Social Re-Evaluation Model: A Mechanism for Evaluating the Social Capital of at-Risk Adolescents in an ultra-Orthodox Collective Society

This study explores socio-cultural mechanisms in a religious collective society, Israeli Ultra-Orthodox (UO) Judaism, and describes how these mechanisms create unique risk situations for adolescents. Four risk factors contribute to a high dropout rate among Israeli UO youth: strict expectations according to gender norms, social exclusion, social surveillance, and secretiveness. The present research involved a qualitative analysis of multiple case studies of marginalized youth derived from data collected through structured interviews of 44 at-risk youth and 23 adult informants from various UO communities. Data analysis was based on grounded-theory methods and ethnographic and phenomenological content analysis. Findings showed that at-risk UO adolescents react to social reevaluation of both their personal and family’s social capital. When individuals or families are reevaluated by their community following an attempt to move between social fields or when a change in personal circumstances exposes a family problem, Social Reevaluation (SR) operates. The SR model provides a theoretical explanation for understanding why and how the social practices of UO youth at-risk may lead to changes in their behaviors. This novel approach illuminates the complexities of risk among adolescents in religious collective societies.