The contribution of personal, social and communal resources to adjustment explanation of drop-out youth to the life in the Ultra-Orthodox sector

The main goal of the present study was to explore the factors that explain adjustment of youth in the ultra-Orthodox community who are at risk for dropping out or have already dropped out of yeshivot in the ultra-Orthodox education system. Three research groups were examined: youth studying in regular yeshivot who have been receiving assistance in coping with difficulties in those settings (n = 61); youth who have dropped out of regular yeshivot, and are attending a rehabilitative yeshiva in the community (n = 131); and youth who have dropped out of yeshivot and are not enrolled in any educational setting (n = 69). These groups represent different stages in the process of dropping out of ultra-Orthodox educational settings, as described in the research literature (Lahav, 2005).

The theoretical framework of the study was Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989). According to this theory, the loss of resources following a traumatic event or crisis impairs one's ability to adjust (Hobfoll, 2001; Hobfoll& Lilly, 1993). Differences were examined in indicators of adjustment (Subjective well-being, future orientation, and feeling of loneliness) among participants in the three research groups, with emphasis on examining the following resources: personal resources (self-esteem, mastery, and estrangement from religion); social resources (support networks and parental conditional regard); and community resources (sense of community, involvement and representation in the community, and communal conditional regard). The study expands COR theory, including community components, which were found to contribute substantially to the explanation of dropping out among these youth.

Another goal of the study was to examine the contribution of enrollment in an educational setting to the resources of youth in various stages of dropping out. The research literature indicates that in ultra-Orthodox society, dropping out of a yeshiva involves a loss of resources (Ben-Yair & Ronel, 2014; Kelly, 2004). Against this background, it was hypothesized that there would be differences in the extent of resources available to youth in regular yeshivot versus youth in rehabilitative yeshivot and youth who are not in any educational setting: the overall amount of resources available to youth in regular yeshivot will be highest, followed by youth in rehabilitative yeshivot; and the extent of resources available to youth who are not in any educational setting will be lowest.

Another main hypothesis tested in the study was that personal, social, and communal resources will contribute to adjustment among ultra-Orthodox youth who are at risk for dropping out of yeshivot or who have already dropped out. In addition, it was hypothesized that the highest indicators of adjustment will be found among youth in regular yeshivot, followed by youth in rehabilitative yeshivot; and the lowest indicators will be found among youth who are not in any educational setting.

The research population included 261 youth aged 14-21, who were divided into the three groups as indicated above. Participants responded to a questionnaire that examined 11 indicators: self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965); mastery (Pearlin & Schooler, 1987); network of relationships (Furman & Burmester, 1985); sense of community (Davidson & Cotter, 1986); involvement and representative in the community (Itzhaky, 1995); parental conditional regard (Assor et al., 2004); communal conditional regard (based on Assor et al., 2004); estrangement from religion (Winograd-Jean, 2005); subjective well-being (Bradburn, 1969); future orientation (Saigh, 1997); and sense of loneliness (Hays & DiMatteo, 1987). The data were collected from a convenience sample. Questionnaires were distributed to the youth by professionals, including social workers, mentors, and counselors dealing with youth who drop out.

The main contribution of the study lies in the findings about the factors that explain adjustment among ultra-Orthodox youth who are at risk for dropping out of yeshivot. Among those in regular yeshivot and rehabilitative yeshivot, levels of subjective well-being and religious future orientation were higher than among those who were not in any educational setting. Regarding social future orientation and sense of loneliness, no significant differences were found between the groups. However, in the structural equation model, mediation effects were found that shed lights on the specific factors that contribute to social future orientation and sense of loneliness among all three research groups. These include positive parental conditional regard, sense of mastery, and positive communal conditional regard.

Moreover, most of the personal, social, and communal resources were found to correlate significantly with the indicators of adjustment. Personal, social, and communal resources explained the participants' sense of well-being, their social future orientation, religious future orientation, and sense of loneliness. Notably, specific variables were found among all three groups of participants which contributed to their adjustment. In addition, the findings of the current study shed light on the specific process of dropping out of the ultra-Orthodox education system. Among other findings, differences were revealed between the groups in personal, social, and communal resources, which reflect the different stages of dropping out. For example, among the participants at the extreme end of the process of dropping out, i.e., those who were not in any educational setting, levels of self-esteem, mastery, and sense of community were lower than among the participants in regular and rehabilitative yeshivot. In contrast, the highest levels of parental conditional regard and communal conditional regard were found among those who were not in an educational framework.

Another contribution of the study relates to the concept of conditional regard. In the present study, the practice of conditional regard was examined both in relation to parents and in relation to the community. Communal conditional regard is a new theoretical concept developed in this study. The findings revealed that there is a practice of conditional regard in the community context: negative parental conditional regard and negative communal conditional regard were found to be risk factors for youth who were not in an educational setting, whereas positive community regard was a resilience factor for them.

The discussion deals with the specific process of dropping out of yeshivot among ultra-Orthodox youth. The findings are discussed against the background of COR theory, with emphasis on the contribution of resources to the adjustment of youth who drop out of yeshivot in the ultra-Orthodox community.