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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1508324

Understanding Intergroup Violence Justification: The Role of Ethnicity and Perceived Threat in Israeli Society

Provisionally accepted
Nir Rozmann Nir Rozmann *
  • Western Galilee College, Acre, Israel

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Research has shown that perceived realistic and symbolic threats are linked with negative attitudes and prejudice toward out-group members. Additionally, levels of perceived group threat regarding out-groups can affect intergroup violence justification.Based on the Integrated Threat Theory (ITT), the current study aimed to expand existing knowledge by examining a conceptual model in which perceived threat mediates the relationship between ethnicity and intergroup violence justification among Jews and Arabs in Israel. The study involved 324 Israeli-Jewish and 325 Israeli-Arabs, who answered questions regarding perceived out-group threat and intergroup violence justification. Findings revealed that (a) Jews were more likely to justify intergroup violence than Arabs, and (b) perceived realistic threat mediates the relationship between ethnic affiliation and intergroup violence justification only among Jews. These results underscore the importance of understanding intergroup conflicts in the field of criminology.

    Keywords: perceived threat, intergroup violence, ethnicity, Integrated threat theory, Israel

    Received: 09 Oct 2024; Accepted: 05 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Rozmann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nir Rozmann, Western Galilee College, Acre, Israel

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