What I think and feel about life Israel's basic data analysis Asher Ben-Arieh & Edna Shimoni Subjective well-being Responses to Questionnaire of 8 to 12 year olds

The Aims of the Preliminary Study Children’s understanding of the questionnaire by age and culture The tool (questionnaire) and its utility for the entire population Comparisons within Israel and between countries To examine:

Preparatory work 2 focus groups Translation into Hebrew and Arabic Back-translation to English Adding and removing questions Adaptation to age and culture Focus groups:

Survey sampling and administration About 300 children - Jews and Arabs 2 schools, 3 grades, 2 classes per grade oThere was no sampling! 2 school principals agreed to participate in our preliminary study. The study population:

Survey administration 165 Jewish children 97 Arab children Age 8-12 Grades 4-6 GradeJewsArabs Total (n) Boys 59%48% Girls 41%47% Gender – missing 0%5% Grade 4 36%44% Grade 5 30%28% Grade 6 34%25% Grade - missing 0%3% The study population:

About your life Life satisfaction Strongly disagree DisagreeNeither agree nor disagree AgreeStrongly agree Don't know Not answered My life is going wellJews 0%1%8%30%56%3%1% Arabs 0% 6%20%62%7%5% My life is just rightJews 2% 4%26%62%2% Arabs 4%1%6%20%54%7%8% I wish I had a different kind of life Jews 48%19%7%4%8% 5% Arabs 46%3%7%6%19%11%7% I have a good lifeJews 1%2%7%21%66%1%3% Arabs 4%0%4%22%52%11%7% I have what I want in life Jews 4%3%10%27%50%4%2% Arabs 4% 12%22%46%7%4%

Overall life satisfaction

About your home Strongly agree

About the people you live with A question that has been changed – inappropriate for the Arab population Which people do you live with? Instead of “Mother’s / Father’s partner” we wrote “Mother’s husband” and “Father’s wife”. – It is not appropriate to ask Arab children if their parents live with unmarried partners. – There is no use of the words “stepfather” / “stepmother” in Arab society.

About the people you live with People you live with JewsArabs Mother 96%95% Father 92% Mother’s partner 1%3% Father’s partner 0%4% Grandmother 14%9% Grandfather 12%7% Other relatives 2%4%

About the people you live with Strongly agree

Relationships How satisfied are you with Strongly agree

About school How satisfied are you with Strongly agree

About school Strongly disagree DisagreeNeither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Don't know Not answered My teachers listen to my views and take me seriously Jews 1%2%6%30%54%2%5% Arabs 3% 8%19%60%2%5% I look forward to going to school Jews 12%6%16%19%39%2%5% Arabs 16%4%6%19%47%2%5% I am a good studentJews 1%0%10%29%53%2%5% Arabs 1% 9%82%0%5%

About your health How satisfied are you with:Completely satisfied Not answered your health?Jews 67%7% Arabs 72%8% your body?Jews 68%8% Arabs 73%8% the amount of exercise you do?Jews 64%9% Arabs 69%8% Strongly agree Not answered I worry a lotJews 35%10% Arabs 3%11% I feel lonelyJews 5%9% Arabs 12%8% Higher percentage of missing values - Do children feel vulnerable to such kinds of questions?

About yourself How satisfied are you with Completely satisfied Not answered yourself? Jews 70%9% Arabs 70%7% your appearance? Jews 61%10% Arabs 67%7% your confidence? Jews 60%9% Arabs 72%7% the things you have achieved in life? Jews 67%9% Arabs 69%8% what may happen to you later on in life? Jews 59%12% Arabs 68%6% how much you are listened to? Jews 48%10% Arabs 61%6% the amount of freedom you have? Jews 53%11% Arabs 69%7% how safe you feel? Jews 63%12% Arabs 77%6%

Religion 67% of the Jewish children and 87% of the Arab children are completely satisfied with their religion. 39% of the Jewish children and 73% of the Arab children are completely satisfied with their religious activity. I'm not religious, so how can I answer?

About money and the things you have Kids had problems answering the question ‘How much money of your own do you have to spend each week?’.

About money and the things you have

Time use Children report using more then 30 hours a day!!! Arab children use more time than Jews TotalGender BoysGirls Sports Jews Arabs Reading Jews Arabs Traveling to and from places Jews Arabs Doing chores at home Jews Arabs Homework Jews Arabs With family Jews Arabs

Time use Jewish children use more time than Arabs TotalGender BoysGirls Watching TV Jews Arabs On computer Jews Arabs Hanging around Jews Arabs Going out Jews Arabs With friends Jews Arabs

About your plans for the future Strongly disagree DisagreeNeither agree nor disagree AgreeStrongly agree Don't know Not answered I think I’m doing pretty well Jews 0%1%4%19%59%2%14% Arabs 1%0%1%14%74%2%7% I feel positive about my future Jews 2%0%6%13%62%3%14% Arabs 1% 2%8%75%4%8% I plan to live abroad when I grow up Jews 12%16%14%9%24%9%15% Arabs 25%9%7%5%30%16%7%

Feedback questions Too long, but important and interesting!!! AgreeNot sureDisagreeNot answered The questionnaire was too long Jews 50%13%19%17% Arabs 73%6%12%8% The questionnaire was easy to fill in Jews 72%10%4%15% Arabs 67%11%14%7% The questionnaire was boring Jews 15%16%51%18% Arabs 43%14%34%8% The questionnaire asked me about things that I think are important Jews 61%13%8%17% Arabs 59%18%12%11%

Issue to discuss further Children’s understanding and capability Culture and language Different understanding & meaning Age: Different understanding & capability (the length of the questionnaire) Arab children seem to be more satisfied – are they?

Issue to discuss further Time & Money Money: Children couldn’t accurately say / measure how much money they spent last week. Time: Children couldn’t say / measure how much time they slept last night or how many hours they studied at school yesterday.

Edna Shimoni Asher Ben-Arieh