TITLE:
Attitudes and Emotional Reactions to the Russia-Ukraine War among the Israeli Lay Public
AUTHORS:
Sawsan Awwad-Tabry, Inbar Levkovich, Shiri Shinan-Altman
KEYWORDS:
Russia-Ukraine War, Lay Public, Emotional Reactions, Attitudes, Israel
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.15 No.3,
March
15,
2024
ABSTRACT:
The role of public attitudes toward war in shaping foreign policy is
crucial. We explored the
association between perceived justifiability of Russia’s actions, attitudes toward
Israel’s policy during the Russia-Ukraine War, and emotional reactions among the Israeli
lay public. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 723 participants during
one week of the war (13-20 March 2022).
Participants completed measures of emotional reactions, perceived
justifiability, attitudes toward Israel’s policy, and socio-demographics.
Emotional reactions were relatively high, perceived justifiability low, and
supportive attitudes toward Israel’s policy
were moderate. Higher emotional reactions
were noted among females, older participants, and those not born in Israel, along with lower perceived justifiability and greater support for
Israel’s policy. Attitudes significantly
mediated the relationship between perceived justifiability and emotional reactions. Although the Israeli public is
not directly involved, the war has elicited emotional reactions in them.
Addressing these negative emotional responses
is essential in informing Israel’s policymaking.