Heterogeneity in Perceptions of Parenting Among Arab Refugee Adolescents in Jordan

Abstract

Heterogeneity in parenting was examined in 883 Arab refugee adolescents in Jordan (M = 15.01 years, SD = 1.60). Latent profile analyses of five parenting dimensions rated separately for mothers and fathers yielded authoritative, authoritarian, indifferent, punitive, and for mothers, permissive profiles, with most mothers (60%) and fathers (66%) classified as authoritative. Parenting was more often authoritative for women than men and punitive (for fathers) or permissive (for mothers) of boys than girls. Authoritative fathers and authoritarian mothers were better educated than punitive parents, whose offspring reported more norm breaking and internalizing symptoms and lower academic achievement than other youth. Adjustment was better when adolescents had at least one authoritative parent than when parents were either consistent or discrepant but nonauthoritative.

Psychological Resilience in Response to Adverse Experiences

“…In terms of parent-child interactions, parenting style plays a key role in resilience. For example, having at least one authoritative parent (i.e., high in behavioral control, parental knowledge, and support, and low in harsh punishment and psychological control) was associated with better academic performance, fewer internalizing symptoms, and less norm breaking in a sample of Arab refugee adolescents (Smetana & Ahmad, 2018). Parental support also seems to be important by itself; according to a systematic review of displaced and refugee children, perception of high parental support was associated with better psychological outcomes (Fazel et al, 2012).…”

Family Systems Thinking as a Guide for Theory Integration: Conceptual Overlaps of Differentiation, Attachment, Parenting Style, and Identity Development in Families With Adolescents

“…Parenting styles have generally been categorized along dimensions of demandingness (i.e., parents' expectations for mature decision making and limit setting) and responsiveness (i.e., parents' emotional warmth and need-specific engagement) into four general styles: (a) authoritative (or, "democratic"; e.g., Ragelienė & Justickis, 2016), which involves high demandingness and high responsiveness; (b) permissive, which involves high responsiveness and low demandingness; (c) authoritarian, which involves high demandingness and low responsiveness; and (d) rejecting-neglecting, which involves low demandingness and low responsiveness (Smetana, 2017). Authoritative parenting as a set of parenting practices and an overall approach to or style of parenting has consistently been found to be the most effective style for fostering positive adolescent outcomes across cultures and demographics (Hoeve, Dubas, Gerris, van der Laan, & Smeenk, 2011;Kordi & Baharudin, 2010;Smetana, 2017;Smetana & Ahmad, 2018). Recent conceptualizations of authoritative parenting distinguish this parenting style from others by its promotion of adolescent autonomy as opposed to psychological control; parental knowledge derived from adolescent self-disclosure as opposed to intrusive monitoring tactics; demandingness in a "rational and reasoned way that accounts for adolescents' perspective or circumstance" (Sorkhabi & Middaugh, 2014, p. 1232, which Baumrind (2012) called "confrontative parental power assertion and discipline"; adolescents' viewing of their parents' authority as legitimate as influential in outcomes; and parental warmth, emotional support, and responsiveness to adolescents' needs (Karavasilis, Doyle, & Markiewicz, 2003;Smetana, 2017).…”

“…Despite some critiques suggesting that authoritative parenting may be ideal only for certain cultures and demographics, authoritative parenting has been shown to be the most common parenting style and the most conducive to positive adolescent outcomes across cultures and contexts (Smetana & Ahmad, ), regardless of whether authoritarian parenting practices (e.g., corporal punishment, shaming) are considered more normative in a given culture (Lansford et al, ; Smetana, ). Studies showing favor for authoritarian parenting in certain cultures, such as Asian students' school achievement, have not been well supported (Kordi & Baharudin, ).…”

How do Syrian refugee children in Turkey perceive relational factors in the context of their mental health?

“…Early research was largely influenced by a ‘war exposure model’ on the direct effect of war-related traumatic events (Miller & Jordans, 2016), while relatively little attention was given to family and relational factors, despite a number of studies having reported the association between dysfunctional parenting and child mental health problems in the general population (Allen, Porter, McFarland, McElhaney, & Marsh, 2007; Chang, Schwartz, Dodge, & McBride-Chang, 2003). In recent years, there has been a growth of studies to illuminate the relationship between refugee parents’ adaptive functions and their children’s resilience, that is, their capacity to recover from adversity, to inform interventions (Dalgaard, & Montgomery, 2015; Field, Muong, & Sochanvimean, 2013; Smetana & Ahmad, 2018; van Ee, Jongmans, van der Aa, & Kleber, 2016). Such multi-modal psychosocial interventions (Grant, & Guerin, 2014) view refugee children’s and families’ complex and inter-linked needs within a socioecological systems framework (child-family-school-community-services-society; Bronfenbrenner, 1979).…”

“…To date, there has been limited evidence based on direct recollection by refugee children themselves. Smetana and Ahmad (2018) explored refugee adolescents’ perceptions of different parenting styles among 883 Middle-Eastern families. Adolescents who perceived their parents as authoritative reported less internalising symptoms and higher school achievement than their peers whose parents were experienced as punitive (Smetana & Ahmad, 2018).…”