Experimentation and Control in Family, School, and Youth Movement (From Social World of Adolescents: International Perspectives, P 229-244, 1989, Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Engel, eds. -- See NCJ-120206)

• NCJ Number: 120220
• Author(s): T Rapoport
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 88-01-014
• Sale Source: Walter de Gruyter & Co
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: West Germany (Former)

Annotation

Socialization processes in Israeli family, school, and youth movement settings were analyzed using a two-dimensional model of experimentation and control.

Abstract

The study sample consisted of 1,433 Jewish Israeli adolescents who were members of five different youth movements covering the religious and sociopolitical spectrum of Israeli society. Subjects' average age was 13.9 years, 58 percent of the sample were females, and subjects came predominantly from urban, middle-class settings. Findings confirmed that experimentation and control dimensions were independent and coexisting within the three socialization contexts. These contexts differed, however, in the extent to which they generated socialization patterns. The school seemed to react more to constant pressures for high achievement and expertise. The family encouraged negotiation and autonomy which served to enhance family unit solidarity and help members shape personal identities. The youth movement was characterized by relaxed control, a finding that may be related to its flexible structure and high level of expressivity. Dimensions of experimentation and control appear to be both useful and parsimonious for the comparative analysis of socialization processes in different cultures, life stages, and social classes. 51 references, 3 tables, 1 figure.