Exposure to Violence Across the Social Ecosystem and the Development of Aggression: A Test of Ecological Theory in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Paul Boxer*, L. Rowell Huesmann, Eric F. Dubow, Simha F. Landau, Shira Dvir Gvirsman, Khalil Shikaki, Jeremy Ginges

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

106 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model proposes that events in higher order social ecosystems should influence human development through their impact on events in lower order social ecosystems. This proposition was tested with respect to ecological violence and the development of children's aggression via analyses of 3 waves of data (1 wave yearly for 3years) from 3 age cohorts (starting ages: 8, 11, and 14) representing three populations in the Middle East: Palestinians (N=600), Israeli Jews (N=451), and Israeli Arabs (N=450). Results supported a hypothesized model in which ethnopolitical violence increases community, family, and school violence and children's aggression. Findings are discussed with respect to ecological and observational learning perspectives on the development of aggressive behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)163-177
Number of pages15
JournalChild Development
Volume84
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

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