SECURITY FEELINGS AMONG JEWISH SETTLERS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES -A STUDY OF COMMUNAL AND PERSONAL ANTECEDENTS

The objective of the described study was to assess the effect of livin g in a communal settlement in Israel's occupied territories on residen ts' general feelings of insecurity and related variables. The sample w as drawn from three settlements that are similar in size, urban-commun al nature, year of establishment, and socioeconomic status, but differ ent in geographic location, political ideology, and extent of exposure to the Palestinian uprising. The results indicate, contrary to the au thors' hypothesis, that living in the settlement had little effect on insecurity feelings and most other dependent variables. On the other h and, variables related to the personal rather than the communal contex t had a significant effect on insecurity feelings. These variables inc luded gender, ethnic origin, level of income, age, having a family mem ber who lived through the Holocaust, level of hawkishness, military se rvice, religiosity, and health problems. Findings are interpreted and considered in the context of the cognitive-relational appraisal theory .