Adjustment problems among Soviet immigrants at risk. Part I: Reaching out to members of the "1000 families" organization.

An outreach, preventive mental health project with Soviet immigrants implemented during and immediately following the Gulf War is described. One hundred and fifty immigrant families were visited by immigrant mental health professionals when the level and nature of their psychological distress was assessed. In the analyses of data, patterns of distress over time and factors which contributed to psychological distress were also examined. The main finding of the study concerned the subjects' well-being which was found to be marginally related to the Gulf War. Furthermore, no post-traumatic reactions could be discerned. Instead, immigration related factors, both emotional and objective, were correlated with the psychological distress of the subjects.