COVID-Related Concerns, the Need for Help, and Perceived Microaggression among Young Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Respondents in Israel

Minority groups are especially vulnerable to the negative psychological and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focused on one prominent minority group in Israel: ultra-Orthodox Jews. It examined the rate of exposure to COVID-19, adherence to COVID-19 mitigation guidelines, difficulties with adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, COVID-related concerns, financial hardships, the need for help, and microaggression during the first wave of the pandemic (April–May 2020). It then examined multivariate prediction of COVID-related concerns, the need for help, and microaggression. The sample comprised 252 respondents, with 67% female and a mean age of 32.85 (SD = 10.63). Results showed that 78.8% of the participants knew at least one person who had tested positive for COVID-19, and 31.4% knew at least one person who had passed away from COVID-19. Only 59.7% of the participants reported high adherence to social distancing guidelines. Perceived microaggression was predicted by the difficulties with adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, the level of stress associated with exposure to the media, and financial hardships. The study’s implications point to the centrality of perceived microaggression and the necessity of adopting culturally sensitive approaches to engage minorities in public efforts to fight the spread of viruses.

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Judaism

Spirituality and Mental Health Across Cultures ◽

10.1093/med/9780198846833.003.0015 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 237-258

Author(s):

Haim Belmaker ◽

Rael Strous ◽

Pesach Lichtenberg

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Special Needs ◽

Historical Development ◽

Culturally Sensitive ◽

Orthodox Jews ◽

Orthodox Jewish ◽

Israelite Religion ◽

The World ◽

Land Of Israel

Judaism was the first monotheist religion and has about 18 million adherents in the world today. This review covers the historical development of biblical Israelite religion in the ancient land of Israel beginning 1000 BCE and how it gradually developed into the very different rabbinical Judaism that exists today. While most Jews today are secular participants in Western democratic liberal cultures, Orthodox, and especially ultra-orthodox Jews are a rapidly growing minority with special needs for culturally sensitive psychiatry acceptable to their religious lifestyle and observance to the commandments. The traditional Jewish beliefs in a future Messiah is also a component of some manic states and the differential diagnosis between ‘religiosity’ and mental illness can be important in psychiatric settings with orthodox Jewish patients.

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Collective References and Identity Threat among Lebanese and Lebanese-Armenians in the Context of Continuous Intergroup Conflict

Acta de Investigación Psicológica ◽

10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2019.3.319 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Lucy R. Tavitian ◽

Michael Bender ◽

Fons J. R. Van de Vijver ◽

Athanasios Chasiotis ◽

Hrag A. Vosgerichian

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Identity ◽

Identity Management ◽

Minority Groups ◽

Minority Group ◽

Intergroup Conflict ◽

Identity Threat ◽

Identity Processes ◽

Identity Threats ◽

History Of ◽

Sectarian Group

How people deal with adversity, in terms of threats to their social or ethnic identity has been extensively investigated. However, most studies have focused on samples (e.g. minority groups) from prototypical Western contexts. It is unclear how individuals perceive and deal with identity threats within non-Western plural contexts characterized by intergroup conflict. We therefore assess whether self-affirmation by recalling a past success can buffer against identity threat in the plural, non-Western context of Lebanon. In two studies we investigate how threats are negotiated at a national (Lebanon) (Study 1) and ethnic minority (Armenian) level (Study 2). In Study 1, we show that in a context characterized by a history of intergroup conflict, a superordinate national identity is non-salient. When investigating the content of memories of a sectarian group in Study 2, we find a hypersalient and chronically accessible ethnic identity, a pattern specific to Armenian Lebanese. We suggest that this hyper-salience is employed as a spontaneous identity management strategy by a minority group coping with constant continuity threat. Our findings point to the importance of expanding the study of identity processes beyond the typically Western contexts and in turn, situating them within their larger socio-political and historical contexts.

