The Effect of the Family on the Emotional Life of Ethiopian Immigrant Adolescents in Boarding Schools in Israel

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between the family functioning of adolescent Ethiopian immigrants, as assessed by father, mother, and adolescent, and their school performance as evaluated by their teachers. Forty adolescents were randomly selected from all the 15–18-year-old students, with intact families, studying in boarding schools in the northern part of Israel. The students and their parents were given the FACES III (Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales) to determine family cohesion and adaptability. Teachers were approached to determine the adolescents' success in school achievement, personal relations with peers and school teachers, and predisposition to somatization and mood fluctuations. Results show that there was no relationship between family functioning and school achievement or personal relations with peers and school teachers. However, a strong relationship between fathers' and mothers' perceptions of family adaptability and cohesion was found, with most families clustered in the middle levels of family adaptability, while cohesion tended to be somewhat more extreme. Family cohesion and sense of coherence were associated with absence of moodiness and somatization in the adolescents, indicating that family functioning may predict their emotional stability in boarding school.