Israeli adolescents exposed to community and terror violence: The protective role of social support

Kathryn A. Brookmeyer, Christopher C. Henrich, Guina Cohen, Golan Shahar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigates how social support may protect Israeli early adolescents who have witnessed community violence from engaging in violent behavior when they have also witnessed terror violence. The study examines how support from parents, school, and friends could serve as protective, despite the interactive risk effects of witnessing community and terror violence. In general, results indicate that support from parents operated as a protective factor, whereas support from friends acted as a risk by increasing the likelihood of violent behavior. Support from school has both a protective and risk effect, depending on the type of violence exposure witnessed. The extent to which these facets of social support operated as risk or protective factors is conditional on whether youth had also witnessed terror violence, and terror violence appear to moderate each of the three facets of support differently. The implications of these findings and intervention initiatives for Israeli youth are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)577-603
Number of pages27
JournalJournal of Early Adolescence
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2011

Keywords

  • community violence
  • early adolescence
  • social ecology
  • social support
  • terrorism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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