Arab youth involvement in violence: A socio-ecological gendered perspective

Youth involvement in serious physical violence and political violence: Similarities and differences in risk factors

INTRODUCTION

Youth involvement in violence and delinquency has received widespread attention in the literature. However, little is known about youth involvement in political violence, especially among youth who live in conflict areas. The current study examined the mechanisms that underlie youth involvement in serious physical and political violence. We explored the similarities and differences in the association between both individual factors (including religiosity and school commitment) and parental factors (including parental control and education), and the two types of violent behaviors.

METHOD

A large representative sample of 814 Arab male students from neighborhoods located in East Jerusalem, aged 12-18 years, completed a structured, anonymous, self-report questionnaire. The data was collected between February and May 2019.

RESULTS

Over half of the participants reported that they had been involved in political violence (55.1%) or serious physical violence (58.8%) during the previous year. Youth involvement in serious physical violence was positively associated with involvement in political violence. Furthermore, we found that greater parental control and lower impulsivity are associated with lower levels of political and physical violence. School commitment was associated negatively with serious physical violence but not with involvement in political violence. Youth work was positively correlated with involvement in political violence but not in serious physical violence.

CONCLUSION

The results of the current study show that Arab youth from East Jerusalem are highly involved in political and serious physical violence. The risk and protective factors identified here should inform the design of specific intervention strategies.

The contribution of school climate, socioeconomic status, ethnocultural affiliation, and school level to language arts scores: A multilevel moderated mediation model

Evidence suggests that schools can promote academic success and higher grades by reducing the negative effect of socioeconomic disadvantage through the mediation of a positive climate. However, a critical question largely remains unanswered: Does the mediation of positive school climate on the link between socioeconomic background and academic achievement remain similar for all schools in all cultures and among all ethnic groups? Using a nationally representative database with school climate and language arts test scores of primary and secondary Hebrew and Arabic language schools in Israel (N = 1188), we examined the contribution of both internal (i.e., school climate and grade level) and external (i.e., ethnocultural and socioeconomic backgrounds) influences on schools' language arts test scores. Using multilevel analyses, findings indicated that the magnitude of the mediation of positive school climate, as manifested by a greater sense of security and decreased school violence, in the link between socioeconomic status and test scores was significant only for elementary schools educating Arabic language minority populations and not for nonminority elementary Hebrew language schools. However, this was not the case for secondary schools, where evidence of higher test scores in schools with positive school climate did not emerge. Despite the many socioeconomic obstacles that ethnocultural minority students face, these results indicate that schools prioritizing a positive climate can increase academic opportunities and level the playing field for students from vulnerable cultures and backgrounds. School professionals are encouraged to invest resources that improve school climate to support underprivileged students' prosperity, especially in schools educating students from minoritized backgrounds, where more significant contributions likely exist. Implications for educational policy and future research are discussed.

Validation of the Arabic version of the resilience scale for adolescents (READ)

INTRODUCTION

Adolescents react differently to challenging negative life events. Resilience, a dynamic characteristic of individuals, was studied to be a protective factor against such events. In order to study the resilience among Arabic-speaking adolescent populations, age-appropriate measures that are fully apprehended by younger respondents are needed. In this context, the present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ) in a community sample of native Arabic-speaking adolescents aged 13-18 years.

METHODS

A sample of 546 community Arabic-speaking adolescents from Lebanon was recruited (n = 328 females, with a mean age of 15.76 ± 1.65 years). Through an online questionnaire, participants were requested to complete the READ, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-8) and the 13-item Children's Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-13).

RESULTS

Following the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA-to-CFA) strategy, a unidimensional model of the Arabic version of the READ was met after 10 items were removed from the scale, and showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.943). Additionally, the one-factor solution of the Arabic version of the READ was identical across male and female adolescents at the three levels of invariance (Configural, Metric and Scalar). Finally, higher resilience scores were significantly correlated with lower levels of psychopathology, namely depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD, thus attesting to the concurrent validity of the Arabic READ.

CONCLUSION

Findings lend support to the psychometric reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the READ, and therefore its suitability for use among Arabic-speaking adolescents. The availability of this tool facilitates the implementation of interventions that foster resilience, especially in adolescents who have faced a number of negative life events.

Factors Associated With Referral of Children With a Femur Fracture to a Social Worker by an Orthopedist for Suspected Child Abuse

OBJECTIVES

This article explores factors associated with referral of children with a femur fracture to a social worker by an orthopedist for suspected child abuse.

METHODS

This retrospective chart review study included 131 children younger than 5 years who sustained a femur fracture and were hospitalized in a major 495-bed hospital located in the northern-central Israel from 2009 to 2021. Data on children who were referred to a social worker by the treating orthopedist and those who were not were compared.

RESULTS

More than half the children studied (58.8%, n = 77) were referred to a social worker by an orthopedist for suspected child abuse. However, only a fifth of these cases were eventually reported to the authorities. Male sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.44), younger age of the child (OR, 0.95), and spiral femur fracture type (OR, 5.30) increased the likelihood of referral. In addition, treatment of the child by an orthopedic specialist (as compared with an orthopedic resident; OR, 3.12) and lengthier professional experience of the treating orthopedist (OR, 1.08) increased the likelihood of referral.

CONCLUSIONS

Younger male children presenting with a spiral femur fracture have a higher likelihood to be referred to a social worker because of suspected child abuse by treating orthopedic specialists with lengthier professional experience. The findings point to the need to improve the capacity of orthopedic residents to report child abuse.

Are Children Harmed by Being Locked up at Home? The Impact of Isolation during the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Phenomenon of Domestic Violence

The phenomenon of violence against children is a very complex one. There are many types of child abuse, and they are culturally dependent to a significant degree. Although studies show that children generally only suffer from mild COVID-19 infection, some social restrictions introduced during the pandemic, such as home isolation, may have many severe consequences on the population's mental health. Studies on this topic suggest that violence against children increased during lockdown due to the COVID-10 pandemic. This narrative review summarizes this available literature on the subject and discusses the different forms of violence against children, their cultural aspects, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the phenomenon of violence, the long-term consequences of the above, and forms of assistance for abused minors.

Self-Efficacy and External Locus of Control as Predictors of Participant Roles in Relational Aggression

We examined the extent to which the perceived behavioral control factors of pro-social, emotional, or verbal-social self-efficacy (SE) as well as external locus of control (LOC) explain the variance between different participant roles: relational aggressors, relational victims, relational aggressive-victims, and bystanders. Participants included 1,518 adolescents (61.6% boys and 38.4% girls) from 15 Israeli middle and high schools. Multinomial logistic regression models indicated relational aggressors, and aggressive-victims had lower pro-social SE and higher verbal-social SE than relational victims and bystanders. Relational aggressors, aggressive-victims, and victims had more extensive external LOC than bystanders. The theoretical contribution of verbal-social SE is discussed, and practical implications are highlighted, in particular, regarding the relational aggressive-victim, who exhibits high-risk behaviors.