RESUMEN
This paper aims to identify several of the mismatches at play when social workers encounter families belonging to diverse groups and assess risk, well-being and protection for children. Two minority groups in Israel were studied: the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia. A context-informed approach was adopted to explore the subjective perceptions and constructions of "risk," "well-being," and "protection" among parents of the two communities (N = 60) and the social workers who work with them (N = 50). The social workers included some who belong to the minority groups they serve and others who are from the majority group. The analysis of the interviews yielded two main themes: (a) an understanding of the discrepancies in parents' and professionals' perceptions and constructions of "risk" and "protection" for children as the product of differences in the values, norms and contexts of these two groups; and (b) the implications of these discrepancies for the relationship between professionals/social service agencies and parents who are potential service users. Our findings call upon professionals to re-visit "universals" in the "risk" discourse while taking into account the realms of culture, ethnicity, religiosity, spirituality and community life when assessing risk and treating children and families of minority communities.
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Maltrato a los Niños/legislación & jurisprudencia , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Israel , Masculino , Padres , EspiritualidadRESUMEN
This qualitative study utilizes ecological theory, a context-informed perspective, and an interactive model to study minority children, while considering structural factors, oppression, segregation, power dynamics, and awareness of the political context. It examines perceptions of risk and protection using "snowball" sampling of 33 Bedouin mothers, citizens of Israel, from the unrecognized villages (UVs) in the Naqab in Southern Israel. Data were collected via in-depth, semistructured interviews during 2011 to 2013. The interviews were thematically analyzed and then arranged according to the 5 contextual levels of the ecological systems theory. The findings demonstrate a wide range of risks to child development including immediate physical environment, lack of supervision, child characteristics, relationships in the child's life, difficult life conditions, sociopolitical risks, and risks related to the entry of technology. Despite these numerous risk factors, Bedouin families cope by trying to prevent risks, utilizing the mothers' constant investment in their children, family and tribal support, spirituality and religious beliefs, the positive use of technology, formal education, and cultural identity. Our findings suggest that marginalization and political discrimination affect child development on different contextual levels. Moreover, the findings highlight the need to include parental voices in discourse on risk and protection and the contribution of a context-informed perspective that includes awareness of historical and political effects. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Árabes , Desarrollo Infantil , Discriminación en Psicología , Madres , Marginación Social , Adolescente , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Israel/etnología , Factores Protectores , Investigación Cualitativa , Factores de Riesgo , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
This study focuses on filial responsibilities among uprooted families. Views of 20 mothers and 20 adolescents and young adults from southern Lebanon residing in Israel were compared to identify the roles that adolescent children assume and the perceived effects of these roles. Eight domains of filial responsibilities were agreed upon: language broker, cultural broker, financial supporter and breadwinner, surrogate parent and sibling caretaker, emotional supporter of parents, mediator of family conflicts, heritage transmitter, and role model. The roles had simultaneous positive effects and negative effects. The discussion illustrates the importance of cultural context of country of origin and the host culture. Moreover, it suggests implications of the findings for research and practice.
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Emigrantes e Inmigrantes/psicología , Composición Familiar/etnología , Relaciones Madre-Hijo/psicología , Madres/psicología , Refugiados/psicología , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Israel , Líbano/etnología , Masculino , Investigación Cualitativa , Guerra , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
This article discusses minority-majority practice relations on the basis of a case study analysis of the dynamics and strategies reported by 32 Palestinian social workers living in Israel regarding their practice with Jewish clients. The described encounters reflect the charged political reality and are loaded with many tensions, fears, anger, and hatred. The results indicate five major categories, reflecting perceived mutual reactions: avoidance, power reversal, confrontation and anger, minimizing differences, and exploiting differences. The article discusses the need for a context-informed practice theory as well as training and supervision to change the emotional encounters from a potential battleground to a growth-enhancing experience within minority-majority practice relations.
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Grupos Minoritarios , Servicio Social , Árabes , Humanos , Artes MarcialesRESUMEN
In this exploratory qualitative study, 15 mothers and 18 adolescents who, as family members of the South Lebanon Army, were uprooted from that country and now living in Israel, were interviewed separately. The mothers described their image of the adaptive adult, which stressed the positive values of loyalty to the family, orientation toward the group, respect, and acceptance of hierarchy and guided their child-rearing goals and socialization. The children shared similar attitudes about the importance of family loyalty and orientation toward the group, but differed from their mothers with regard to the issues of respect and obedience. We discussed the notion of "liminality," to further our understanding of the families in transition and suggest how it applies to the uprooted members of South Lebanon army. We suggest that different time orientations and contextual factors influence the participating mothers' image of the adaptive adult and the degree to which their children accept it. Implications for research and interventions are also explored.
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Crianza del Niño/psicología , Familia Militar/psicología , Madres/psicología , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , Socialización , Adolescente , Adulto , Actitud , Niño , Crianza del Niño/etnología , Sueños , Femenino , Humanos , Israel , Líbano/etnología , Masculino , Responsabilidad Parental/etnología , Investigación CualitativaRESUMEN
The current study investigated resilience factors in filial responsibility and their relationships to adjustment indicators. Young adult immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel (N = 220) completed the Comprehensive Filial Responsibilities Inventory and 4 proxy measures of adjustment: An adapted version of the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and selected items from the General Life Functioning Inventory. The resilience factors examined included individual characteristics of Sense of Coherence, Optimism, and perceived social support from an adapted version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. In general, the resilience factors diminished the relationship between filial responsibility and some of the adjustment indicators. Overall, resilience factors make a strong and meaningful contribution to young immigrants' adjustment when main effects are considered. However, the resilience factors did not moderate the effect of filial responsibility in a protective way. The results contribute to an understanding of interrelations between postmigration filial responsibility and adjustment. Implications for social and clinical work with young-adult immigrants who have experienced filial responsibility in their family of origin are addressed.
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Hijos Adultos/etnología , Relaciones Padres-Hijo/etnología , Personalidad , Resiliencia Psicológica , Sentido de Coherencia , Ajuste Social , Apoyo Social , Adulto , Emigrantes e Inmigrantes/psicología , Emigración e Inmigración , Femenino , Humanos , Israel/etnología , Masculino , U.R.S.S./etnologíaRESUMEN
Traditional conceptualizations of role reversal and brokering (language and cultural in immigration), in which children assume culturally atypical adult responsibilities, have developed as different scholarly domains, despite their theoretical similarity. The purpose of the present article is to increase the integration between the two bodies of literature to achieve a better understanding of filial responsibilities children assume upon immigration and their differential correlates with adjustment. The structure of filial responsibility in immigration, interrelations between its distinct components, and the ability of the brokering roles to add significantly to the predicting of adjustment are studied. Young adult immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel (n = 220) completed the Comprehensive Filial Responsibilities Inventory (CFRI), the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the self-efficacy inventory. Factor analysis identified six CFRI domains with satisfying psychometric properties. The factors are dominance in family, cultural brokering, language brokering, emotional support to parents, self-reliance, and money issues. Hierarchical regression analyses showed a contribution of the brokering roles to prediction of psychological distress above and beyond traditional roles. The results support the validity of the CFRI and contribute to the understanding of interrelations among the various filial responsibilities, including brokering roles.