| This qualitative, multiple case study design consisting of interviews, in English and Hebrew with 12 adolescents from 4 distinct Israeli communities (secular Jewish Sabras, Russian speaking Jewish immigrants, Arab-Christians, and Arab-Muslims) examined the perceptions of older adolescent males (ages 16-18) living in northern Israel concerning school and community violence. Violence has been on the rise in Israel in recent years, especially within schools and local communities. The political or global violence in the region is well known. The new phenomenon of local violence is yet to be understood. Cognitive moral development, social ecological, and affect theories were used to frame the questions and discussion of this study. It was designed to generate hypotheses toward building a theoretical basis for the rise in school and community violence as seen by the boys from these communities. The results of the interviews were analyzed using an affinity table to find patterns within each group. These patterns were then compared to determine similarities and differences between the four groups. Findings show that differences within the groups were more prevalent than between the groups. Two common themes emerged from the interviews: (1) bullying is acceptable in Israeli society and (2) violence is defined only as physical harm to others. The youth stated that they rarely intermingle because of cultural differences between groups; however, only one youth, an Arab-Christian felt that there is psychological harm. These findings may reflect the current cultural norms of the society. The findings of the perceptions of the youth can lead to the development of community and school specific programs designed to increase awareness of cultural differences and of the effects of multiple forms of violence. |
