Support for religio‐political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza: Part I: psychological findings |
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Authors: | Jeff Victoroff Samir Quota Janice R. Adelman Barbara Celinska Naftali Stern Rand Wilcox Robert M. Sapolsky |
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Affiliation: | 1. Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, California;2. Department of Psychology, Islamic University, Gaza;3. Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Gaza City, Gaza;4. Department of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University, California;5. Institute of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Hypertension, Tel Aviv‐Sourasky Medical Center and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel;6. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, California;7. Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California |
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Abstract: | Politically aggressive militant groups usually rely on support from a larger community, although evidence suggests that only some members of that larger community support that aggression. A major subtype of political aggression is that associated with religious differences—or Religio‐Political Aggression (RPA). Little previous research has explored demographic or psychological factors that might distinguish supporters from non‐supporters of RPA. In an exploratory study, we investigated whether factors previously associated with aggression might correlate with support for RPA in the case of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. During the second intifada, fifty‐two 14‐year‐old Palestinian boys in Gaza completed self‐report measures of life events, emotional status, and political attitudes. Teenaged boys who reported family members having been wounded or killed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) expressed greater support for RPA (t(50)=?2.30, P=.026). In addition, boys who felt their group was treated unjustly reported greater support for RPA compared with those who did not (t(50)=?2.273, P=.027). Implications of these preliminary data are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 36:219–231, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
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Keywords: | aggression political psychology oppression injustice Israeli/Palestinian conflict adolescence |
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