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Objective: The prolonged and continuous conflict of the Palestinian minority in Israel with the Jewish majority and its cumulative sociopolitical stress (e.g., national incongruity, racism, community, and political violence) may put this minority at risk for psychological distress. This experience may lead to maladaptive behaviors, such as perpetrating violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV). This study examined the relationship between exposure to sociopolitical stressors (i.e., interpersonal racism, collective racism, and national minority stress) and psychological and physical IPV perpetration among Palestinians in Israel. It also examined cognitive appraisals of stress and psychological distress as serial mediators in this relationship. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by a systematic sample of 770 Palestinian adults (64.9% were women and 35.1% were men), aged 21–66 (M = 38.7, SD = 7.84). Participants were sampled from urban, rural, and Bedouin areas in Israel. A serial mediation model was conducted using path analysis. Results: Interpersonal racism directly predicts IPV perpetration. Minority stress and interpersonal racism, however, indirectly predict IPV perpetration via psychological distress. Further, each chain of cognitive appraisals of sociopolitical stress (i.e., uncontrollable and challenge) with psychological distress serially mediates the relationship between sociopolitical stress and IPV perpetration. Conclusions: Exposure to sociopolitical stressors directly impacts the dynamics among Palestinian men and women, but also likely indirectly, through psychological distress and serially through cognitive appraisals and psychological distress. Cognitive appraisals of sociopolitical stress may be important psychological resources or risk factors that practitioners can consider to combat psychological distress and IPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, perceived stress, and cognitive appraisals of grandparenthood to life satisfaction among new grandparents. The theoretical framework was Lazarus and Folkman's stress and coping model and the positive psychology approach. The sample consisted of 246 Israeli grandparents (aged 42-72 years) who completed a set of questionnaires 3-24 months after the birth of their first grandchild. The results showed that higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with younger age of grandparents, higher levels of physical health and economic status, and lower grandparent distress. Moreover, maternal grandparents reported higher appraisals of challenge and threat than did paternal grandparents, and grandfathers reported a higher perception of dysfunctional interaction with the grandchild than did grandmothers. Most importantly, the participants' cognitive appraisals were found to moderate the perceptions of stress generated by the birth of a first grandchild. The study highlights the need for preventive interventions aimed at promoting factors that can empower new grandparents who have difficulty coping with their new role. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the familiarity of library and information science (LIS) students with Web 2.0 technologies, applications, and innovations. Particular focus is given to the influence of personality characteristics such as learning strategies and resistance to change and factors including motivation and study habits to the application of Web 2.0 technologies to library work. It notes that questionnaires completed by a random selection of Israeli library students indicate moderate use of Web 2.0 applications.

The present study investigated the adaptation process of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel as a multiple-stressor situation that involves cognitive appraisals and coping efforts. A sample of 301 new immigrants (residing in Israel three years or less), 67% women, 25 to 45 years old, completed inventories measuring cognitive appraisals of three major immigration stressors-employment, language, and housing difficulties-and the strategies used to cope with these demands. Level of distress (as indicated by depression and anxiety) was also assessed. The results show positive associations between cognitive appraisals of the various stressors, as well as between the coping strategies applied to them, indicating mutual influences between stressors in a multiple-stressor situation. In addition, an interaction between the appraisals of threat/loss of the three stressors predicted the respondents' distress level, supporting the potentiation model of coping with multiple stressors. Last, the findings support the notion of a stable coping style by showing especially high correlations between coping efforts with different stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex differences in child abuse and neglect (CAN) have long interested researchers due to their adverse impact. Cognitive appraisal of CAN may also affect the negative consequences. The purpose of this study was to assess sex differences in (a) the experience and (b) the cognitive appraisal of CAN among 247 Israeli inmates. The findings indicated that female inmates experienced higher rates of total CAN than male inmates. No significant sex differences were found in physical abuse, emotional neglect, or cognitive appraisal of CAN. However, there were significant sex differences in ranking the significance of different dimensions of cognitive appraisal of CAN. Paternal partner violence was a predictor of CAN and its cognitive appraisal for both sexes; maternal partner violence was a predictor of both among female inmates only. Even when male and female inmates share similar family risk factors, their effects may differ by sex. Possible clinical implications are discussed.