Positivity Ratio Links Self-control Skills to Physical Aggression and Happiness in Young Palestinians Living in Gaza

Abstract

The study examined a potential underlying mechanism through which self-control skills (SCSs) may predict more happiness on the one hand and less hostility, anger and peer aggression on the other hand in an understudied sample of 744 Palestinian youngsters (Grades 8–12) from the Gaza Strip, a military conflict area. The hypothesized model was confirmed: self-reported SCS linked with happiness through positivity ratio as a mediator; SCS linked with physical aggression through the association of positivity ratio with hostility, and anger; and anger mediated the link between hostility and physical aggression. Additional analyses showed that girls scored higher than boys in SCS and boys scored higher than girls on positivity ratio, happiness, hostility, anger, and physical aggression. The study highlights the importance of imparting SCS to increase positivity ratio, so that, despite exposure to extreme adversity, youngsters in Gaza and elsewhere may experience not only less aggression but also more happiness.

Keywords

Self-control skills positivity ratio happiness aggression adolescents

References

Abu-Raiya

Agbaria

(2016) ‘Religiousness and Subjective Well-being Among Israeli-Palestinian College Students: Direct or Mediated Links?’ Social Indicators Research 126 (2): 829–44. doi: 10.1007/s11205-015-0913-x

Agbaria

Ronen

(2010) ‘Self-control and a Sense of Social Belonging as Moderators of the Link Between Poor Subjective Wellbeing and Aggression Among Arab Palestinian Adolescents in Israel’, Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences 5: 1334–45. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.284

Agbaria

Ronen

Hamama

(2012) ‘The Link Between Developmental Components (Age and Gender), Need to Belong and Resources of Self-control and Feelings of Happiness, and Frequency of Symptoms Among Arab Adolescents in Israel’, Children and Youth Services Review 34 (10): 2018–27. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.03.009

Bandura

(1977) Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Baumeister

R. F.

Sparks

E. A.

(2008) ‘If Bad Is Stronger than Good, Why Focus on Human Strength?’, in Lopez

S. J.

(ed.) Positive Psychology: Exploring the Best in People, Vol. 1, pp. 54–79. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Baumeister

R. F.

Bratslavsky

Finkenauer

Vohs

K. D.

(2001) ‘Bad Is Stronger than Good’, Review of General Psychology 5 (4): 323–70. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323

Bradburn

N. M.

(1969) The Structure of Psychological Well-being. Chicago, IL: Aldine.

Broidy

L. M.

Nagin

D. S.

Tremblay

R. E.

Bates

J. E.

Brame

Dodge

K. A.

… Vitaro

(2003) ‘Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviors and adolescent delinquency: A six-site, cross-national study’, Developmental Psychology 39 (2): 222–45. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.222

Bushman

B. J.

Huesmann

L. R.

(2010) ‘Aggression’, in Fiske

S. T.

Gilbert

D. T.

Lindzey

Jongsma

A. E.

(eds) Handbook of Social Psychology, 5th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 833–62. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

10.

Buss

A. H.

Perry

(1992) ‘The Aggression Questionnaire’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63 (3): 452–59. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.63.3.452

11.

Caprara

G. V.

Steca

Gerbino

Paciello

Vecchio

G. M.

(2006) ‘Looking for Adolescents’ Well-being: Self-efficacy Beliefs as Determinants of Positive Thinking and Happiness’, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 15 (1): 30–43.

12.

Carr

(2004) Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Human Strength. New York: Hove and Brunner-Routledge.

13.

Central Intelligence Agency (2015) World Fact Book: Gaza. URL (consulted on May 2017): https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html

14.

Chaplin

T. M.

Aldao

(2013) ‘Gender Differences in Emotion Expression in Children: A Meta-analytic Review’, Psychological Bulletin 139 (4): 735–65. doi: 10.1037/a0030737

15.

Cohen

(1988) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

16.

Crick

N. R.

Dodge

K. A.

(1994) ‘A Review and Reformulation of Social Information-processing Mechanisms in Children’s Social Adjustment’, Psychological Bulletin 115: 74–101. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.74

17.

