Exposure to violence across the social ecosystem and the development of aggression: a test of ecological theory in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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 3 years) 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.

Figure 1

Final estimates for Model 3 shown separately by age (top row = age 8, middle row = age 11, bottom row = age 14). Model fit: χ² = 1000.77, df = 372, p < .001, χ²/df = 2.690, CFI = .911, RMSEA = .034 (.031-.036). + p < .10, * p < .05, ** p < .01., *** p < .001.

Figure 2

Final estimates for Model 5 shown separately by age. For clarity, not all covariance paths between pairs of exogenous variables are shown; demographic controls were allowed to covary with principal predictors. Model fit: χ² = 1437.08, df = 498, p < .001, χ²/df = 2.886, CFI = .881, RMSEA = .035 (.033-.038). + p < .10, * p < .05, ** p < .01., *** p < .001.