The Effect of Family Characteristics on the Functioning of a Child with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder in Bedouin Society in Israel

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by difficulties in communication and social-emotional interaction. It is associated with an increase of parental stress and poor family functioning, both of which are harmful for a child's functioning and adaptive behavior. An important source of support to parents are grandparents, especially in traditional populations. One such population is the Bedouin population. The present study tested the association between emotional support from mother and mother-in-law to the adaptive behavior of children with ASD, and whether this relation is serially mediated by family functioning and satisfaction in life as reported by Bedouin mothers of children with ASD. 100 mothers of children with ASD fulfilled a questionnaire about emotional support from their mothers and mother-in-law, family functioning, satisfaction in life and child's adaptive behavior. We found that indeed, family functioning and satisfaction in life serially mediated the relations between emotional support from mother and mother-in-law and child adaptive behavior. These findings indicate that intergenerational solidarity between women can improve not only the functioning of the nuclear family and wife's satisfaction with life, but also, indirectly, the adaptive behavior of a child with ASD. It highlights the importance of women solidarity, especially in traditional society, where women are kept marginal.

The Meaning of the Marital Relationship in the Lives of Three Generations of Bedouin Women

Since Israel’s establishment in 1948, its Bedouin population has undergone many changes—from a traditional society to a modern one and from a nomadic life to permanent settlement—that have greatly affected the marital relationship. This is a qualitative study, using a narrative paradigm, of perceptions of the marital relationship in three generations of women in10 Bedouin families. An interpretive analysis of their life story interviews revealed differences and some similarities between one generation and the next. The first-generation women spoke in general about the woman’s role in the relationship and the man’s role, which was to defend, protect, and support the woman. In the two later generations, the women took upon themselves the overall responsibility for the marriage’s success. In the second generation, the marriage relied primarily on the behavior of the woman, whose role was to nurture the relationship and her husband’s reputation. The third generation saw the relationship as an escape from their suffocating birth family, a warm environment in which to rear children, and a way of meeting many emotional and physical needs. Although their expectations were often not realized, this generation, too, strove to preserve the relationship. None of the interviewees mentioned polygyny, although it is widespread among Israel’s Bedouins. And despite the intergenerational differences, there were some constants: “Women’s wisdom,” the key factor appearing in each generation, enabled Bedouin women to adapt to their marital lives and to preserve Bedouin culture.