Manifestations of Emotional Distress among Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel: Patient and Clinician Perspectives

Manifestations of emotional distress among Ethiopian immigrants in Israel were studied through structured individual interviews with 23 Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian service providers to the Ethiopian immigrant community. The information gathered confirmed that Ethiopian immigrants tend to somatize their emotional problems through symptoms usually centered on the head, heart and stomach. The interviewees had difficulty in differentiating between physical and emotional complaints. They confirmed that emotional distress derives principally from ‘external factors’ such as life changes, pressure resulting from the acculturation process and supernatural powers. Non-Ethiopian interviewees tended to attribute problems to acculturation rather than to individual psychopathology and to put more emphasis on behavioral manifestations than on intrapsychic factors. Among the symptoms of emotional distress which were identified, depression aroused the greatest concern of the clinicians and the patients’ families.