Journal of

Adolescence
Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117
Parenting style, individuation, and mental health
of Egyptian adolescents
Marwan Dwairy
a,
, Kariman E. Menshar
b
a
Emek Yezreel College, and Haifa University, P.O. Box 14710, Ora St. 3b, Nazerat Ellit 17000, Israel
b
Banha Faculty of Education, Zagazig University, Egypt
Abstract
Three questionnaires that measure parenting style, adolescent-family connectedness, and mental health
were administered to 351 Egyptian adolescents. Results show that in rural communities the authoritarian
style is more predominant in the parenting of male adolescents, while the authoritative style is more
predominant in the parenting of female adolescents. In urban communities, on the other hand, the
authoritarian style was more predominant in the parenting of female adolescents. The connectedness of all
female adolescents with their family was stronger than that of male adolescents. The connectedness of girls
was found to be more emotional and nancial in villages and to be more functional in town. Female
adolescents reported a higher frequency of psychological disorders. Mental health was associated with
authoritative parenting, but not with authoritarian parenting. It seems that authoritarian parenting within
an authoritarian culture is not as harmful as within a liberal culture.
r2005 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Arabs; Egypt; Collective; Individuation; Parenting; Anxiety; Depression
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0140-1971/$30.00 r2005 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All
rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2005.03.002

Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +972 4 9917591.

E-mail address: admin@marwandwairy.com (M. Dwairy).
Introduction
Socialization processes and psychological independence are two factors that are diverse across
cultures (Triandis, 1995; Chaudhary, 2002). More specically, parenting style and individuation in
adolescence in western societies are found to differ from those in collective societies (Hill, 1995;
Dwairy, 1997a, b, 1998a; Markus, & Kitayama, 1998; Panagiotopoulou, 2002). The research
reported in this article intended to study parenting style, psychological connectedness, and mental
health among Egyptian Arab adolescents.
Parenting styles
The most widely used typology of parenting behaviours in the West is that developed by
Boumrind (Berg-Cross, 2000). Boumrind identied three parenting styles: authoritarian,
authoritative, and permissive (Baumrind, 1967, 1991). Parents who practice the authoritarian
style focus on their control of the child, and his/her obedience. They restrict the autonomy of their
children and decide what appropriate behaviour is for them (Baumrind, 1983; Reitman, Rhode,
Hupp, & Altobello, 2002). A variety of problems were identied among the children of
authoritarian parents in the west. These children tend to be uncooperative and to suffer from
depression, low self-esteem, low initiative, and difculties in making decisions in adulthood
(Whiteld, 1987; Forward, 1989; Baumrind, 1991; Bigner, 1994; Wenar, 1994).
Parents who adopt the permissive style encourage their childrens autonomy and enable them to
make their own decisions and regulate their own activities. They avoid confrontation and tend to
be warm, supportive people and do not care to be viewed by their children as gures of authority.
Children raised by permissive parents have poor social skills and low self-esteem (Baumrind, 1991;
Reitman et al., 2002) and are often seen as selsh, dependent, irresponsible, spoiled, unruly,
inconsiderate of others needs, and antisocial (Bigner, 1994; Wenar, 1994).
The authoritative style is a compromise between the authoritarian and the permissive style.
Parents who adopt this style tend to have good nurturing skills and exercise moderate parental
control to allow the child to become progressively more autonomous (Baumrind, 1966, 1967,
1983, 1991; Reitman et al., 2002). Children raised according to this style of parent are not
completely restricted but rather are allowed a reasonable degree of latitude in their behaviour.
Parents do enforce limits in various ways such as reasoning, verbal give and take, overt power,
and positive reinforcements. Children of authoritative parents display high self-esteem and tend to
be self-reliant, self-controlled, secure, popular, and inquisitive (Buri, Louiselle, Misukanis, &
Mueller, 1988; Wenar, 1994). They manifest fewer psychological and behavioural problems than
youth who are raised by authoritarian or permissive parents (Lamborn, Mants, Steinberg, &
Dornbusch, 1991). (For review of parental discipline, see Maccoby & Martin, 1983.)
