Religious Identity and Psychological Well-Being Among Newly Orthodox Jewish Women

This article explores the phenomenon of returning to Orthodoxy among Jewish women who have immigrated to Israel. The focus of the article is the effect of this return on their self-identity as they assume a new social position. The sample consists of 72 respondents to an exhaustive questionnaire. The results reported here suggest the difficulty of maintaining prior relationships, resulting in the marginalization of some of these women. This increase in marginality may lead to heightened states of anxiety.