A study of middle-aged women in five Israeli sub-cultures--immigrant Jews from central Europe, Turkey, Persia, and North Africa and Israeli-born Muslim Arabs--reflects the expectation that culture may shape the response to biological change. The study was carried out in four phases. First, psychiatric interviews were conducted with 55 women. In the second phase, 1148 women were surveyed concerning their psychosexual history, attitudes toward climacterium, menopausal symptomatology, social roles and role satisfactions, and psychological well-being. In the third phase, 697 of the 1148 women underwent a medical examination. The final phase consisted of follow-up psychiatric interviews with 160 subjects. Findings show that the response to middle age and to climacterium is shaped by ethnic origin, there is no linear relationship between psychological well-being and the degree of modernity, and the cessation of fertility is welcomed by women in all cultures. (RM)