Predictors of High-School Dropout Among Ultraorthodox Jewish Youth

Abstract

Focusing on the unique social characteristics of closed communities, the current study examined the predictors of high-school dropout among Ultraorthodox Jewish youth, focusing on background variables [i.e., individual’s age, family’s religious group affiliation, and other high-school dropout(s) in family]; social resources (i.e., self-esteem and mastery); and parental conditional regard (PCR) and societal conditional regard (SCR), with reference to both positive regard and negative regard. The study was conducted in Israel with the participation of 261 Ultraorthodox Jewish males, ages 14–21 ( M = 17, SD = 1.17), who were at different stages in the dropout process. Path analysis modeling indicated that being a member of a newly religious family, or of a family in which another member had already dropped out of school, was a predictor of dropout. Surprisingly, personal resources were not found to be a predictor of dropout, whereas parental conditional regard and societal conditional negative regard (SCNR) were found to be the most significant predictors. Findings highlight the unique predictors of high-school dropout among youth from the Ultraorthodox Jewish community, and the role of PCR and SCR in this process.

Using societal conditional regard to cope with drug use in the ultraorthodox community and the unintended consequences

“…It started with this admired figure's sudden and unexplained disregard for him. Societal conditional negative regard has many negative consequences (Itzhaki-Braun et al, 2020;Itzhaki and Cnaan, 2021), and for Reuven, the experience of SCNR actually destroyed a part of him: I admired the head of the yeshiva. He would look at me and know how I felt.…”

The complex role of the community in the determination of well‐being and hope among divorced Muslim women

“…Regarding social resources, a sense of community is also considered to be a key factor in an individual's social capital, as it reflects aspects of trust and belonging which contribute to positive psychological outcomes (Sarason, 1974). In addition, SCR has also been defined as part of an individual's social capital as it reflects the attitude of community members as experienced by the individual who violated the communal norms (Itzhaki-Braun et al, 2020). Given that Muslim women who became divorced are considered to have deviated from the communal norms, we found it important to examine the contribution of SCR to their well-being and hope.…”

Clarifying the connection between parental conditional regard and contingent self‐esteem: An examination of cross‐lagged relations in early adolescence

“…While positive feedback is linked to adaptive outcomes (e.g., Hagger et al., 2015; Mouratidis et al., 2008) and thus should be recommended as a parenting technique, PCPR is likely to evoke maladaptive functioning in children, such as lowered intrinsic motivation, dysfunctional self‐regulation, enhanced contingency of self‐esteem, or high‐school dropout in risk groups (Assor et al. 2004; Curran et al., 2017; Itzhaki‐Braun et al., 2020; Perrone et al., 2016; Roth et al., 2009). Similarly, PCNR is distinguished from psychological control, which is defined as a manipulative parenting strategy that includes intrusion into the psychological and emotional development of the child in order to get the child to engage in desired behaviors (Barber, 1996).…”