethnic and cultural heritage and fundamentally angry, rather than

depressed at racist attitudes in Israeli culture as a whole. Finally,





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it became clear from the non-Ethiopian participants responses that

racist attitudes were based not only on differences in skin color but

on lack of cross-cultural knowledge and understanding.

The findings suggest that these problems all need to be addressedin order to improve the process of integration of Ethiopian adoles-

cents into Israeli society. An important finding was that from both

the Ethiopian and the Israeli students perspectives, teachers atti-

tudes towards the Ethiopian immigrants were at best culturally

insensitive, and at worst heavily biased. In addition, the study

suggests that some native Israeli parents maintain discriminatory

attitudes towards Ethiopians that inevitably influence their childrens

attitudes as well. Although the findings indicate that there was somemutual socialization between Israeli and Ethiopian students, the

Israeli students seemed to lack an understanding and knowledge of

Ethiopian cultural norms and customs that could potentially lead

to the development of cultural stereotypes and racist attitudes. The

findings indicate that it would be important to develop a practice

model of cross-cultural competence in order to promote better inte-

gration and communication between Ethiopian immigrants and

Israeli students. There is also a strong need to develop a better multi-cultural competence training for schoolteachers in particular, and

to train more teachers of Ethiopian origin.

The authors found some acculturation among Ethiopian adoles-

cents, but also a wish to maintain their native culture. These findings

suggest that Ethiopian adolescents are in the process of creating a

new bicultural identity of being Ethiopian-origin Israelis, which

includes components from both their parents cultural identity and

from the prevailing society, and at the same time is different fromboth. The findings also suggest that the creation of this bicultural

identity is an empowering experience that may improve self-concept

and self-esteem. It includes active resistance to the racist attitudes

that Ethiopian youth encounter, rather than an attitude of passivity

and despair. These findings differ from previous findings that empha-

sized the difficulties of Ethiopian adolescents in maintaining a

positive sense of ethnic identity (Newman, 1985), and suggest that

the development of a bicultural identity, combining features of the

ancestral culture as well as the dominant social context, may

enhance adolescent immigrants integration in the prevailing society.

Therefore, following the paradigm of partnership with oppressed

populations (Rosenfeld, 1993), the authors recommend that this

model of ethnic identity development be taught in social work

education.





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This study has additional implications for social work education

and practice. According to the Council on Social Work Education

in the United States all social work programs now require multi-

cultural training as an integral part of their curriculum. A recentsurvey of all graduate social work programs in the United States,

however, found that most programs teach multicultural courses

using traditional didactic methods and large classes that do not

offer students the opportunity for more effective experiential learn-

ing methods (Le-Doux and Montalvo, 1999). In essence, the

students learning took place in the classroom rather than through

concurrent field assignments, thereby providing an inadequate inte-

gration between theory and practice. In addition, other authorsemphasize training in cultural competence, because most social

workers in the United States are of European descent and come

from the majority culture. Therefore, they are likely to require

cultural competence skills that are developed through increased per-

sonal awareness, understanding their clients cultural context and

the utilization of appropriate interventions (Lum, 1999; Pack-

Brown, 1999).

This study has implications for school social work with immigrantcommunities, in that it suggests that cultural competence is an

important skill for school social workers in the ever more com-

plex multicultural context of school social work. Increased cultural

competence would enable school social workers to better address

the adjustment, integration and intergenerational challenges that

immigrant adolescents face. The need for a better multicultural

training was supported by a study done in Israel (Ben-David and

Amit, 1999). The authors found that schools of social work inIsrael did not prepare students to address issues of cultural diversity

effectively.

Currently there are no national standard guidelines for school

social work in Israel. However, there are several welfare projects

that incorporate human services for immigrant adolescents into

the formal education system. For example, ELEM, a voluntary

organization for youth in distress, has created special classes for

at-risk immigrant adolescents (Zaslavsky and Apter, 2001). These

classes are now considered an integral part of the formal education

system. A coordinator from the same ethnic origin as the target

youth population (e.g. Ethiopia or the former USSR), but who is

not necessarily a social worker, joins the teacher in everyday class

activities. The target population consists of youth who are about to

drop out of school, or who have already done so. The coordinators,





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who come from the Ethiopian community, provide outreach services

for these youths, encourage them to join the class, contact their

parents and assist them during the school year. The project has

been considered a success in that it has saved youth at-risk fromfurther delinquency and reconnected them to the formal educational

system.

In summary, these findings suggest that further research with

Ethiopian adolescent immigrants should be undertaken in order to

continue to explore in greater depth the difficulties and challenges

that these adolescents face in Israel. In addition, a comprehensive

social work intervention model should be developed and imple-

mented in Israeli school settings in order to help improve inter-cultural perceptions and relationships.

This intervention model would be likely to further enhance the

integration, self-esteem and academic performance of Ethiopian

youth. Finally, the study has broader applications for social work

education and practice with adolescent immigrants globally. With

the increasing numbers of immigrant communities in Europe,

Canada and the United States, it seems crucial to place a greater

emphasis on culturally competent practice with immigrant com-munities in both social work education and practice.

Acknowledgement

This study was carried out with the help of a grant from the

Graduate School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of

Northern Iowa, and from the Forum for Children and Youth Affairs,

the Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University.

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Appendix A: Semi-structured interview guide Ethiopian groups

1. How did you adjust to living in Israel?

2. What changes occurred in your family since you came to Israel?

(probe: did family roles change?)3. Do you see yourself differently since you came to Israel? How?

4. Do you feel that you need to adjust your behavior to the Israeli

environment? How?

5. Describe your view of the Israeli society. How did the social and

cultural changes affect your family?

6. How do your Israeli peers relate to you? Do they invite you

over?

7. Do you invite Israeli students to your home? If so, on whatoccasions?

8. Are you involved in mutual activities with Israeli students?

9. Do you play with Israeli students during school breaks?

10. In your opinion, how do Israeli students view you?

11. In your opinion, what are the problems between Ethiopian and

Israeli students? What are the causes?

12. What changes would you like to see?

13. What can be done, in your opinion, to improve the integrationprocess between the Ethiopian immigrants and Israeli society?





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Appendix B: Semi-structured interview guide non-Ethiopian group

1. Describe your relationship with the Ethiopian students.2. How do your Ethiopian peers relate to you? Do they invite you

over?

3. Do you invite your Ethiopian peers home? If so, on what

occasions?

4. Are you involved in mutual activities with Ethiopian students?

5. Do you play with Ethiopian students during school breaks?

6. In your opinion, how do the Ethiopian students view you? Why?

7. In your opinion, are there problems between Ethiopian and non-

Ethiopian students? What are the causes?

8. What changes would you like to see?

9. What can be done, in your opinion, to improve the integration

process between Ethiopian immigrants and Israeli society?

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Mental Distress Amongst Ethiopian Youth in Israel