Masculine and family honor and youth violence: The moderating role of ethnic-cultural affiliation

Abstract

This study examines the involvement in violent behavior of at-risk Arab and Jewish male youth from a large city in Israel. It explores the role masculine and family honor plays in predicting youth involvement in violence and tests whether this association is moderated by ethnic-cultural affiliation. A total of 282 males (59.2% Arab), aged 15-21, filled out a self-report closed-ended questionnaire. We found that among both Jewish and Arab youth a greater concern with masculine honor was positively associated with involvement in violence. We also found that Arab youth are significantly more involved in violent behavior than Jewish youth, and that Arab participants were more concerned with masculine and family honor. However, contrary to what was expected, greater concern with family honor was associated with lower levels of Arab youth involvement in violence. (PsycINFO Database Record