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Understanding and Promoting Racial Diversity in Healthcare Settings to Address Disparities in Pandemic Crisis Management

Journal of Primary Care & Community Health ◽

10.1177/21501327211018354 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 215013272110183

Author(s):

Azza Sarfraz ◽

Zouina Sarfraz ◽

Alanna Barrios ◽

Kuchalambal Agadi ◽

Sindhu Thevuthasan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Health Disparities ◽

Racial Discrimination ◽

Clinical Training ◽

Minority Groups ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Minority Group ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

The United States ◽

Majority Group

Background: Health disparities have become apparent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When observing racial discrimination in healthcare, self-reported incidences, and perceptions among minority groups in the United States suggest that, the most socioeconomically underrepresented groups will suffer disproportionately in COVID-19 due to synergistic mechanisms. This study reports racially-stratified data regarding the experiences and impacts of different groups availing the healthcare system to identify disparities in outcomes of minority and majority groups in the United States. Methods: Studies were identified utilizing PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO search engines without date and language restrictions. The following keywords were used: Healthcare, raci*, ethnic*, discriminant, hosti*, harass*, insur*, education, income, psychiat*, COVID-19, incidence, mortality, mechanical ventilation. Statistical analysis was conducted in Review Manager (RevMan V.5.4). Unadjusted Odds Ratios, P-values, and 95% confidence intervals were presented. Results: Discrimination in the United States is evident among racial groups regarding medical care portraying mental risk behaviors as having serious outcomes in the health of minority groups. The perceived health inequity had a low association to the majority group as compared to the minority group (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.78; P = .007), and the association of mental health problems to the Caucasian-American majority group was low (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.58; P < .001). Conclusion: As the pandemic continues into its next stage, efforts should be taken to address the gaps in clinical training and education, and medical practice to avoid the recurring patterns of racial health disparities that become especially prominent in community health emergencies. A standardized tool to assess racial discrimination and inequity will potentially improve pandemic healthcare delivery.

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Alcohol and the Media: A Review and Critique of the ‘Effects’ Model

International Quarterly of Community Health Education ◽

10.2190/np5q-9tn8-9afj-w2rh ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 183-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicholas Dorn ◽

Nigel South

Keyword(s):

Point Of View ◽

Economic Consequences ◽

Future Research ◽

General Level ◽

Alcohol Advertising ◽

Social Drinking ◽

The Media ◽

Quantitative Changes ◽

And Shifts ◽

Qualitative Changes

A review of the available empirical material bearing upon the question of alcohol advertising having ‘effects’ on the general level of consumption suggests that this question is insufficiently precise as a basis for research. Studies suggesting some relationship between advertising for particular brands or products and shifts in brand or product use are potentially more interesting, if considered from a point of view that recognises that such shifts may involve shifts in milieux, comparisons, styles and meanings associated with consumption. Future research should be attentive to such qualitative changes in drinking practices attendant upon advertising or preventive campaigns (as well as to quantitative changes). The authors suggest that such quantitative and qualitative changes in drinking practices of individuals and social groups need to be considered within the context of more general, ideological and economic, consequences of alcohol advertising. These consequences-including reinforcement of images about ‘social drinking,’ and shifting of consumers onto more profitable products-consolidate the profitability of the alcohol industry (a consideration more important to the industry than levels of consumption per se). A framework broader than that of ‘effects’ on individuals' levels of consumption is required if health educators are to learn anything from advertising.

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Language policy and language planning in mainland Southeast Asia: Myanmar and Lisu

Linguistics Vanguard ◽

10.1515/lingvan-2018-0071 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

David Bradley

Keyword(s):

Southeast Asia ◽

Language Policy ◽

Minority Groups ◽

Minority Group ◽

National Language ◽

Minority Languages ◽

Language Policy And Planning ◽

Educational Strategies ◽

Policy And Planning ◽

Mainland Southeast Asia

AbstractMost nations in mainland Southeast Asia and elsewhere have one national language as a focus of national identity and unity, supported by a language policy which promotes and develops this language. Indigenous and immigrant minority groups within each nation may be marginalized; their languages may become endangered. Some of the official national language policies and ethnic policies of mainland Southeast Asian nations aim to support both a national language and indigenous minority languages, but usually the real policy is less positive. It is possible to use sociolinguistic and educational strategies to maintain the linguistic heritage and diversity of a nation, develop bilingual skills among minority groups, and integrate minorities successfully into the nations where they live, but this requires commitment and effort from the minorities themselves and from government and other authorities. The main focus of this paper is two case studies: one of language policy and planning in Myanmar, whose language policy and planning has rarely been discussed before. The other is on the Lisu, a minority group in Myanmar and surrounding countries, who have been relatively successful in maintaining their language.

