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Using data (N = 773) from a longitudinal study of former Soviet Union immigrants to Israel, this study aimed to identify the psychosocial correlates of depressive mood among immigrant adolescents and differences by age and gender. OLS regression results suggest acculturative and social factors as useful variables in predicting depression. Adolescents with a high probability of assimilating (simultaneous strengthening of Israeli identity and weakening of Russian identity) proved more likely to report low levels of depression. Consistent with the literature, girls were more depressed than boys and age was positively related to depressive moods. As expected, different factors explain the psychological well-being of adolescents of different age groups and sex: in boys, depression was found mainly related to acculturation difficulties; in girls it was related more to their social support. As for age, more independent variables were statistically significant in accounting for depression in the older than in the younger group, which suggests that depression is age-related. The study results should be understood in connection with socialization processes to sex roles and the impact immigration has on this process.

A B S T R A C TThe focus of this paper is the effect of nationality on prison disposition in Israel. An interaction between the nationality of the judge, the perpetrator and the victim is examined. The data were collected in the northern district courts in Israel and consist of 1394 court records. The results show that being an Arab defendant is an inherent liability in the Israeli criminal justice system -they are more likely than Jews to receive prison sentences. Arab judges seem to be more punitive than their Jewish colleagues are. The nationality of the victim plays a significant role only in cases tried by Arab judges. In the case of an Arab judge and a Jewish victim the likelihood of an Arab defendant getting a prison sentence is higher than when the victim is an Arab. This leads to a consideration of the effect of stereotypes and the majority-minority and in-out group relations on the performance of the justice system.

Whereas traditional criminological theories treat juvenile delinquency largely as a reactive and expressive behavior that only seldom leads to specialized criminal offending or a criminal career, this article proposes an alternative classification of offenses that accounts for the difference between youthful reactive conduct and specialized criminality. It examines the effect of immigration on delinquency among juvenile Russians in Israel. In contrast to previous work that has examined the criminogenic effect of immigration without differentiating specific types of delinquency, this study investigates the immigration effect on eclectic as well as specialized delinquency. Based on survey data from face-to-face interviews with 910 immigrant youths from the former Soviet Union in Israel, the study finds important results regarding the integration of juvenile immigrants in modern societies. In contrast to the assumption that assimilation in multicultural societies represents a safe way for social adaptation and to prevent specific kinds of violent behavior, the authors find empirical support for a more sophisticated approach. Furthermore, the results underline the importance in differentiating between distinct forms of violence.

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