Inconsistent results regarding the effects of parenting style on children have emerged from
research among non-white cultures (Stewart & Bond, 2002). In some studies, levels of self-
concept, self-esteem, and academic performance of African-Americans (Baumrind, 1972; Taylor,
Hinton, & Wilson, 1995) and of Asian Americans (Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, Mounts, &
Dornbusch, 1992) have been shown to be lower, whether the authoritarian or the permissive
parenting style is implemented. Conversely, the results of some studies have shown that the
authoritarian parenting style produced the most assertive and independent African American girls
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(Baumrind, 1972), and was related to higher competence in a high-risk environment (Baldwin,
Baldwin, & Cole, 1990). According to the ndings of Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch, and
Darling (1994), Asian Americans beneted more from the authoritarian than from the
authoritative parenting style in terms of adjustment and academic performance. Among Chinese
families in Hong Kong and the Peoples Republic of China, while the authoritarian parenting
style was found to effect the achievement level of the children positively, the authoritative style
had no effect in this regard (Leung, Lau, & Lam, 1998). The achievement levels of rst-generation
Chinese immigrants in USA also benet less from the authoritative style than those of European
Americans (Chao, 2001).
Individuation
A major area in which collective cultures differ from individualistic cultures is in their
individuation, dependency, and intergenerational connectedness. Whereas adolescents in western
societies are expected to be individuated from their families, having different attitudes and values,
emotionally detached, and self-reliance (Hofstede, 1980; Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, &
Lucca, 1988), adolescents in Asia, Africa, and South America, where the sociocultural system is
still collectivistic/authoritarian, are not encouraged to develop individually from their families and
are not, therefore, expected to pass through the same process of individuation toward a
differentiated self and identity. Individuals in these societies, in which the concept of self is
collectivistic and not different from the familial self and identity, continue to be enmeshed in their
families into adulthood (Triandis, 1990, 1996; Dwairy & Van Sickle, 1996).
Hatab and Makki (1978), in their study of Arab youth, found that the majority reported
following their parents direction in most of the important areas of their life: social behaviour,
interpersonal relationships, marriage, occupational preference, and political attitudes. That they
did not report that they suffer from this interdependent relationship but rather that they are
satised with this way of life is of interest.
It seems that the relationship between parenting styles on the one hand, and individuation and
mental health and functioning of the children, on the other, is inconsistent across cultures. Based
on the studies cited above, apparently it is the authoritative parenting in the West that is
associated with independency of the childs identity and with better mental health, while in some
ethnic groups or collective societies authoritarian parenting is associated with independency
(Baumrind, 1972), and better functioning of the children (Hatab & Makki, 1978; Baldwin et al.,
1990).
The Arab culture
Arabs live in an authoritarian and collective cultural system according to which the family
(extended and nuclear) is more important than the individual. Independence and self-
actualization are not encouraged but rather are seen as a sort of egoism. Within this system,
the psychological individuation of adolescents is not accomplished and the individuals identity
continues to be enmeshed in the collective one into adulthood.
Some reports indicated that physical and emotional abuses are widespread styles of parenting in
Egypt (Saif El-Deen, 2001), Saudi Arabia, (Achoui, 2003), Bahrain (Al-Mahroos, 2001), Jordan,
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M. Dwairy, K.E. Menshar / Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117 105
(Al-Shqerat, & Al-Masri, 2001) and Morocco (Al-Kittani, 2000) especially among low class,
uneducated parents, and larger or dysfunctional families. Generally speaking, authoritarianism is
harsher toward females than males and they have less choices and options in life (Abd Elkader,
1986; Shabib, 1993, 2001). Their lives are limited almost exclusively to the space within the
borders of home and family life. Conversely, boys enjoy a wider space of mobility and more
choices and options. They are therefore more able to manoeuver within social authority and to
nd avenues for self-expression. In addition, with regard to females authoritarianism focuses on
modesty, mobility, and sexual behaviour, while with regard to males it focuses on social duties
and responsibility (Mohamad, 1985). In addition, girls are punished more harshly than boys. In
extreme cases immodest girls may be killed in the name of saving the so-called honor of the family
(Barakat, 1993, 2000; Dwairy, 1997a, b, 1998a; Markaz al Maraah al Arabiyah, 2003). Despite
the strict socialization toward female Arab children and adolescents, and because females are
more submissive, some studies indicated that authoritarian parenting and physical punishments
are applied more toward boys than girls (Al-Kittani, 2000; Al-Shqerat & Al-Masri, 2001; Dwairy,
2004b).