Denson

T. F.

Capper

M. M.

Oaten

Friese

Schofield

T. P.

(2011) ‘Self-control Training Decreases Aggression in Response to Provocation in Aggressive Individuals’, Journal of Research in Personality 45 (2): 252–56. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2011.02.001

18.

Dodge

K. A.

Pettit

G. S.

(2003) ‘A Biopsychosocial Model of the Development of Chronic Conduct Problems in Adolescence’, Developmental Psychology 39 (2): 349–71. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.349

19.

Dubow

E. F.

Boxer

Huesmann

L. R.

Shikaki

Landau

Gvirsman

S. H.

Ginges

(2010) ‘Exposure to Conflict and Violence Across Contexts: Relations to Adjustment Among Palestinian Children’, Journal of Clinical Children and Adolescence Psychology 39 (1): 103–16. doi: 10.1080/15374410903401153

20.

Ellis

Weiss

Lochman

(2009) ‘Executive Functions in Children: Associations with Aggressive Behavior and Appraisal Processing’, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 37 (7): 945–56. doi: 10.1007/s10802-009-9321-5

21.

Eron

L. D.

Huesmann

L. R.

Zelli

(1991) ‘The Role of Parental Variables in the Learning of Aggression’, in Pepler

Rubin

(eds) The Development and Treatment of Childhood Aggression, pp. 169–88. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

22.

Espelage

D. L.

Holt

M. K.

Henkel

R. R.

(2003) ‘Examination of Peer-Group Contextual Effects on Aggression During Early Adolescence’, Child Development 74 (1): 205–20.

23.

Fite

J. E.

Goodnight

J. A.

Bates

J. E.

Dodge

K. A.

Pettit

G. S.

(2008) ‘Adolescent Aggression and Social Cognition in the Context of Personality: Impulsivity as a Moderator of Predictions from Social Information Processing’, Aggressive Behavior 34 (5): 511–20. doi: 10.1002/ab.20263

24.

Fredrickson

B. L.

(2009) Positivity. New York: Crown.

25.

Fredrickson

B. L.

(2013) ‘Updated Thinking on Positivity Ratios’, American Psychologist 68 (9): 814–22. doi: 10.1037/a0033584

26.

Fredrickson

B. L.

Losada

M. F.

(2005) ‘Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing’, American Psychologist 60 (7): 678–86. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.7.678

27.

Gable

S. L.

Haidt

(2005) ‘What (and Why) Is Positive Psychology?’, Review of General Psychology 9 (2): 103–10.

28.

Gavriel-Fried

Ronen

Agbaria

Orkibi

Hamama

(2015) ‘Multiple Facets of Self-control in Arab Adolescents: Parallel Pathways to Greater Happiness and Less Physical Aggression’, Youth & Society. doi: 10.1177/0044118X15606157

29.

Gilman

Huebner

E. S.

Furlong

M. J.

(2009) Handbook of Positive Psychology in Schools. New York, NY: Routledge.

30.

Guerra

N. G.

Huesmann

L. R.

(2004) ‘A Cognitive Ecological Model of Aggression’, International Review of Social Psychology 17 (2): 177–203.

31.

Gvirsman

S. H.

Huesmann

L. R.

Dubow

E. F.

Landau

S. F.

Boxer

Shikaki

(2016) ‘The Longitudinal Effects of Chronic Mediated Exposure to Political Violence on Ideological Beliefs About Political Conflicts Among Youths’, Political Communication 33 (1): 98–117. doi: 10.1080/10584609.2015.1010670

32.

Hoffman

J. S.

Knox

L. M.

Cohen

(2011) Beyond Suppression: Global Perspectives on Youth Violence. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

33.

Huesmann

L. R.

(1998) ‘The Role of Social Information Processing and Cognitive Schemas in the Acquisition and Maintenance of Habitual Aggressive Behavior’, in Geen

R. G.

Donnerstein

(eds) Human Aggression: Theories, Research, and Implications for Policy, pp. 73–109. New York: Academic Press.

