Support for religio-political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza: Part I: psychological findings.
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.
Department of NeurologicalSciences, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center,7601 East Imperial Highway, Downey, CA 90242, USA. victorof@usc.edu
Jeff
J
Victoroff
Samir
S
Quota
Janice R
JR
Adelman
Barbara
B
Celinska
Naftali
N
Stern
Rand
R
Wilcox
Robert M
RM
Sapolsky
D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011057:Politics; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012933:Social Identification; D012944:Social Support; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*; D014857:Warfare