Macro- and microlevel factors related to sense of community: The case of temporary neighborhoods in Israel

This study examines macro and micro factors influencing the development of sense of community (Davidson & Cotter, 1980) in two different populations (immigrants and veterans) in new temporary neighborhoods in Israel. At the macrolevel, the major factors examined were population size, population density, number of dwelling units in the site, urbanity of the area, ethnic heterogeneity, and peripheriality of the region. Three kinds of variables were examined on the microlevel: (a) personal attitudes: evaluation of the dwelling unit and satisfaction with public services; (b) social networks; and (c) sociodemographic characteristics. Data were collected from 242 immigrants from the former USSR and from 60 Israeli veterans, residing in 5 different sites. Two different patterns of predictors of sense of community emerged in the two different samples. In the veteran sample, only one macrolevel variable entered the stepwise analysis equation: the number of dwelling units in the site. In the immigrant sample, three significant microlevel factors entered the equation: evaluation of the dwelling unit, external network, and age. The data thus suggest that the major determinant factors underlying sense of community vary for different groups of people. The paper is based on a study initiated and financed by the Ministry of Housing and Construction, the Unit of Social Policy, Israel.     

Cooperation or Tension? Dyadic Coping in Cystic Fibrosis

Following a rise in the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, many adults with CF form couple relationships. Yet, dyadic coping has not been previously examined in people with CF. This study examined how adults with CF and their partners cope as a couple with the illness, and what meanings each partner and the couple as a unit attribute to the experience. Seventeen adult CF patients and their partners participated in separate semi‐structured in‐depth interviews. Two main patterns of dyadic coping with CF were identified as follows: cooperation and tension. For couples in cooperation, the marital relationship served as a resource for adaptive coping. These couples were characterized by similarities in their perception of the place of CF in their lives and of their roles in the marital relationship. Couples in tension described the couple relationship as strained by difficulty of accepting the disease, proliferation of negative emotions, and a sense of burden and loneliness in the process of coping. Findings point to the importance of mutual empathy, clear and accepted division of roles between the partners, and open communication for facilitating coping as a couple.     

Adolescents' Reactions to the Evacuation of the Sinai Settlements: A Longitudinal Study

This study investigated psychological reactions of adolescents to a severe stress situation—the evacuation of the Sinai settlements. The research focused on emotional reactions of anxiety and anger to this stress situation. Two central problems were investigated: (a) The intensity of the emotional responses of anxiety and anger of the adolescents to the stress situation, before and after the evacuation, and (b) the impact of three intervening variables on these emotional reactions—cognitive perception of the political situation, family functioning, and personality characteristics. Data for this study were collected in a regional high school in Israel from 418 pupils in 9th through 12th grades. Seventy-eight of the pupils lived in the Yamit area. Measurements were obtained at three points in time: 6 weeks and 1 week before the evacuation and 2 months after it. The results supported the predicted trend that adolescents in the Yamit group before the evacuation would score higher on state anxiety and state anger than would those in the comparison group. Two months after the evacuation there was a significant drop in those scores. The trait measures remained stable in both groups and no significant differences were found between the two groups on these scores. Concerning the impact of the three intervening variables on the intensity of the state emotional responses, the results did not support any of the hypotheses.     

Family,gender, and attitudes toward retirement

The relationships between marital status, proximity of children, and attitudes toward retirement of 432 men and 373 women on the verge of retirement were studied. Three dimensions of attitudes were examined: attitudes toward losses associated with retirement, toward gains in entering retirement, and toward gains in leaving work. Women hold significantly more positive attitudes toward both types of gains; there are no gender differences concerning attitudes toward losses. The married of both sexes perceive more gains in entering retirement. Proximity of children is curvilinearly related to gain in entering retirement, especially among women. Attitudes toward losses and gains in leaving work are not associated with familial state. The meaning of work and the myth of the primacy of family for women are discussed.This paper draws on research supported by Grant Number 1 R01 AG 05206-01 from the National Institute on Aging.     

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List of Contributors     

What Is a Conventional Object Function? The Effects of Intentionality and Consistency of Use

By preschool age, children have a sophisticated assumption about the conventional nature of various kinds of information. The present studies investigated the role of two cues in 2- and 3-year-olds' determination of what is conventional, namely the intentionality and intra-individual consistency in the use of objects. Overall, in Study 1, both 2- and 3-year-olds were more likely to say that the expected use and purpose of an object was a function intentionally and consistently demonstrated. In Study 2, 3-year-olds but not 2-year-olds generalized their expectation about the conventionality of an intentionally demonstrated function to another agent's learning of the function. These findings shed light on how children's assumption of what is conventional gets refined via children's intuitive interpretive dispositions regarding human actions.     

A phenomenological examination of dating attitudes in ultra-orthodox Jewish emerging adult women

The current study investigated the dating attitudes of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women using a qualitative analysis. Interviews were conducted with eight Ultra-Orthodox Jewish young women. Themes reflected pressures associated with the dating process and the importance of dating for marriage. Additionally, respondents expressed satisfaction with the dating system due to its single-minded focus on finding a marriage partner and due to perceptions of alternative more Western systems.     

Moderating factors explaining stress reactions: comparing chronic-without-acute-stress and chronic-with-acute-stress situations

The author compared patterns of moderating factors explaining stress reactions during 2 states: chronic-without-acute-stress and chronic-with-acute-stress. She hypothesized that personal dispositions would contribute more to understanding stress reactions during a prolonged stress state than during an acute state. The participants were Israeli Jewish adolescents living in West Bank settlements during the prolonged (chronic-without-acute-stress) state of the intifada (the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation) and during the chronic-with-acute-stress state, immediately after the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. The author examined 5 variables as moderating factors--trait anxiety, sense of coherence, cognitive appraisal of the political situation, family sense of coherence, and sense of community--and measured 2 stress reactions--state anxiety and psychological distress. Data were collected from 266 8th-grade students during the chronic-without-acute-stress state and 448 students at the same grade level at the chronic-with-acute-stress state. The overall magnitude of variance explanation was different at each state: The author found a relatively high explained variance of state anxiety and psychological distress in the chronic-without-acute-stress situation but not in the chronic-with-acute stress state. These data support the value of developing a model that would recognize the different types of stress situations for moderating the effects of stress.     

Sense of coherence,hope, and home demolition are differentially associated with anger and anxiety among Bedouin Arab adolescents in recognized and unrecognized villages

Background and objectives: This research investigated how coping resources explain emotional reactions of anger and anxiety, in the context of threat of house demolition, among adolescents in three groups: Adolescents living in a recognized village with no demolition, adolescents living in an unrecognized village (by the Israeli government as legal) with no demolition, and adolescents living in an unrecognized village with demolition. The framework of this research is based on Antonovsky’s salutogenic theory, which suggests examining ability to cope with stressful situations.

Design: Multi-group cross-sectional study.

Methods: The study was carried out during 2010–2011 and included 910 participants, of whom 411 adolescents lived in unrecognized villages where 193 of them experienced home demolition. Participants filled out a questionnaire including demographics, coping resources and emotional reactions.

Results: Findings showed that stress reactions were the highest among adolescents from unrecognized villages with demolition. Personal sense of coherence (SOC) was related to fewer emotional reactions among the adolescents from recognized villages; among adolescents from unrecognized villages, especially adolescents living in an unrecognized village with demolition, a stronger SOC was linked to stronger emotional reactions.

Conclusions: These findings have important implications for understanding the role of coping among youth from different cultural groups.     

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Authors Index

List of Contributors