The Strengths and Challenges of Arab Families: Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia

Healthy families are essentially at the core of a healthy society. The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and challenges of Arab family members in Qatar, Tunisia and Jordan using focus group and in-depth interviews. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data across the three countries. The themes that emerged as strengths included responsibility, support, good communication, respect, conveying traditions, resilience and love. Family challenges included societal changes, isolation, inequality of women, absent/unengaged fathers, financial problems, poor communication, and aging family members. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Objectives

To identify Arab family strengths and challenges.To identify how Arab families use their strengths to meet life's challenges.To expand our thinking about Arab families for future large scale research.

Resilience Levels Among Young Adults Living in the U.S. and Ghana: A Comparative Study

Young adults experience unique challenges that require adaptation to survive and maintain optimum functioning. Such challenges include identity development, financial pressures, and increased stressors. The goal of the current study was to examine young adults’ utilization of their resources and the factors that enhance their resilience. Data were collected from a total of 200 participants, of whom 100 lived in Alabama and Tennessee (USA) while 100 living in Eastern and Greater Accra (Ghana). Adult Resilience Measure (RRC-ARM) with 28 Likert-type questions was used. The study found that the resources (individual, caregiver, and contextual) played a key role in their lives and that there was a correlation between gender and resilience. The US sample showed high resilience while the data from Ghana is currently analyzed.

Objectives

1) To examine the levels of resilience among young adults in Alabama and Tennessee and Eastern and Greater Accra
2) To examine the comparison of male and female resilience levels among young adults living in the USA and Ghana using Adult Resilience Measure (RRC-ARM)
3) To examine the specific individual, caregiver, and context factors contributing to resilience levels among young adults residing in Alabama and Tennessee (USA) and Eastern and Accra (Ghana)

How to Maintain a Satisfying Marriage? Maintenance Behaviors, Relational Equity, and Appreciation in Understanding Marital Satisfaction

Using equity theory, we examined the influence of self-reported use of maintenance behaviors on marital satisfaction through the mediator roles of relational equity and felt appreciation in a sample of Turkish married individuals. For this purpose, a structural model was tested through the use of Structural Equation Modeling (N = 602). Results indicated that individuals who engaged in more openness and positivity but less sharing tasks, reported to perceive more appreciation, higher perceptions of equity, and higher marital satisfaction. Family therapists could benefit from the findings to raise individuals’ awareness about how to keep their marriages in a satisfied state.

Objectives

1. Participants will understand the direct influence of self-reported use of relationship maintenance behaviors (openness, sharing tasks, and positivity), perceived relational equity, and felt appreciation on marital satisfaction. 2. Participants will understand how feelings of being appreciated and perceived relational equity indirectly relate to the potential effects of self-reported use of maintenance behaviors (openness, sharing tasks, and positivity) on marital satisfaction?3. Mental health practitioners and policy makers might utilize the results of current study in designing marriage intervention programs, raising the awareness of public by targeting specific RMB and emphasizing the role of equity and appreciation to escalate marital satisfaction.

Contextualizing the Health of Cambodian Families Living in Poverty

To maximize the utilization of healthcare services in developing countries, researchers and health policymakers need to view social factors as health determinants. This qualitative research explored the health-seeking behaviors and health-related decisions of Cambodian families. Nine Cambodian families were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. The findings show that in light of poverty, most Cambodian families resorted to other health intervention options that might be ineffective and dangerous, as they could not afford formal healthcare services. These findings can inform Cambodian health policymakers to reorient their focus regarding improving formal medical institutions nationwide.

Objectives

To understand how households in Cambodia produce health-seeking behaviors.To explore how poverty influences Cambodian families' health utilization. To apply knowledge from the Cambodian context to global health contexts.

Using Family Systems Theory to Examine Polygamous Family Interactions

This qualitative study used Family Systems Theory to examine the interactions within and among the subsystems that make up polygamous family systems.  Thematic analysis of interviews from 46 West African immigrants revealed some need to need to reframe the understanding of:  family rules and roles, subsystems and alliances to fit a non-monogamous marital context, but Family Systems Theory allowed for an understanding of family life and functioning.  This study has implications for those in the therapeutic and educational communities who may be called upon to work with those who have been impacted by or are living in polygamous families.

Objectives

To demonstrate how Family Systems Theory can be used to explore relationships and behaviors within polygamous family systemsTo analyze the complexity of subsystems and dyadic relationships in polygamous familiesTo examine how co-wife alliances influence the functioning of polygamous families

Work-Family Balance Among Qatari Adults: Health Implications

Qatar provides an interesting contrast to typical research on the health-related consequences of work-family experiences.  Whereas research in democratic societies suggests that work and family are greedy institutions that promote strain and poor health outcomes, integrating work and family may be more seamless in family-focused countries under theocratic governance that protects families.  This study uses new population data to describe work-family experiences among Qatari women and men, and their associations with physical and mental health. Gender differences in work-family experiences tend to disadvantage women, but the mental health effects of work-family experiences are stronger for men than women.

Objectives

By the end of this presentation participants will be able to:1) Identify at least two sociocultural features of Qatari culture that highlight the salience of work and family to adult health.2) Describe differences in women's and men's experiences of work-family balance.3) Explain whether work-family experiences affects women's or men's health more, and give at least one concrete point of evidence to support that conclusion