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Mediatisation, Marginalisation and Disruption in Australian Indigenous Affairs

Media and Communication ◽

10.17645/mac.v4i4.695 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 30-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kerry McCallum ◽

Lisa Waller ◽

Tanja Dreher

Keyword(s):

News Media ◽

Minority Groups ◽

National Policy ◽

Indigenous Australians ◽

Constitutional Change ◽

Media Campaigns ◽

High Profile ◽

Indigenous Media ◽

Indigenous Participation ◽

The Media

This article considers how changing media practices of minority groups and political and media elites impact on democratic participation in national debates. Taking as its case study the state-sponsored campaign to formally recognise Indigenous people in the Australian constitution, the article examines the interrelationships between political media and Indigenous participatory media—both of which we argue are undergoing seismic transformation. Discussion of constitutional reform has tended to focus on debates occurring in forums of influence such as party politics and news media that privilege the voices of only a few high-profile Indigenous media ‘stars’. Debate has progressed on the assumption that constitutional change needs to be settled by political elites and then explained and ‘sold’ to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our research on the mediatisation of policymaking has found that in an increasingly media-saturated environment, political leaders and their policy bureaucrats attend to a narrow range of highly publicised voices. But the rapidly changing media environment has disrupted the media-driven <em>Recognise</em> campaign. Vigorous public discussion is increasingly taking place outside the mainstream institutions of media and politics, while social media campaigns emerge in rapid response to government decisions. Drawing on a long tradition in citizens’ media scholarship we argue that the vibrant, diverse and growing Indigenous media sphere in Australia has increased the accessibility of Indigenous voices challenging the scope and substance of the recognition debate. The article concludes on a cautionary note by considering some tensions in the promise of the changing media for Indigenous participation in the national policy conversation.

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Socioeconomic Disparities in eHealth Literacy and Preventive Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong: Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.24577 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ziqiu Guo ◽

Sheng Zhi Zhao ◽

Ningyuan Guo ◽

Yongda Wu ◽

Xue Weng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Drainage System ◽

Socioeconomic Disparities ◽

Preventive Behaviors ◽

Web Based ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

Surgical Masks ◽

High Adherence

BACKGROUND eHealth literacy can potentially facilitate web-based information seeking and taking informed measures. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate socioeconomic disparities in eHealth literacy and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19, and their associations with COVID-19 preventive behaviors. METHODS The COVID-19 Health Information Survey (CoVHIns), using telephonic (n=500) and web-based surveys (n=1001), was conducted among adults in Hong Kong in April 2020. The Chinese eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS; score range 8-40) was used to measure eHealth literacy. COVID-19 preventive behaviors included wearing surgical masks, wearing fabric masks, washing hands, social distancing, and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system. Adjusted beta coefficients and the slope indices of inequality for the eHEALS score by socioeconomic status, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 by socioeconomic status, and aORs for the high adherence to preventive behaviors by the eHEALS score and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 were calculated. RESULTS The mean eHEALS score was 26.10 (SD 7.70). Age was inversely associated with the eHEALS score, but education and personal income were positively associated with the eHEALS score and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 (for all, <i>P</i> for trend<.05). Participants who sought web-based information on COVID-19 showed high adherence to the practice of wearing surgical masks (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15-2.13), washing hands (aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.05-1.71), social distancing (aOR 1.48, 95% CI 1.14-1.93), and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.28-2.18). Those with the highest eHEALS score displayed high adherence to the practice of wearing surgical masks (aOR 3.84, 95% CI 1.63-9.05), washing hands (aOR 4.14, 95% CI 2.46-6.96), social distancing (aOR 2.25, 95% CI 1.39-3.65), and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system (aOR 1.94, 95% CI 1.19-3.16), compared to those with the lowest eHEALS score. CONCLUSIONS Chinese adults with a higher socioeconomic status had higher eHealth literacy and sought more web-based information on COVID-19; both these factors were associated with a high adherence to the guidelines for preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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KEKANG SUBALTERN DALAM NEGASI MEDIA TENTANG SYIAH:

Dialog ◽

10.47655/dialog.v39i1.18 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 57-68

Author(s):

Muhammad War’Í

Keyword(s):