34.

Huesmann

L. R.

Kirwil

(2007) ‘Why Observing Violence Increases the Risk of Violent Behavior by the Observer’, in Flannery

D. J.

Vazsonyi

A. T.

Waldman

I. D.

(eds) The Cambridge Handbook of Violent Behavior and Aggression, pp. 545–70. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

35.

Hyde

J. S.

(2014) ‘Gender Similarities and Differences’, Annual Review of Psychology 65 (1): 373–98. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115057

36.

Isaacowitz

D. M.

(2005) ‘The Gaze of the Optimist’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31 (3): 407–15. doi: 10.1177/0146167204271599

37.

Johnson

K. J.

Waugh

C. E.

Fredrickson

B. L.

(2010) ‘Smile to See the Forest: Facially Expressed Positive Emotions Broaden Cognition’, Cognition & Emotion 24 (2): 299–321. doi: 10.1080/02699930903384667

38.

Kendall

P. C.

(2012) Child and Adolescent Therapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures, 4th ed. New York: Guilford Press.

39.

Keresteš

(2006) ‘Children’s Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior in Relation to War Exposure: Testing the Role of Perceived Parenting and Child’s Gender’, International Journal of Behavioral Development 30 (3): 227–39. doi: 10.1177/0165025406066756

40.

Khoury-Kassabri

Astor

R. A.

Benbenishty

(2009) ‘Middle Eastern Adolescents’ Perpetration of School Violence Against Peers and Teachers: A Cross-Cultural and Ecological Analysis’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence 24 (1): 159–82.

41.

Lyubomirsky

Lepper

H. S.

(1999) ‘A Measure of Subjective Happiness: Preliminary Reliability and Construct Validation’, Social Indicators Research 46 (2): 137–55.

42.

Marcus

R. F.

(2017). The development of aggression and violence in adolescence. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

43.

Milaniak

Widom

C. S.

(2015) ‘Does Child Abuse and Neglect Increase Risk for Perpetration of Violence Inside and Outside the Home?’, Psychology of Violence 5 (3): 246–55. doi: 10.1037/a0037956

44.

Nunnally

J. C.

(1967). Psychometric theory. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

45.

Orkibi

Ronen

(2015) ‘High Self-control Protects the Link Between Social Support and Positivity Ratio for Israeli Students Exposed to Contextual Risk’, Journal of School Psychology 53 (4): 283–93. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2015.06.001

46.

Orkibi

Hamama

Gavriel-Fried

Ronen

(2018) Pathways to Adolescents’ Flourishing: Linking Self-control Skills and Positivity Ratio Through Social Support. Youth & Society 50 (1): 3–25. doi: 10.1177/0044118x15581171

47.

Piquero

A. R.

Gomez-Smith

Langton

(2004) ‘Discerning Unfairness Where Others May Not: Low Self-control and Unfair Sanction Perceptions’, Criminology 42 (3): 699–733.

48.

Piquero

A. R.

Jennings

W. G.

Farrington

D. P.

(2010) ‘On the Malleability of Self-control: Theoretical and Policy Implications Regarding a General Theory of Crime’, Justice Quarterly 27 (6): 803–34.

49.

Preacher

Hayes

(2004) ‘SPSS and SAS Procedures for Estimating Indirect Effects in Simple Mediation Models’, Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 36 (4): 717–31. doi: 10.3758/bf03206553

50.

Qouta

Punamäki

R. L.

Miller

El-Sarraj

(2008) ‘Does War Beget Child Aggression? Military Violence, Gender, Age and Aggressive Behavior in Two Palestinian Samples’, Aggressive Behavior 34 (3): 231–44. doi: 10.1002/ab.20236

51.

Roberton

Daffern

Bucks

R. S.

(2012) ‘Emotion Regulation and Aggression’, Aggression and Violent Behavior 17: 72–82. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2011.09.006

52.

Ronen

Rosenbaum

(2010) ‘Developing Learned Resourcefulness in Adolescents to Help them Reduce their Aggressive Behavior: Preliminary Findings’, Research on Social Work Practice 20 (4): 410–26. doi: 10.1177/1049731509331875

53.

