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Abstract

Between 1989 and 1995, more than a half million immigrants arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Data show that elderly persons (65 and older) composed 14 percent of this immigration wave. The process of immigration from the FSU is a process of change extending to all areas of life, including environmental changes (climatic conditions, household arrangements); problems of language, culture, mentality, and social norms; and the personal and emotional changes accompanying such a process. Each of these transitions requires a process of personal adjustment to new situations of life that may negatively affect the immigrants' personal well-being, as individuals and as a group. Elderly immigrants are at risk as far as their capacity to adjust to changes. This study is an attempt to examine the main difficulties facing elderly immigrants from the FSU and the effect these problems have on their well-being during their acculturation in Israel.

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The Process of Acculturation in Israel among Elderly Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union

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References