Equal Opportunity ◽

Minority Group ◽

Religious Life ◽

Online Media ◽

Self Awareness ◽

The Media ◽

Subjective Perspective ◽

Semiotic Perspective ◽

Objective View ◽

Speak Up

This paper analyzes some anti-Shia articles which are abundantly available in online media. As a minority group, Shia is in a subaltern position where they were published negatively. This publication created negative paradigm of Shia in the society. In the borderless world of cyberspace, the production of Shia articles appears in the form of unequal semiotic relationships. Quite often, the meaning of Shia was published from the subjective perspective of a particular group. For this reason, this research examines the phenomenon of Shia trending articles from the cyber semiotic perspective. The research revealed that the subaltern bridle against the Shia in the media remains so strong. It requires self-awareness to provide equal opportunity for Shia speak up in the media in a balanced way. By such opportunity, the balanced view on the Shia can be obtained. It is hoped that this objective view could establish inclusivity in religious life.

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Understanding Uighur Terrorism: The Human Needs Theory

Asian Journal of Interdisciplinary Research ◽

10.34256/ajir2045 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 48-57

Author(s):

Derek McGrath ◽

Jonathan Matusitz

Keyword(s):

Qing Dynasty ◽

Minority Group ◽

Autonomous Region ◽

Human Needs ◽

The Qing Dynasty ◽

Islamic Movement ◽

Human Need ◽

The Media ◽

Basic Human Needs ◽

Needs Theory

This paper applies the Human Needs Theory to Uighur terrorism. The theory posits that people become violent when their basic human needs are unfulfilled, denied, or taken away from them. Also referred to as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Uighur terrorists are a minority group of Muslim extremists in the western Chinese Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. Until the mid-1700s, they were considered a peaceful group, but when they lost their autonomy during the Qing dynasty rule (until 1910), and faced oppression by their new government, they resorted to violence. In this case, the Uighurs’ human need “stolen” by the Chinese was their identity. Not only is the Uighur issue underrepresented in the media; it has also received such negligible attention that most governments and scholars believe that the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang is mostly occupied by terrorists.

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When Human Rights are not Enough

Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights ◽

10.19184/jseahr.v2i1.5332 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 236

Author(s):

Joeni Kurniawan

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Identity Politics ◽

Minority Groups ◽

Minority Group ◽

National Commission ◽

Multicultural Society ◽

Fellow Citizen ◽

Research Findings ◽

Human Rights Act ◽

The Law

Juridically, there have been quite a lot of legal instruments existing in Indonesia to protect human rights. These legal instruments include the Indonesian Constitution, which has special articles regulating about human rights, the Human Rights Act (the Law Number 39 of 1999), the National Commission for Human Rights, etc. Thus, normatively, all those legal instruments should be adequate to protect human rights in Indonesia, including the protection of the minority groups. However, the facts don’t seem in line with such expectation. There have been a lot of cases happened in Indonesia that bring this country into a serious question in its ability to protect the minority groups. The persecutions over the Ahmadiyah and Shia sects, the rejections against non-Muslim worship place establishments, and as the most recent one, the case of Jakarta’s governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, are some of the long sad stories showing how Indonesia is really poor in its performance to protect the minority groups. Identity politics and even a sentiment of racism are re-escalating in Indonesia today, which seems affirming the research findings got by the Wahid Foundation showing that 59.9% of 1520 of respondents from 34 provinces in Indonesia said that they have hatred towards some groups of their fellow citizen, such as those who are non-Muslims, Chinese-descents, communists, etc (Hakim 2016). Among this 59,9% respondents, 92,2% of them said that they highly oppose a person coming from those groups to become a governmental leader, and 82,4% of this people even said that they don’t want to have a neighbor coming from those groups (Hakim 2016). Such re-emergence of identity politics and sentiment of racism, as well as a frightening fact of hatred among people, really give a serious question about why all the human rights instruments which already exist in Indonesia seem to fail in preventing all those things to happen. In this article, I will show my hypothesis that all that sad news that happened in Indonesia in regard to the minority group protection are due to the failure of multiculturalism approach implemented in Indonesia so far. Thus, I will also propose the interculturalism approach to be implemented in Indonesia as the critique and refinement of multiculturalism approach in dealing with the multicultural society, including in regard to the minority groups protection.

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