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The Arab Family Strength in Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia

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The Arab Family Strength in Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia The Arab Family Strength In Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia Research Team Abdallah M. Badahdah (PhD) Azza O. Abdelmoneium (PhD) John DeFrain (PhD) Sylvia M. Asay (PhD) Ibn Khaldun Center for Research & Studies Ahmed Abdennadher THE ARAB FAMILY STRENGTH IN QATAR, JORDAN, AND TUNISIA Abdallah M. Badahdah (PhD) Azza O. Abdelmoneium (PhD) John DeFrain (PhD) Sylvia M. Asay (PhD) Ibn Khaldun Center for Research & Studies Ahmed Abdennadher First English Edition (2018) Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press P O Box 5825 Doha, Qatar www.hbkupress.com Copyright ©Doha International Family Institute, 2018 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non- Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC -ND 4.0) License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. The online version of this book can be found at: www.difi.org.qa For Citation: Badahdah, A., Abdelmoneium, A., DeFrain, J., Asay, S., Ibn Khaldun Center for Research and Studies, & Abdenndher, A. The Arab Family Strength in Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia. Doha, Qatar: Doha International Family Institute, 2018. RESEARCH TEAM Dr. Abdallah M. Badahdah, Director, Family Research Division, Doha International Family Institute, Doha, Qatar Dr. Azza O. Abdelmoneium, Senior Associate Researcher, Doha International Family Institute, Doha, Qatar Dr. John DeFrain, Professor Emeritus, Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA Dr. Sylvia M. Asay, Professor, Family Studies, University of Nebraska at Kearney, USA Ibn Khaldun Center for Research & Studies (IKCRSJO), Jordan Mr. Ahmed Abdennadher, Population and Development Consultant, Tunisia EDITING TEAM Gilla M. Camden, Research & Grant Specialist, DIFI Aisha J. Al Sultan, Researcher, DIFI Ahmed M. Aref, Researcher, DIFI Mohamed I Mahgoub, Lead Researcher, DIFI 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) ......................... 9 Acknowledgments .............................................................. 10 Foreword .............................................................................. 11 Executive Summary ............................................................. 12 Chapter One: Introduction .................................................. 13 1. Objectives and the International Family Strengths Perspective .............13 2. Methodology .....................................................................................................19 Chapter Two: Qatar ............................................................. 21 1. The Qatari Family ...............................................................................................21 2. Family Strengths ................................................................................................21 3. Family Challenges .............................................................................................23 4. Community Strengths ......................................................................................25 5. Cultural Strengths .............................................................................................25 6. Individual Strengths .........................................................................................26 7. Family Interview Findings ................................................................................26 Chapter Three: Jordan ......................................................... 36 1. The Jordanian Family .........................................................................................36 2. Family Strengths ................................................................................................36 3. Family Challenges .............................................................................................38 4. Community Strengths ......................................................................................40 5. Cultural Strengths .............................................................................................40 6. Individual Strengths .........................................................................................41 7. Family Interview Findings ................................................................................41 Chapter Four: Tunisia .......................................................... 55 1. The Tunisian Family ............................................................................................55 2. Family Strengths ................................................................................................55 3. Family Challenges .............................................................................................57 4. Community Strengths ......................................................................................59 5. Cultural Strengths .............................................................................................60 6. Individual Strengths .........................................................................................60 7. Family Interview Findings ................................................................................60 7 Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion ........................... 75 Limitations of the Research and the Next Steps in the Research ...............77 Applying This Research in Governmental Social and Economic Policy, Family Services, Family Education, and Marital and Family Therapy .........78 APPENDIX A: OTHER PROMINENT FAMILY THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES ...................................................................... 89 REFERENCES ......................................................................... 91 8 DOHA INTERNATIONAL FAMILY INSTITUTE (DIFI) The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI), a member of Qatar Foun- dation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), was established in 2006. The Institute works to strengthen the family through the development and dissemination of high quality research on Arab fam- ilies, encouraging knowledge exchange on issues relevant to the family and making the family a priority to policy makers through advocacy and outreach at the national, regional and international levels. Among the Institute’s most important initiatives are the Annual Conference on the Family; and the OSRA Research Grant in collaboration with the Qatar National Research Fund, an annual research grant which encourages research related to the Arab family and family policy. The Institute has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). To know more about DIFI, please visit www.difi.org.qa. To know more about QF, please visit www.qf.org.qa. 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to express our sincerest appreciation to the study partic- ipants from Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia for generously sharing their time and stories with us, making this study possible. Last but not least, sincere appreciation goes to Ms. Noor A. Malki, Exec- utive Director of DIFI, whose insightful comments were invaluable to the project and without whose precious support this research would not have been possible. 10 FOREWORD Families all over the globe are currently experiencing dramatic transfor- mations and Arab families are no exception. Unprecedented political turmoil, economic challenges, and rapid sociocultural changes in the Arab region continue to shake the existing social fabric and threaten the well-being of families. Despite this, the institution of the family remains the backbone of Arab society and serves as the primary source of support and aid for its members. Research indicates that families living in the most difficult circumstances draw upon a rich set of characteristics, or ‘family strengths’, that enable them to nurture their members and continue to prosper in the face of even the most extreme adversity. Family strengths not only contribute to family cohesion and foster the individual growth and well-being of all family members, but also have positive benefits for communities and societies as a whole. By conducting this study, the Doha International Family Institute contributes to efforts to shift the research on families in the Arab World from a deficit-centered approach that highlights prob- lems and pathology to a strengths-based perspective that identifies and draws upon the strengths of family members, community and culture. Through the lens of the international family strengths perspective, this report explores the strengths, whether individual, family, community, or culturally based, that families in Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia employ when facing a variety of social, financial, and health-related challenges. The insights shared herein on the characteristics that distinguish healthy, successful families in the Arab world can be used by families, communi- ties, policy makers, and governmental entities to inform strategies and programs aimed to strengthen families throughout the region. Ms. Noor Al Malki Al Jehani Executive Director Doha International Family Institute 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY All the problems in the world either begin in families, or end up in fami- lies. Sometimes families create their own problems, and at other times, families are forced to deal with problems that the world has thrust upon them. For this reason, it is imperative that all societies seek to understand families in all their considerable diversity; to protect families; and to help strengthen families through intervention on the level of the family, the immediate community, the nation,
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