Comparing Bedouin and Jewish parents’ parenting styles and practices

Abstract

The study examined the differences in parenting styles and practices between Bedouin and Jewish parents of adolescents in Israel, using the parents’ self-reports to screen their parenting. It included two separate samples of 172 Jewish parents (32 fathers and 140 mothers) and 128 Bedouin parents (76 fathers and 52 mothers), whose ages range from 23 to 60 (M = 43.70, SD = 7.61) and from 27 to 60 (M = 42.72, SD = 5.88) respectively. Bedouin parents were found to be more Authoritarian (mainly in terms of harsh discipline methods including corporal punishment) and less Authoritative (in terms of warmth and support) and Permissive than Jewish parents. These differences did not interact with the parents’ sex. Although relatively more Authoritarian, the Bedouin parents perceived themselves as significantly more Authoritative than Authoritarian. The article’s conclusion carefully suggests that the northern Bedouin families are undergoing a gradual change in their parental authority.

Keywords

• parenting styles
• jewish
• bedouin
• culture
• authoritarian