Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
jewish, arab, israel, teenagers
Brief summary
The investigators expect an intervention that focuses on actual dialogue and familiarity with members of the other culture, discussion of empathy, generosity, and kindness, and focus on adaptive and reciprocal modes of conflict resolution will alter both physiological, behavioral, and mental response to the pain of the other, increase empathy, and reduce hostility.
Detailed description
We hypothesized that the intervention will impact perspective taking (PT) on the national conflict, reducing the tendency to view justice only on one's side. Such increase in PT would initiate a chain leading to greater behavioral empathy. Second, we hypothesize that change in oxytocin (OT) levels and empathic behavior (less withdrawal and tension and more synchrony) would be impacted by the intervention and the degree to which it altered youth PT on the conflict. Finally, we suggest a 3-path model charting the multi-dimensional pathways leading to behavioral empathy toward outgroup member. First, individual differences in OT functionality will shape empathy so that youth with higher OT levels at pre-intervention and greater PT will show more empathic dialogue at post-intervention. Second, dispositional cognitive empathy, as tested by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index questioner (IRI), at pre-intervention will predict higher behavioral empathy at T2, both directly and as mediated by reduction in ethnocentric attitudes following the intervention. Finally, we hypothesize that the intervention will influence empathy by initiating a chain that begins with increasing PT, which, in turn, will lead to reduction in tension during interaction with outgroup, and culminating in greater empathy during face-to-face encounters
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPeace-Building Intervention Process
The eight sessions include (1) presentation of the self to others members (2) getting familiar with the other culture (3) what is a conflict - how do conflicts come about, what are adaptive and non-adaptive modes of resolving conflict (4) getting to know the Other - preconceived notions about the other side (5) on dialogue- what is dialogue, can dialogue offer means for conflict resolution, what are the benefits of dialogue to inter-cultural and inter-racial conflicts, (6) empathy, generosity, and kindness (7) wrapping up - hopes for the future at the personal and community levels, practical suggestions (8) goodbye and summary - what have we learned ,gift giving, summary of process by group leaders.
Sponsors
Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
15 Years to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* jewish israeli * arab israeli * lives in the center of israel * both parents agree to participation
Exclusion criteria
* no mental disorder * no neurological-developmental disorder
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | trail 1-baseline | Interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score mean a better outcome. The Two following constructs were used: A personal measure of Behavioral Empathy - an average of the following CIB codes: expressing empathy, acknowledging other's communication, elaborating other's topics and ideas, maintaining positive affect, maintaining visual, and give-and-receive reciprocity and Dyadic Tension - averaged codes; displaying a tense, anxious, and uneasy behavior, fear, and constriction of communicative output and social behavior. |
| Hormonal Assays- Oxytocin | trail 1- baseline | Three saliva samples were collected using Salivettes® at baseline, following interaction, and ten minutes after end and averaged. All samples were then stored at -20°C. Salivette were treated as following: centrifuged twice, at 4°C at 1500 x g for 30 minutes, aliquoted and lyophilized over few days- to concentrate by 4 times. The dry samples were reconstructed in the assay buffer immediately before analysis using an oxytocin enzyme immunoassay commercial kit (ENZO, NY). The assay preformed according the kit's instruction. The concentration of oxytocin was calculated using MatLab-7 |
| PT (Perspective-taking) | trail 1-baseline | Participants were interviewed individually on their attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side and the other side is totally wrong, aggressive, and vicious compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT, as 1 is some ability to see justice on the other side, and 0 is seeing justice only in own side. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in Tension as a Function of Perspective-taking and Group | trail 2- 3 months after trail1 | Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT and were divided to high vs low PT groups accordingly. We compared participants' tension levels, according to level of PT and group (intervention or control). Interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score means a better outcome. Dyadic Tension is the averaged codes; displaying a tense, anxious, and uneasy behavior, fear, and constriction of communicative output and social behavior. |
| Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | trail 2- 3 months after trail 1 | interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score mean a better outcome. The Two following constructs were used: A personal measure of Behavioral Empathy - an average of the following CIB codes: expressing empathy, acknowledging other's communication, elaborating other's topics and ideas, maintaining positive affect, maintaining visual, and give-and-receive reciprocity and Dyadic Tension - averaged codes; displaying a tense, anxious, and uneasy behavior, fear, and constriction of communicative output and social behavior. |
| Changes in Empathy as a Function of Perspective Taking | trail 2- 3 months after trail 1 | Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT and were divided to high vs low PT groups accordingly. We compared participants' behavioral empathy levels. Interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score means a better outcome. Behavioral Empathy is the average of the following CIB codes: expressing empathy, acknowledging other's communication, elaborating other's topics and ideas, maintaining positive affect, maintaining visual, and give-and-receive reciprocity |
| Hormonal Assays-Oxytocin | trail 2- 3 months after trail1 | Three saliva samples were collected using Salivettes® at baseline, following interaction, and ten minutes after end and averaged. All samples were then stored at -20°C. Salivette were treated as following: centrifuged twice, at 4°C at 1500 x g for 30 minutes, aliquoted and lyophilized over few days- to concentrate by 4 times. The dry samples were reconstructed in the assay buffer immediately before analysis using an oxytocin enzyme immunoassay commercial kit (ENZO, NY). The assay preformed according the kit's instruction. The concentration of oxytocin was calculated using MatLab-7 |
| Changes in PT (Perspective-taking) After Intervention | trail 2- 3 months after trail 1 | Participants were interviewed individually on their attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side and the other side is totally wrong, aggressive, and vicious compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT. |
Countries
Israel
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Control Group no intervention for 3 months | 40 |
| Experimental Group Peace-Building Intervention Process- The intervention process consists of eight sessions and adheres to a manualized protocol that we developed. Each session lasts 120 minutes.
