Daily stresses and uplifts during times of political tension: Jews and Arabs in Israel

This study examined similarities and differences between Jews and Arabs in Israel in terms of their daily stressful and uplifting experiences and assessed the relation between these experiences and family and life satisfaction. Data were collected from representative samples of 697 Jews and 303 Arabs by using a computerized-assisted telephone interviewing system. Contrary to expectation, Jews reported more sources of hassles than did Arabs, whereas Arabs reported more uplifts. A structural equation modeling multigroup analysis indicated a similar factor structure for hassles and uplifts in both groups. Family satisfaction was positively related to uplifts but not to hassles. For Arabs, uplifts had a positive effect only on family satisfaction, whereas for Jews they had a positive effect on both family and general life satisfaction.