Political violence, social integration, and youth functioning: Palestinian youth from the Intifada

Informed by social ecological, social capital, and social disorganisation theories, this study tested an ecological model of youth experience In the Palestinian Intifada. The sample included 6,000 Palestinian 14 year olds, assessed in 1994 and 1995 after the end of the conflict. Data from retrospective self-reports of youth exposure to and involvement in political violence, and self-reports of current individual functioning (depression and antisocial behavior) and integration In several social contexts (family, peer relations, religion, education, and community), revealed: direct associations between Intifada experience and antisocial behavior and depression (females only; Intifada experience was positively associated with religiosity and unrelated to social integration in family, school, and peer relations; in some cases, social integration in family education, religion, and peer relations significantly moderated the associations between Intifada experience and youth problems; Integration in the several social contexts was directly related in predictable ways to youth problem behaviors, with neighborhood disorganisation the most consistent and Powerful predictor. The discussion centers around youth resilience to the effects of political violence, the role of psychological meaning children and adolescents can attach to political violence, and the overall salience of social integration in youth development. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.