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. © Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005.

Social support Physical health status Ethnic group origin Income difficulties Women's mental health

education immigrant helplessness depression Israel demography randomization mental health human middle aged Ethnic Groups priority journal health status social support self esteem ethnology mental disease social status Humans sleep disorder female geographic origin Multivariate Analysis Health Status Indicators Article women's health major clinical study adult Social Environment Emigration and Immigration Cultural Characteristics attitude to health health survey