In Israel, as in other developed countries, mental health problems are common among older adults who are members of disadvantaged ethnic minorities that are experiencing cultural and social changes. The main goals of the current study were: (a) to examine gender differences in the levels of psychological distress and social support among Bedouin elders, and (b) to examine the moderating role of gender in the associations between social support indices and psychological distress. We used a cross-sectional design, and independent t-tests and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed. The study was conducted in homes and in social clubs and community centers for elderly people and involved face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. A convenience sample of 170 Bedouin Arab elderly people living in Israel participated in the study. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that assessed psychological distress, perceived social support, instrumental social support, and socio-demographic characteristics. Male elders reported lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of instrumental support. Female elders, who reported low levels of both perceived and instrumental support, also reported higher levels of psychological distress. Among the women, there were significant associations between psychological distress and perceived social support, and instrumental support only when the levels of support were low. This study underscores the moderating role of gender in the associations between different types of social support and psychological distress among elderly people belonging to ethnic and cultural underprivileged minority groups.

Adolescent substance use (SU) presents a significant public health challenge that affects physical, psychological, and social well-being. Parents hold a vital role in recognizing early warning signs and facilitating intervention, yet parents’ knowledge and ability to identify SU-related symptoms, locate trustworthy information, or navigate available treatment options (SU literacy) remain largely unexamined. This commentary explores the importance of parental SU literacy, the obstacles impeding it, and possible strategies to enhance parental awareness. Many parents encounter difficulties in recognizing symptoms, often misjudge the risks associated with occasional substance use or compulsive behaviors and are unsure about where to seek reliable support. In addition, stigma, misinformation, and a lack of accessible resources further hinder parents’ ability to take timely action. Strategies to enhance parental SU literacy are discussed, aiming not only to promote early detection and intervention but also to reduce the long-term societal burden of adolescent SU.

Results from paradigms like change blindness and inattentional blindness indicate that observers are unaware of numerous aspects of the visual world. However, intuition suggests that perceptual experience is richer than these results indicate. Why does it feel like we see so much when the data suggests we see so little? One possibility stems from the fact that experimental studies always present observers with stimuli that they have never seen before. Meanwhile, when forming intuitions about perceptual experience, observers reflect on their experiences with scenes with which they are highly familiar (e.g., their office). Does prior experience with a scene change the bandwidth of perceptual awareness? Here, we asked if observers were better at noticing alterations to the periphery in familiar scenes compared with unfamiliar scenes. Here, we found that observers noticed changes to the periphery more frequently with familiar stimuli. Signal detection theoretic analyses revealed that when observers are unfamiliar with a stimulus, they are less sensitive at noticing (d′) and are more conservative in their response criterion (c). Taken together, these results suggest that prior knowledge expands the bandwidth of perceptual awareness. It should be stressed that these results challenge the widely held idea that prior knowledge fills in perception. Overall, these findings highlight how prior knowledge plays an important role in determining the limits of perceptual experience and is an important factor to consider when attempting to reconcile the tension between empirical observation and personal introspection.

Objectives: The October 7 attacks and ensuing war created conditions of sustained, multidimensional trauma. This systematic review synthesizes studies from the first two years of the war to clarify early prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), anxiety, depression, and addiction-related outcomes in the Israeli population. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched identifying studies published between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025 (final search date December 30, 2025). Guided by the PICOS framework, eligible studies assessed psychiatric outcomes among Israeli populations exposed to the October 7 attacks or subsequent war. Outcomes of interest included posttraumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and addiction-related outcomes, and observational quantitative and qualitative studies were included. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute tools. Findings were synthesized narratively, with attention to exposure characteristics, subgroup differences, and time of assessment. Results: Sixty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Symptom trajectories were heterogeneous and varied with exposure intensity and contextual vulnerability. Elevated PTSS was associated with direct, cumulative, and role-related exposure. Anxiety and depression were widely documented and persisted among individuals facing sustained threat, socioeconomic strain, or displacement. Addiction-related outcomes, an emerging and comparatively understudied domain, were examined in only three studies, with preliminary evidence suggesting exposure and distress-associated increases in substance use and gambling. Conclusions: Psychiatric responses following October 7 were domain-specific and associated with exposure, ongoing stress, and structural and individual vulnerabilities, underscoring the need for targeted, longitudinal monitoring in prolonged crisis contexts.