Youth in the midst of escalated political violence: sense of coherence and hope among Jewish and Bedouin Arab adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundDuring stressful events, individuals (particularly adolescents) from minority groups are often more vulnerable to distress. This claim will be examined in terms of coping resources and stress reactions to escalated political violence. This study aimed to compare coping resources and stress reactions among adolescents from two ethnic groups in southern Israel—Jews and Bedouin Arabs—during a period of escalated political violence (November 2012). The Bedouin Arab group is the ethnic minority of the sample and thus may be more at risk compared to the Jewish group.MethodsData were gathered from 78 Jews and 91 Bedouin Arabs (14–18 years old) by using convenience sampling method. Adolescents were contacted via the Internet or in person by the research team and they completed self-report questionnaires including the Sense Of Coherence Scale (SOC), Hope Index, State Anxiety Inventory, and State Anger Inventory. After a preliminary χ2 analysis of the sample characteristics, three main sets of analyses were conducted including a two-way MANOVA, zero-order correlations between study variables, and hierarchical multiple regressions.ResultsBedouin Arab adolescents reported lower levels of SOC (F(1, 158) = 3.88, p = 0.04) and higher levels of individual and collective hope (F(1, 158) = 3.94, p = 0.03; F(1, 158) = 17.41, p = 0.001, respectively), as compared to Jewish adolescents. The Bedouin adolescents also reported higher levels of state anger (F(1, 158) = 5.58, p = 0.02). We identified cultural similarities related to the predictive power of coping resources (SOC and individual hope) in explaining state anger (β = −0.29, p = 0.001; β = −0.18, p = 0.045, respectively). However, cultural differences were found to affect the ability of SOC to predict state anxiety; SOC contributed significantly to state anxiety only among the Jewish adolescents (β = −0.45, p < 0.001).ConclusionThese results emphasize the significance of addressing cultural/ethnic factors in attempts to understand mental-health issues among youth during periods of escalated political violence.

Acculturative Stress among Arab Students in Israel: The Roles of Sense of Coherence and Coping Strategies

“…In this study, we used the Arabic version of the SOC questionnaire. This version has been used in several previous research projects and has been found to be reliable and suitable for use among the Bedouin Arab population [23,70,71]. In the current study, the internal consistency reliability for the scale was 0.80.…”

“…Previous research on SOC in Eastern-collectivistic contexts such as the Arab minority in Israel has revealed two important findings. First, researchers found lower levels of SOC among the Arab minority [23,31]. Second, over time, changes in SOC levels were observed (higher levels) and SOC became a strong predictor of stress reactions [24].…”

“…Antonovsky claimed that an ability to define stressors as irrelevant, neutral, or even as a challenge indicates that a person has a strong SOC, while considering a stressor as endangering one's well-being is indicative of low SOC [19]. Previous literature has stated that SOC has important positive effects on reactions to stress, as well as problem-solving and emotional coping in general, particularly among individuals who are members of ethnic and cultural minorities [23][24][25][26]. Previous research has found that an individual with a strong SOC is more likely to feel less stress and to have more social support that can be called upon in his or her efforts to cope with stress [19,27].…”

Struggling and Overcoming Daily Life Barriers Among Children With Congenital Heart Disease and Their Parents in the West Bank, Palestine

“…A study conducted among a general population in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo concluded that cumulative exposure to political violence is inversely correlated with SOC (Pham, Vinck, Kinkodi, & Weinstein, 2010). It was proposed that living in areas of political violence with unstable and disorganized living conditions, low socio-economic standards, weak generalized resistance resources, and a different perception of the SOC construct, could give lower SOC scores (Abu-Kaf, Braun-Lewensohn, & Kalagy, 2017;Braun-Lewensohn & Sagy, 2011a, 2011bBraun-Lewensohn & Sagy, 2010). Furthermore, previous studies have found that SOC scores diminished in patients with chronic diseases and attributed this to negative life events and/or health deterioration (Bergman et al, 2011;Gauffin et al, 2010;Merakou et al, 2013).…”

Salutogenesis and the Prevention of Social Death: Cross-Cultural Lessons from Genocide-Impacted Rwandans and Indigenous Youth in Canada

“…22 include examples from the salutogenesis literature, the sense of coherence approach offers insights into the mobilizing orientation behind political violence as well as the psychological capacity to resist and overcome these oppressive and destructive forces. 23 Antonovksy's early work on the origins of health after genocide took place at a historical moment when the intensification of settler colonial processes in Israel were ramping up systemic displacement, exclusion, and violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories. 24 For Antonovsky, the health of the Israeli state seems necessarily embodied in the shared coherence of individual Israeli settlers.…”