New Article: Manor-Binyamini, Mothers of Adolescent Children with Disabilities in the Druze Community in Israel

Manor-Binyamini, Iris. “Positive Aspects of Coping among Mothers of Adolescent Children with Developmental Disability in the Druze Community in Israel.” Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability (early view; online first).

ְְ 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2015.1129665

 

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of coping as experienced by 240 mothers of adolescents with and without developmental disability in the Druze community in Israel. Method: The mothers completed the Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Grandparents Functional Support Assessment, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Results: Both groups were found to be similar in their perception of family cohesion and emotional support. However, mothers of adolescents with a developmental disability reported higher rates of both adaptability to change and personal growth. Moreover, associations were found between family cohesion and adaptability to change and support, and between adaptability to change and social support and personal growth. Conclusion: Druze mothers of adolescents with developmental disability reveal important information regarding positive coping strategies.

 

 

 

New Article: Yonay et al, The Impact of Christian Neighbors on Muslim and Druze Women’s Participation in the Labor Force

Yonay, Yuval P., Mair Yaish, and Vered Kraus. “Religious Heterogeneity and Cultural Diffusion: The Impact of Christian Neighbors on Muslim and Druze Women’s Participation in the Labor Force in Israel.” Sociology 49.4 (2015): 660-78.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0038038514547898

 

Abstract

This study exploits the unique demographic structure of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel and their geographical immobility in order to help resolve the riddle why women in the Middle East and North Africa are less likely to participate in the labor force than women elsewhere in the world. We show that, controlling for economic variables, Muslim and Druze Arab women are more likely to enter the labor force if they live in a locality where Christian Arabs live as well. A possible explanation of this finding is the impact of social interaction among people who have different cultural schemas. Female labor force participation is rising throughout the Middle East, including among Arab-Palestinians in Israel, but the tempo of this transformation depends on various local variables, and in this article we identify one such factor, namely, the ethno-religious composition of a community.

 

New Article: Amir, Israeli Druze Women’s Sex Preferences When Choosing Gynecologists

Amir, Hadar. “Israeli Druze Women’s Sex Preferences When Choosing Obstetricians and Gynecologists.” Israel Journal of Health Policy Research 4.13 (2015): 10 pp.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13584-015-0013-z

 

Abstract

Background

Consideration and better understanding of patients’ needs on the part of the healthcare system might help increase the number of people seeking necessary medical care. Many studies have been conducted on patients’ preferences in choosing their health care provider, but the majority of them were conducted in modern western societies, establishing a need to explore other populations. The present study was performed in the Israeli Druze community which is composed of a uniquely traditional and religious population.

We assessed the sex preference of Israeli Druze women regarding obstetricians/gynecologists, and identify other features that affect their choice.

Method

We conducted a cross-sectional study that included 196 Israeli Druze women who anonymously completed a 36-item questionnaire between January-July, 2011.

Results

Most (63.8%) of the responders preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists, while 74.5% had no sex preference for their family physicians. 68.6% of the religious women preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists as compared to 51.76% of those women who self-identified as secular. Most of the women (65%) preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists for intimate procedures, such as pelvic examination and pregnancy follow-up. The main reasons given were: feeling more comfortable with a female practitioner (69.7%), the belief that females are more gentle (56.6%), and being more embarrassed with male obstetricians/gynecologists (45.4%). Three factors were associated with the responders’ preferences for female obstetricians/gynecologists: their age and religious status, and the sex of their regular obstetricians/gynecologists. Women who preferred a female obstetrician/gynecologist assigned a lesser weight to the physician’s knowledge when choosing them. Older and religious women as well as those who attributed less weight to the physician’s professional knowledge were more likely to prefer a female obstetrician/gynecologist.

Conclusions

The majority of responders to our survey (Israeli Druze women), like those in other communities where religiousness and modesty are deeply rooted, prefer female obstetricians/gynecologists, with the overwhelming reasons given being feeling more comfortable and less embarrassed with females, and the notion that female obstetricians/gynecologists are more gentle during intimate procedures.

Keywords:

Druze; Religious; Obstetricians/gynecologists; Sex

New Article: Halabi, Druze Women in Israel

Halabi, Rabah. “The Faith, the Honor of Women, the Land: The Druze Women in Israel.” Journal of Asian and African Studies 50.4 (2015): 427-44.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021909614533094

 

Abstract

This study investigates the status of the Druze women in Israel, focusing on the effects of the frequent interactions between the Druze and the more permissive Jewish-Western society. The main question posed is why Druze women accept the double standards of freedom, especially on sexual morality, that expect them to be chaste but allow sexual freedom to men. I argue that this is a patriarchal deal, in which women trade their sexual freedom in exchange for access to higher education, and to the prestigious status of moral guardians from western temptations. The paper is based on narrative analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 50 Druze students, half of them male and half female, enrolled in Israeli universities.