Wayne State University DigitalCommons@WayneState Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2011 Sons, daughters, and arab-american family dynamics: does a child's gender matter? Sanaa Al Harahsheh Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Recommended Citation Al Harahsheh, Sanaa, "Sons, daughters, and arab-american family dynamics: does a child's gender matter?" (2011). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 366. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. SONS, DAUGHTERS, AND ARAB-AMERICAN FAMILY DYNAMICS: DOES A CHILD’S GENDER MATTER? by SANAA ALHARAHSHEH DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2011 MAJOR: SOCIOLOGY Approved by: ____________________________________ Advisor Date ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my husband Wasfi Almeshagbeh, for his unconditional love, support, and encouragement. To my children, the light and the love of my life. To my parents, for their continuous love, support, prayers, and inspiration. To my sisters and brothers for all the support and encouragement. To Dr. Mary Sengstock, for her continuous guidance, advice, outstanding professionalism, and support. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The moment has finally come to turn over the final page of this dissertation after a long academic journey at Wayne State University. However, I would not have reached this end point without these extraordinary individuals and I am greatly indebted. First and foremost I would like to thank God for providing me with patience, knowledge, capacity, courage, and placing so many people in my life to help get through this educational journey. Heartfelt gratitude and appreciation go to my advisor Dr Mary Cay Sengstock, who provided invaluable guidance, support, and encouragement since the moment I came to the sociology Department at Wayne State University. Her comments, patience, and advice regarding this dissertation have been priceless. I am indebted to her for the years of support, training, and guidance that she has given me throughout my doctoral years at WSU. I am so proud to be one of her school‘s graduates. I hope that I have produced a work that she can be proud to be a part of. I feel fortunate to have an expert team of researchers on my dissertation committee. My deepest appreciations are to my dissertation committee members: Dr. Leon Warshay, Dr. Heather Dillaway, and Dr. Virginia Rice for their expertise, guidance, and support. Thank you all for taking the time to evaluate my dissertation and providing invaluable feedback. Thanks are also extended to all people in the sociology department who supported and encouraged me through my academic endeavors as a graduate student. Also, special thanks go out to Dr Ozkan, WSU Computer Information and Technology, for all the statistical inputs. Without the unwavering support and endless love of my best friend and husband Wasfi Almeshagbeh, this dissertation would not have been attainable. His patience and willingness to sacrifice the quality of our home life allowed me to study and write in peace. I doubt I will ever be able to express my appreciation fully, but I owe him my eternal gratitude. Also, special thanks iii go to the light of my life and heart, my children. My children made sacrifices to make completion of this program a reality. Nothing gave me the determination to succeed more than seeing their little faces. I hope that someday they will understand and read what I was doing for hours on end in front of my computer. I would like to express my deepest appreciations and thanks to my family in Jordan for their constant support and motivation throughout my educational journey. I am especially thankful to my father and mother for their unconditional love, support, and prayers which are basis for all my accomplishments. I‘m also indebted to all my sisters and brothers in Jordan for all their constant encouragement and support over the years of my academic journey in the USA. Finally, I am indebted to all those people whom directly and indirectly participated in what I have achieved. Special thanks go out to my study‘s participants for taking the time to fill out the surveys, to all Arab-American community leaders who facilitated my data collection, and to all my friends who believed in me and supported me all the way to finish this academic work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1- Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2- Literature Review & Theoretical Framework ........................................................ 9 CHAPTER 3- Methodology ...................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 4- Results ............................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 5- Discussion and Conclusions ............................................................................. 158 Appendix A- HIC Approvals ................................................................................................... 184 Appendix B- Amendment Approval ........................................................................................ 185 Appendix C- Information Sheets ............................................................................................. 186 Appendix D- Questionnaires ................................................................................................... 188 References .............................................................................................................................. 201 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 232 Autobiographical Statement .................................................................................................... 235 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Categorical Social Background Characteristics of Arab-American Parents in the Study ................................................................................................................ 69 Table 2: Continuous Social Background Characteristics of Arab-American Parents in the Study .......................................................................................................................... 70 Table 3: Percentages of Gender Ideology Measures .................................................................. 71 Table 4: Categorical Social Background Characteristics of Arab-American Parents in the Study (Continued) ................................................................................................................ 74 Table 5: Reasons for Wanting Boys and Girls in Arab- American Families ............................... 75 Table 6: Prevalence of Number of Children by Parents‘ Gender Preferences with Regard to Children...................................................................................................................... 77 Table 7: Prevalence of Number of Children by Gender Composition of Children ..................... 78 Table 8: Reported Fathers‘ level of Involvement with Children in Interactive Activities ........... 80 Table 9: Reported Fathers‘ level of Involvement with Children in Childcare Activities when they were Babies ................................................................................................................... 81 Table 10: Reported Mothers‘ Level of Involvement with Children in Interactive Activities ....... 84 Table 11: Reported Mothers‘ Level of Involvement with Children in Childcare Activities when they were Babies ............................................................................................................ 85 Table 12: Percentages of level of Closeness to Boys and Girls by Gender of Parents ................. 86 Table 13: Percentages of Level of Affection Giving to Children by Gender of Parents .............. 86 Table 14: Percentages of Children‘s Level of Participation in Household Work ........................ 89 Table 15: Percentages of Marital Quality Measures ................................................................... 93 vi Table 16: Reliability Analysis for Parental Behavioral Involvement with Children Measures .................................................................................................................... 96 Table 17: Reliability Analysis for Parental Emotional Involvement with Children Measures ...................................................................................................................