Peace-Building Intervention Process: The eight sessions include (1) presentation of the self to others members (2) getting familiar with the other culture (3) what is a conflict - how do conflicts come about, what are adaptive and non-adaptive modes of resolving conflict (4) getting to know the Other - preconceived notions about the other side (5) on dialogue- what is dialogue, can dialogue offer means for conflict resolution, what are the benefits of dialogue to inter-cultural and inter-racial conflicts, (6) empathy, generosity, and kindness (7) wrapping up - hopes for the future at the personal and community levels, practical suggestions (8) goodbye and summary - what have we learned ,gift giving, summary of process by group leaders. | 39 |
| Total | 79 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Study | Withdrawal by Subject | 20 | 2 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Experimental Group | Total | Control Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 16.64 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.74 | 16.54 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.77 | 16.43 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.79 |
| Empathy (IRI-INTERPERSONAL REACTIVITY INDEX ) | 18.96 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.83 | 18.63 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.83 | 17.71 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.06 |
| Ethnocentrism | 33.89 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.61 | 34.56 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.71 | 35.2 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.83 |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized ethnicity Arab | 20 Participants | 40 Participants | 20 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized ethnicity Jewish | 19 Participants | 39 Participants | 20 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment Israel | 39 participants | 79 participants | 40 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 22 Participants | 44 Participants | 22 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 17 Participants | 35 Participants | 18 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
Outcome results
Primary
Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue
Interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score mean a better outcome. The Two following constructs were used: A personal measure of Behavioral Empathy - an average of the following CIB codes: expressing empathy, acknowledging other's communication, elaborating other's topics and ideas, maintaining positive affect, maintaining visual, and give-and-receive reciprocity and Dyadic Tension - averaged codes; displaying a tense, anxious, and uneasy behavior, fear, and constriction of communicative output and social behavior.
Time frame: trail 1-baseline
Population: All participants
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Dyadic Tension | 2.26 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.04 |
| Control Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Behavioral Empathy | 3.07 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.81 |
| Experimental Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Dyadic Tension | 2.23 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.14 |
| Experimental Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Behavioral Empathy | 3.21 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.98 |
Primary
Hormonal Assays- Oxytocin
Three saliva samples were collected using Salivettes® at baseline, following interaction, and ten minutes after end and averaged. All samples were then stored at -20°C. Salivette were treated as following: centrifuged twice, at 4°C at 1500 x g for 30 minutes, aliquoted and lyophilized over few days- to concentrate by 4 times. The dry samples were reconstructed in the assay buffer immediately before analysis using an oxytocin enzyme immunoassay commercial kit (ENZO, NY). The assay preformed according the kit's instruction. The concentration of oxytocin was calculated using MatLab-7
Time frame: trail 1- baseline
Population: Some participants didn't have a measure due to insufficient saliva
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Hormonal Assays- Oxytocin | 44.08 picogram/ml | Standard Deviation 26.67 |
| Experimental Group | Hormonal Assays- Oxytocin | 49.93 picogram/ml | Standard Deviation 34.41 |
Primary
PT (Perspective-taking)
Participants were interviewed individually on their attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side and the other side is totally wrong, aggressive, and vicious compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT, as 1 is some ability to see justice on the other side, and 0 is seeing justice only in own side.
Time frame: trail 1-baseline
Population: All participants
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | PT (Perspective-taking) | justice is solely on our side | 21 Participants |
| Control Group | PT (Perspective-taking) | There is some justice in the other side | 19 Participants |
| Experimental Group | PT (Perspective-taking) | justice is solely on our side | 21 Participants |
| Experimental Group | PT (Perspective-taking) | There is some justice in the other side | 18 Participants |
Secondary
Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue
interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score mean a better outcome. The Two following constructs were used: A personal measure of Behavioral Empathy - an average of the following CIB codes: expressing empathy, acknowledging other's communication, elaborating other's topics and ideas, maintaining positive affect, maintaining visual, and give-and-receive reciprocity and Dyadic Tension - averaged codes; displaying a tense, anxious, and uneasy behavior, fear, and constriction of communicative output and social behavior.
