Beliefs About Wife Beating Among Arab Men From Israel: The Influence of Their Patriarchal Ideology

• NCJ Number: 201978
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2003 Pages: 193-206
• Author(s): Muhammad M. Haj-Yahia
• Date Published: August 2003
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

This paper presents the findings of a survey of a random sample of 362 Arab husbands from Israel, which was conducted to examine the influence of patriarchal ideology on their beliefs about wife beating.

Abstract

In Arab society, the status of women in the family has always been lower than that of men. Notwithstanding the changes that have occurred in Arab society in Israel, women's roles as mother and wife continue to be traditional and nonegalitarian, even among young couples. Further, there is significant empirical support for the assumption that beliefs about wife beating among Arab Palestinian men and women can be attributed to their patriarchal ideology. The current study tested the following six measures as predictors of beliefs about wife beating on the basis of patriarchal ideology: attitudes toward women, sex-role stereotypes, sexual conservatism, religiosity, familial patriarchal beliefs, and marital role expectations. Although approximately 58 percent of the respondents indicated there is no justification for a man's beating his wife, 15-62 percent still justified wife beating on certain occasions, notably in the cases of adultery, failure to obey husbands, and disrespect for parents and relatives. Although participants tended to view abusive and violent husbands as responsible for their behavior, 52 percent considered such behavior to be understandable and often precipitated by the bad behavior of the wife. Regression and multiple regression analyses found that over and above the participants' age and level of education, their masculine sex-role stereotypes, negative and traditional attitudes toward women, nonegalitarian marital role expectations, and familial patriarchal beliefs were the most significant predictors of beliefs about wife beating. These finding suggest that advocates of community education campaigns to counter wife beating in Arab society must examine some of the cultural, professional, political, economic, religious, and organizational barriers to intervention among different target audiences in Arab society. 4 tables and 49 references