The Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide and Mental Pain Studies, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;14(1):2172259. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2172259.
Disaffiliating from an ultra-Orthodox society is complex and challenging. The process includes dealing with culture shock, traumatic experiences, education gaps, and disconnection from familiar surroundings. Thus, ex-ultra-Orthodox individuals (ex-ULTOIs) may face loneliness, lack of belongingness, and loss of meaning, which may relate to high psychological distress such as depression and suicide ideation. In the present study, we sought to shed light on the distress of ex-ULTOIs in Israel and to understand the disaffiliation-related characteristics that may relate to their distress levels. The sample comprised 755 participants, aged 19-54, who left their ultra-Orthodox Jewish lifestyle and communities. Participants completed self-report questionnaires tapping depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, suicide ideation and behaviour, as well as demographics and disaffiliation-related characteristics. Nearly half of the sample (= 332, 45.9%) reported symptom intensity meeting the current criteria for major depressive disorder. Moreover, 46.7% reported symptoms meeting PTSD criteria, and 34.5% reported having suicidal ideations in the past year. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the intensity of past negative life events, the nature of motives for disaffiliation, and the longer duration of the disaffiliation process contributed to the severity of distress. The study's findings reveal that ex-ULTOIs suffer from high mental pain levels, particularly depression, PTSD, and suicidal risk. Importantly, experiencing disaffiliation as traumatic and longer durations of the process may facilitate greater mental pain and distress symptoms. These findings emphasize that ex-ULTOIs must be continually assessed, especially when their disaffiliation processes are experienced as traumatic.
脱离一个极端正统的社会是复杂且具有挑战性的。这个过程包括应对文化冲击、创伤经历、教育差距以及与熟悉环境的脱节。因此，前极端正统派人士（前 ULTOIs）可能会面临孤独、归属感缺失和意义丧失，这可能与高心理困扰有关，如抑郁和自杀意念。在本研究中，我们试图揭示以色列前 ULTOIs 的困扰，并了解与他们困扰水平相关的脱教相关特征。该样本包括 755 名年龄在 19-54 岁之间的参与者，他们离开了极端正统的犹太生活方式和社区。参与者完成了自我报告问卷，涉及抑郁、焦虑、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状、自杀意念和行为以及人口统计学和脱教相关特征。近一半的样本（=332，45.9%）报告的症状强度符合当前重性抑郁障碍的标准。此外，46.7%的人报告出现了 PTSD 症状，34.5%的人在过去一年中有过自杀意念。层次回归分析显示，过去负面生活事件的强度、脱教动机的性质以及脱教过程的持续时间与困扰的严重程度有关。该研究的结果表明，前 ULTOIs 承受着高度的精神痛苦，特别是抑郁、PTSD 和自杀风险。重要的是，将脱教经历视为创伤以及脱教过程的持续时间较长，可能会加剧精神痛苦和困扰症状。这些发现强调，必须持续评估前 ULTOIs，尤其是当他们的脱教过程被视为创伤性时。