Time frame: trail 2- 3 months after trail 1
Population: Control group had few missing values due to problems in the interaction videos that didn't allow data analysis
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Behavioral Empathy | 3.33 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.81 |
| Control Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Dyadic Tension | 1.8 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.9 |
| Experimental Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Behavioral Empathy | 3.29 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.79 |
| Experimental Group | Behavioral Assessment of Dialogue | Dyadic Tension | 1.84 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.89 |
Secondary
Changes in Empathy as a Function of Perspective Taking
Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT and were divided to high vs low PT groups accordingly. We compared participants' behavioral empathy levels. Interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score means a better outcome. Behavioral Empathy is the average of the following CIB codes: expressing empathy, acknowledging other's communication, elaborating other's topics and ideas, maintaining positive affect, maintaining visual, and give-and-receive reciprocity
Time frame: trail 2- 3 months after trail 1
Population: All participants
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Changes in Empathy as a Function of Perspective Taking | High Perspective-taking | 1.58 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.83 |
| Control Group | Changes in Empathy as a Function of Perspective Taking | Low Perspective-taking | 1.38 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.63 |
| Experimental Group | Changes in Empathy as a Function of Perspective Taking | High Perspective-taking | 1.43 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.86 |
| Experimental Group | Changes in Empathy as a Function of Perspective Taking | Low Perspective-taking | 1.16 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.39 |
p-value: >0.05ANOVA
Secondary
Changes in PT (Perspective-taking) After Intervention
Participants were interviewed individually on their attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side and the other side is totally wrong, aggressive, and vicious compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT.
Time frame: trail 2- 3 months after trail 1
Population: All participants
| Arm | Measure | Category | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Changes in PT (Perspective-taking) After Intervention | justice is solely on our side | 16 Participants |
| Control Group | Changes in PT (Perspective-taking) After Intervention | There is some justice in the other side | 24 Participants |
| Experimental Group | Changes in PT (Perspective-taking) After Intervention | There is some justice in the other side | 15 Participants |
| Experimental Group | Changes in PT (Perspective-taking) After Intervention | justice is solely on our side | 24 Participants |
Comparison: we hypothesised that following intervention, those undergoing intervention will be more likely to see justice on both sides, compared to control groupp-value: <0.05Chi-squared
Secondary
Changes in Tension as a Function of Perspective-taking and Group
Perspective-taking (PT), addressed the degree to which adolescents thought justice was solely on their side compared to the ability to see some justice on both sides. Participants received binary score for PT and were divided to high vs low PT groups accordingly. We compared participants' tension levels, according to level of PT and group (intervention or control). Interactions were coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) manual (Feldman, 1998), adolescent version. This version of the CIB is composed of 32 codes rated on a scale of 1 to 5, as higher score means a better outcome. Dyadic Tension is the averaged codes; displaying a tense, anxious, and uneasy behavior, fear, and constriction of communicative output and social behavior.
Time frame: trail 2- 3 months after trail1
Population: All participants
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Changes in Tension as a Function of Perspective-taking and Group | High Perspective-taking | 2.13 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.81 |
| Control Group | Changes in Tension as a Function of Perspective-taking and Group | Low Perspective-taking | 2.67 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.85 |
| Experimental Group | Changes in Tension as a Function of Perspective-taking and Group | High Perspective-taking | 2.18 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.01 |
| Experimental Group | Changes in Tension as a Function of Perspective-taking and Group | Low Perspective-taking | 2.39 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.01 |
p-value: >0.05ANOVA
Secondary
Hormonal Assays-Oxytocin
Three saliva samples were collected using Salivettes® at baseline, following interaction, and ten minutes after end and averaged. All samples were then stored at -20°C. Salivette were treated as following: centrifuged twice, at 4°C at 1500 x g for 30 minutes, aliquoted and lyophilized over few days- to concentrate by 4 times. The dry samples were reconstructed in the assay buffer immediately before analysis using an oxytocin enzyme immunoassay commercial kit (ENZO, NY). The assay preformed according the kit's instruction. The concentration of oxytocin was calculated using MatLab-7
Time frame: trail 2- 3 months after trail1
Population: Some participants didn't have a measure due to insufficient saliva
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group | Hormonal Assays-Oxytocin | 40.03 picogram/ml | Standard Deviation 57.43 |
| Experimental Group | Hormonal Assays-Oxytocin | 43.42 picogram/ml | Standard Deviation 35.34 |