Secular women are the most stressed by coronavirus, study finds

In spite of the high morbidity in the ultra-Orthodox sector, respondents from this group reported the least stress.

By HANNAH BROWN
From left to right: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's Dr. Tehila Kalagy, Prof. Orna Braun-Lewensohn and Dr. Sarah Abu-Kaf. (photo credit: Courtesy)
From left to right: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's Dr. Tehila Kalagy, Prof. Orna Braun-Lewensohn and Dr. Sarah Abu-Kaf.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Secular women are having the hardest time coping mentally with the stresses of the pandemic, according to researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev who examined the intensity of psychological symptoms among the secular Jewish, ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors.
Prof. Orna Braun-Lewensohn, Dr. Sarah Abu-Kaf and Dr. Tehila Kalagy of BGU examined the intensity of anxiety, depression, anger, somatization and other mental issues, as well as feelings of hope, resilience and trust in elected officials among these three sectors just before the start of the second lockdown in September.
They based their research on 248 secular Jews, 243 ultra-Orthodox Jews and 203 Arab citizens in Israel. They saw increases in mental stress in the secular and Arab communities, while the ultra-Orthodox community fared better overall and they discovered that it was secular women who were having the most difficult time out of all those they studied.
Said Braun-Lewensohn, head of the Multidisciplinary Department: “Secular women have the highest levels of mental stress. With this virus crisis, there is so much pressure on women. They pull everything together. We found that there is a clear effect of gender on psychological distress.”
It is secular women who carry most of the burdens for keeping the household going, she said, and often women do not allow themselves to show vulnerability and have no one to turn to for help, she said. In the more traditional Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors, women are surrounded by more people, including leaders and authority figures, who offer support, which may be why they report lower levels of stress than secular Jewish women, she said.
The increase in stress among both genders in the secular sector was notable. “These are alarming findings! We are not used to seeing such sharp indicators of mental distress among the secular sector,” said Dr. Sara Abu-Kaf, head of the university’s Conflict Management and Resolution program.
Abu-Kaf also said that; “Among Arab society before the corona crisis there were consistent findings indicating high levels of mental distress in relation to secular Israeli society, but during the corona crisis, it seems that the gaps between the two societies have been reduced.”
In spite of the high morbidity in the ultra-Orthodox sector, respondents from this group reported the least stress. The researchers concluded that the mental resilience among the ultra-Orthodox and the activation of coping resource mechanisms are higher than in other sectors.
The level of trust in the national leadership, government and Knesset members these days was extremely low. The secular population exhibited the lowest level of trust (complete distrust), followed by the Arab population, and the higher level of trust was reported by the ultra-Orthodox population, although even in this population the level of trust was very low.
Among the Arabs, community resilience – a feeling of trust and pride in their community – was reported at the lowest level, and among the ultra-Orthodox, community resilience was measured at the highest level.
“The findings of the study correspond with the characteristics of the ultra-Orthodox society that has support mechanisms for its members, especially during the current crisis. These characteristics have gained great significance in relation to the mental health of community members,” said Kalagy, a faculty member in the Department of Public Policy and Administration.
Braun-Lewensohn pointed to local leadership that contributed to the sense of community resilience against the background of the crisis of trust with the national leadership. “In a time when the level of public trust in national leadership is so low, the secular public sought and found a replacement in local leadership whose actions strengthened other parameters of community resilience such as belonging and local pride.”
The researchers are working on an article in which they will analyze their findings in depth.


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