Arabic societies are diverse. They are presently passing through a rapid process of urbanization,
which increases the diversity between the sociocultural norms in rural neglected areas and those in
the more urbanized and developed areas (Zakariya, 1999). The percentage of urbanization varies
from 23% in Yemen and 24% in Somalia to 91% in Qatar and 96% in Kuwait (UNDP, 2002).
Barakat (1993, 2000) claims that Arabs who migrated to the cities in fact took their traditional
culture with them, and that, therefore, the culture of urbanized adults does not substantially differ
from that of rural ones. Many urban Arab family continue to maintain an extended family
structure where three generations or more live together as one unit (Zayed & Lot, 1993).
Assuming that Arab youths are exposed to a new open and free lifestyle in town, their resulting
new demands for freedom challenge the parents tradition. Arab parents in the USA, for instance,
are therefore much concerned about losing control of the behaviour of their children who are
inuenced by their American peer group, and especially of the females (Abu Baker, 1997).
Few research studies have addressed the parenting styles among Arabs and its impact on
individuation and mental health. A series of studies conducted by the rst author of this article
among Arab-Palestinians in Israel has revealed signicant sex differences. Arabic girls reported a
more authoritative parenting style than boys, who reported a higher authoritarian style. In
addition, the authoritative parenting style was associated with better mental health of both sexes,
but unlike the results in the west, the authoritarian parenting style was not associated with less
mental health in terms of seven factors: self-concept, self-esteem, identity disorder, anxiety
disorder, phobia, depression, and conduct disorder (Dwairy, 2004b). In another study that
compared gifted and non-gifted Arab-Palestinian adolescents in Israel gifted adolescents reported
parenting styles which were more permissive and authoritative than those which non-gifted
adolescents reported. Non-gifted adolescents reported a more authoritarian style. Authoritative
parenting was associated with better mental health among both groups, but interestingly, only
among the gifted children was the authoritarian style associated with less good mental health in
terms of the seven criteria mentioned above (Dwairy, 2004a). As for individuation and
independence, the ego-identity of the Arab-Palestinian adolescents tested by objective measure
of ego-identity status (OMEIS) (Adams, Shea, & Fitch, 1979), tends to be foreclosed by their
parents or diffused or un-crystallized. In addition they displayed a high level of emotional,
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nancial, and functional interdependence with their parents. The identity of male adolescents was
more foreclosed than that of the females. Female adolescents displayed a higher level of
nancial dependence on their parents than males did (Dwairy, 2004c).
This study was conducted in Egypt, the largest Arab country, unlike the previous studies which
were conducted among the Palestinian minority in Israel. The study had a twofold objective: (a) to
test the effect of urbanization and sexual differences on parenting style, individuation, and mental
health of adolescents, (b) to test the relationship between parenting styles on the one hand and the
individuation and mental health of adolescents on the other.
Method
Subjects
Three questionnaires were administered to 351 (212 male and 139 female) Egyptian adolescents
in the 11th grade of school (1617 years old). The sample comprised 50% rural and 50% urban
adolescents. The mean number of siblings and education years of parents was 4.3 and 3.3,
respectively, in the rural and 3.5 and 3.6 in the urban sample, respectively in the urban sample.
The mean of the subjective rating (on a scale from 1 low to 5 high) of the family economic
level was 3.0 in the rural sample and 3.6 in the urban sample.
The questionnaires were administered by schoolteachers in school. Their completion took
5060 min. Participation of the sample subjects was voluntary; however none of the students
refused to participate. Only 24 students did not complete all the questionnaires and were therefore
excluded from the sample. In accordance with the Egyptian rules, the consent of the school
inspector and the parents committee was obtained.
Instruments
Three questionnaires were administered
Parental authority questionnaire (PAQ)
Based on the original English questionnaire on parental authority styles (Buri, 1991), an Arabic
version had been developed and validated in two studies among Palestinian Arab adolescents
(Dwairy, 2004a, b). The Arabic, like the English version, consists of 30 items: ten items associated
with each of the three parenting styles, authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. The subjects
are directed to respond to each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 not agree to
5 agree. Three scores are obtained, reecting the three styles. The internal consistency measured
by the alpha Cronbachs coefcient of each style ranged between .65 and .79. Conrmatory
principal factor analysis of the Arabic scale indicated that all items that comprise each parenting
style matched accordingly (for more details about the validity of the scale see Dwairy, 2004a, b).
