Drorit Levy

• PhD
• Senior Lecturer. Head, Management and Community Program at Bar Ilan University

CHANGES TO SOCIAL AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SUPPORT IN THE PERINATAL PERIOD: IMPACT ON COPING STRATEGIES, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY✰ Rena Binaa, Drorit Levya, Samira Alfayumi-Zeadnab,* , Ana Raquel Marcelino Mesquitac,d, Raquel Costae,f,g, Sara Domínguez-Salash, Claire A. Wilsoni, Ana Osorioj, Eleni Vousourak, Ana Ukal, Camellia Hanchevam, Yolanda Con...

Objective/Background Unmet needs in perinatal mental healthcare are an important public health issue particularly in the context of a stressful life event such as the COVID‐19 pandemic but data on the extent of this problem are needed. Aim The aim of this study is to determine the (1) proportion of women with clinically significant symptoms of per...

Community social work (CSW) is often regarded as a practice with a variety of intervention models. The objectives of the present article are to examine CSW’s philosophical and theoretical roots and to bridge the gap in the literature regarding the theoretical and philosophical origins of CSW and to conceptualize these theoretical bases as a paradig...

This study aimed to analyse the role of governmental responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, measured by the Containment and Health Index (CHI), on symptoms of anxiety and depression during pregnancy and postpartum, while considering the countries’ Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) and individual factors such...

We wished to understand the contribution of personal, family, and community factors to the risky behaviors (RBs) of religious Jewish teens in Israel, and whether sense of community belonging mediated the religious estrangement/RB association. A convenience sample comprised 645 adolescents aged 14–19 (420 female/225 male) from Israel's national-reli...

Introduction: There is evidence that women with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of the common mental disorders of anxiety and depression. The COVID-19 pandemic may have exerted an additional burden on the mental health of this population. The aim of this analysis was to compare levels of symptoms of common mental disorders and experience...

People struggling with poverty and social exclusion constitute the principal population targeted by social services around the world. To deal with this social problem, many intervention plans have been developed. In Israel, the ‘Otzma’ Centre programme was adopted in 2007 by the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs. The programme’s goals are redu...

Although research from a positive psychology perspective is conducted among different populations, few studies have examined the predictors of life satisfaction among young backpackers. The current study focused on young adults (ages 21–30), an age group for whom backpacking treks are a growing phenomenon, during their treks in the Far East and Sou...

This study assessed prevalence of perinatal depression symptoms (PNDS) during the COVID-19 pandemic among Arab and Jewish women in Israel and identified COVID-19-related risk factors for PNDS, while comparing Arab and Jewish women. Sample included 730 perinatal women (604 Jewish and 126 Arab) aged 19–45 years, who filled out an online self-report q...

Background: Mental disorders during the perinatal period are a significant health concern, especially during a pandemic, in which healthcare provision is highly demanding, and governmental measures to prevent infection influence the population’s daily living. This study aimed to analyse the role of governmental responses to the coronavirus disease...

This study examined the existence of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and/or vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) among volunteers who work at the Therapeutic Riding & Canine Institute (TRCI) in Israel. Additionally, the study examined the personal and environmental factors that contribute to these phenomena. The study was conducted among 115 adul...

Background Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, which could have negative consequences for pregnant and postpartum women. The scarce evidence published to date suggests that perinatal mental health has deteriorated since the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the few stu...

During emerging adulthood, individuals are primarily concerned with themselves. Community participation, however, may help one to mature, and community belonging is important for well‐being. As such, the current study aimed to examine these two components among young‐adult Israeli backpackers abroad. We examined the role of personal (mastery, self‐...

To examine the contribution of background variables, threat variables, and personal and community resources to participants' perceived social distance toward unauthorized migrants. Study participants were 168 Israeli citizens/longtime residents of three disadvantaged neighborhoods in Israel, who filled out self‐report questionnaires. We applied a h...

A positive sense of agency is crucial for a successful transition to adulthood. Young women at risk may struggle with a compromised sense of agency due to their backgrounds and daily challenges, potentially delaying them at the stage of emerging adulthood when they are required to become independent. The current paper looks at the development of ag...

This study examined whether there were differences in levels of depression between Arab and Jewish Israeli female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and how various personal and environmental variables contributed to depression. A total of 303 women were selected. T tests were conducted, and no significant differences were revealed. Hierarc...

This article aims to examine the contribution of personal and environmental resources to the sense of belonging to the community among postforced eviction communities. The study included 140 participants who experienced forced eviction, and ranged in age from 20 to 79 years. Slightly more than half were women (52.4%, 74). Nearly half of the partici...

This study focuses on a program designed to engage at-risk youth in the National Civic Service (NCS) in Israel with the goal of enabling them to better integrate into normative adult lives. This exploratory study employed a cross-sectional design and compared groups of at-risk female volunteers (N = 426) with comparison groups of not at-risk partic...

The aim of the current study was to address a gap in the literature by determining prevalence, specific types of violence, and risk factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) among Israeli born Arab women compared with Israeli born Jewish women. The following measures were compared: demographic and socioeconomic measures; measures relating to the c...

This article describes the perspectives of alumni of National Civic Service (NCS) in Israel on its impact at the individual level. We compared 250 young women who were identified as youth at risk with 295 mainstream volunteers. Overall, the two groups show similar outcomes that are typical to this developmental stage of life. Yet youth at risk expe...

In the present study, ecological theory was used as a basis for predicting depression among women who survive intimate partner violence (IPV). The predictors examined in the study derived from three ecological systems: the microsystem (background variables and frequency of the violence), the ontogenic system (personal resources), and the mesosystem...

Based on systems theory, the current study aimed to examine the relationships between the following sets of variables: input variables—satisfaction with supervision, self-differentiation, and sense of coherence; throughput variables—values and empathy; and the output variable—professional identity of BSW students. Questionnaires were completed by 1...

The study examined the contribution of personal and community resources to personal well-being and community well-being (sense of belonging to the community) among community activists in neighbourhoods of low socio-economic status (SES) in Israel. The activists, who represent the residents of their communities, are supervised by macro-intervention...

In Israel, the ‘Civic-National Volunteer Service for Youth At-risk’ was developed to help support their transition to adulthood, while making a contribution to society. The present paper examines life satisfaction and perceptions of the future among youth at-risk completing their volunteer service. Further, the paper explores how socio-demographic...

The present article attempts to shed light on the direct and indirect contribution of personal resources and community indices to Sense of Cohesion among activists engaging in community volunteer work. The sample comprised 481 activists. Based on social systems theory, three levels of variables were examined: (1) inputs, which included personal res...

Based on the person-in-environment theory, this article presents empirical findings on the contribution of organizational resources (satisfaction with supervision), personal resources (empathic concern, self-differentiation, and sense of coherence), and environmental resources (values) to the professional identity of social work students. The sampl...