Parental practices and political violence: The protective role of parental warmth and authority-control in Jewish and Arab Israeli children.

Abstract

Parental warmth and parental authority-control patterns have been documented as practices with highest significance for children's well-being and development in a variety of life areas. Various forms of these practices have been shown to have a direct positive effect on children and also to protect children from adverse effects of numerous stressors. However, surprisingly, few studies have examined the role of these practices as possible protective factors for children exposed to intractable conflict and political violence. Participants in this study were Jewish (n = 88) and Arab (n = 105) Israeli families, with children aged 7-12.5 (M = 10.73, SD = 0.99). Children completed questionnaires assessing political violence exposure, behavioral, psychological, and social difficulties, and perceived paternal and maternal warmth. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires assessing parental warmth, parental authority-control, and the child's difficulties. Results showed parental warmth to be a significant moderator of political violence, related to low levels of behavioral and social difficulties of children. Parental authority-control patterns were not protectors from adverse effects of political violence exposure. Maternal authoritarian authority-control showed an effect resembling a risk factor. Differential roles of parental warmth and authority-control, fathers' versus mothers' roles, and ethnic differences are discussed, and practical clinical implications are proposed.

Heterogeneity in Perceptions of Parenting Among Arab Refugee Adolescents in Jordan

“…Fewer differences were found between authoritative as compared to indifferent and permissive parents. That authoritative parenting was generally associated with better adjustment is consistent with research in the United States (Steinberg, ), as well as with past research with Arab youth in Israel (Dor & Cohen‐Fridel, ; Lavi & Slone, ).…”

“…() found that more psychological distress was associated with greater exposure to political violence, but Arab youth exposed at high levels reported less psychological distress when their fathers were authoritative rather than authoritarian. Studying the same sample, Lavi and Slone () found that parental warmth moderated the effects of political violence on children, whereas maternal authoritative parenting appeared to be a protective factor.…”

The Contribution of Maternal Care and Control to Adolescents’ Adjustment Following War

“…Maternal warmth protected Israeli children from developing behavioral and social difficulties as a result of political violence (I. Lavi & Slone, 2012), and affectionate parenting protected Palestinian children's psychological adjustment by making them less vulnerable to traumatic exposure (Punamaki et al, at TRENT UNIV on April 3, 2016 jea.sagepub.com Downloaded from 1997). Our results raise the possibility that maternal care also serves as a protective factor for adolescents coping with trauma.…”

“…Specifically, I. Lavi and Slone (2012) found that maternal warmth was related to low levels of behavioral and social difficulties even for children reporting a high impact of exposure. Children with loving, affectionate, and caring parents were less likely to be affected by political violence in comparison with children who had cold and distant parents.…”

Maternal buffering of fear-potentiated startle in children and adolescents with trauma exposure

“…In addition, it is possible that for traumatized parents, self-reported warmth is a less reliable measure than for non-traumatized parents, thereby limiting our ability to observe what could otherwise be an important effect. Nevertheless, a number of studies do support the use of self-reported parental warmth in traumatized parents (e.g., Gonçalves Boeckel, Wagner, & Grassi-Oliveira, 2015; Lavi & Slone, 2012). Still, there is a wide recognition of the importance of social support in maintaining physical and psychological health in at-risk populations (Brewin, Andrews, & Valentine, 2000; Cobb, 1976; Ozbay, Fitterling, Charney, & Southwick, 2008), indicating the relevance for further investigation of the long-term effects of all aspects of the child–mother relationship on the ability to benefit from social buffering.…”