Ronen

Abuelaish

Rosenbaum

Agbaria

Hamama

(2013) ‘Predictors of Aggression Among Palestinians in Israel and Gaza: Happiness, Need to Belong, and Self-control’, Children and Youth Services Review 35: 47–55. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.10.015

54.

Ronen

Hamama

Rosenbaum

Mishely-Yarlap

(2014) ‘Subjective Well-being in Adolescence: The Role of Self-control, Social Support, Age, Gender, and Familial Crisis’, Journal of Happiness Studies 17 (1): 81–104. doi: 10.1007/s10902-014-9585-5

55.

Rosenbaum

(1980) ‘A Schedule for Assessing Self-control Behaviors: Preliminary Findings’, Behavior Therapy 11: 109–21. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7894(80)80040-2

56.

Rosenbaum

(2000) ‘The Self-regulation of Experience: Openness and Construction’, in Dewe

Cox

Leiter

(eds) Coping, Health, and Organizations, pp. 51–67. London: Taylor & Francis.

57.

Rosenbaum

Ronen

(1991) Self-control and Education for Self-control: Development of Rating Scale. Paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New York, NY.

58.

Schreiber

J. B.

Nora

Stage

F. K.

Barlow

E. A.

King

(2006) ‘Reporting Structural Equation Modeling and Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results: A Review’, Journal of Educational Research 99 (6): 323–38.

59.

Shachar

Ronen-Rosenbaum

Rosenbaum

Orkibi

Hamama

(2016) ‘Reducing Child Aggression Through Sports Intervention: The Role of Self-control Skills and Emotions’, Children and Youth Services Review 71: 241–49. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.11.012

60.

Shirk

S. R.

Crisostomo

P. S.

Jungbluth

Gudmundsen

G. R.

(2013) ‘Cognitive Mechanisms of Change in CBT for Adolescent Depression: Associations Among Client Involvement, Cognitive Distortions, and Treatment Outcome’, International Journal of Cognitive Therapy 6 (4): 311–24. doi: 10.1521/ijct.2013.6.4.311

61.

Southam-Gerow

M. A.

(2013) Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents: A Practitioner’s Guide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

62.

Steinberg

L. D.

Albert

Cauffman

Banich

Graham

Woolard

(2008) ‘Age Differences in Sensation Seeking and Impulsivity as Indexed by Behavior and Self-report: Evidence for a Dual Systems Model’, Developmental Psychology 44 (6): 1764–78. doi: 10.1037/a0012955

63.

Suldo

S. M.

Shaffer

E. J.

(2008) ‘Looking Beyond Psychopathology: The Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health in Youth’, School Psychology Review 37 (1): 52–68.

64.

Taylor

A. B.

MacKinnon

D. P.

Tein

J.-Y.

(2008) ‘Tests of the Three-Path Mediated Effect’, Organizational Research Methods 11 (2): 241–69. doi: 10.1177/1094428107300344

65.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2016, May) Social cohesion & education sector analysis summary: The State of Palestine URL (consulted on September 2017): http://education4resilience.iiep.unesco.org/en/node/1157

66.

Watson

Clark

L. A.

Tellegen

(1988) ‘Development and Validation of Brief Measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS Scales’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54 (6): 1063–70. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063

67.

Webster-Stratton

Reid

M. J.

Hammond

(2001) ‘Preventing Conduct Problems, Promoting Social Competence: A Parent and Teacher Training Partnership in Head Start’, Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 30 (3): 283–302.

68.

Weisz

J. R.

Kazdin

A. E.

(2010) Evidence-based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

69.

World Health Organization (2015) Adolescent Mental Health. URL (consulted on May 2017): http://www.who.int/topics/adolescent_health/en/

70.

Zauszniewski

J. A.

Bekhet

A. K.

Bonham

(2010) ‘Psychometric Testing of the Children’s Resourcefulness Scale’, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing 23 (3): 181–88. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6171.2010.00239.x