Multigenerational interconnectedness scale (MIS)
The scale comprises three-factor analytically derived subscales intended to assess emotional,
nancial, and functional connectedness of adolescents with their family. The Emotional
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Connectedness subscale comprises 15 items which inquire into the subjects current emotional and
psychological dependence on family members, e.g., I rely on family members approval to let me
know when I am doing things right. The Financial Connectedness subscale comprises eight items
relating to monetary reliance on family members, e.g., Family members help me pay for my
major living expenses, and the Functional Connectedness subscale consists of eight items which
refer to sharing daily routines with family, e.g., I take vacations with members of my family.
Adolescents are asked to respond to the items by rating on a scale of 17 how often they currently
have these experiences in their relationships with family members. The results of these subscales of
interconnectedness may be thought of as dening part of the individuation process, one of the
delineations of the sense of self within a relational context (Karpel, 1976). A primary marker of
higher individuation is the expectation that offspring will become less emotionally, nancially,
and functionally dependent on the family as they mature (Meyer, 1980). This scale was used by the
rst author to measure the independency of adolescents with their parents. The Arabic version
was translated (two-way translation) from the original scale and then validated (Dwairy, 2003).
The internal consistency of the scale was good. Cronbachs coefcient alpha for the Arabic scale
was .80. For the Emotional Connectedness subscale .68, for Financial Connectedness .83, and for
Functional Connectedness .71. The structural internal validity of the scale was tested by a
principal factor analysis, which showed good convergence of the items into the three subscales. All
Financial Connectedness items and one Functional Connectedness item loaded higher than .30 in
one factor. All Functional Connectedness items and one Emotional Connectedness item loaded
higher than .30 on another factor; and 12 of the 15 Emotional Connectedness items and one
Functional Connectedness item loaded higher than .30 on a third factor. The other three items of
the Emotional Connectedness subscale loaded on Factor 3, with loadings between .23 and .29.
(For more details on the validation of the scale see Dwairy, 2003.)
The psychological state scale (PSS)
This scale was developed in Arabic by Hamuda and Imam (1996) to assess 27 psychological
states among adolescents and adults in Egypt. Five items, each of which the subject is asked to
endorse or reject (2 yes, 1 not sure, and 0 no), were designed to pertain to each state. The
scores of each scale are summed. A high score indicates a psychological disorder. The PSS was
originally developed to detect 27 psychological disorders in a group setting. For the purpose of
our study and for economic reasons, we chose to examine only four psychological states that are
relevant to adolescents. We selected the items that pertain to the following psychological states:
1. Identity disorders (e.g. I do not know who I am and what I want).
2. Generalized anxiety disorder (e.g. While I am doing something I feel anxious).
3. Depression (e.g. I feel sad most of the time).
4. Conduct disorder (e.g. Using violence makes others respect me).
Factor analysis of the scale, when applied to normal and clinical Arab samples in Egypt,
showed good convergence of the items into the ve psychological states indicating good internal-
structural validity of the scale. Comparison between the two groups revealed signicant
differences between the normal and clinical participants in all of the above subscales. Taking into
account the fact that the number of items in each subscale is small (ve items), the split-half
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reliability coefcients were good to moderate (Hamuda and Imam, 1996). Validation of the PSS
done among Palestinian Arabs revealed that the internal consistency of the scales was moderate
(.65) to good (.91). Factor analysis revealed moderate to good internal-structural validity of the
identity, anxiety, depression, and conduct disorder sub-scales of PSS. (For more details
concerning validation of PSS among Palestinian Arabs see Dwairy, 2004a, b.)
Validation of the tools
Despite the fact that all the questionnaires used had been validated among Arabs, we found a
need to validate them also among Egyptian Arabs. A principal factor analysis was applied to test
the structure validity of PAQ, MIS, and PSS. Based on the theoretical structure of PAQ and MIS,
an a priori three-factors solution was adopted with varimax rotation and a .10 item-factor loading
criterion. Except for one item regarding the permissive style, all the 29 items which comprise the
PAQ were matched accordingly with item-factor loadings between .17 and .65. Only two items
had shared item-factor loadings in more than one factor. The same factor analysis was applied to
the items of MIS. Except for one item regarding emotional connectedness all the 30 items which
comprise the three kinds of connectedness were matched accordingly with item-factor loadings
between .18 and .71. Twelve items had shared item-factor loadings in more than one factor. Based
on the theoretical structure of PSS, an a priori four-factors solution was adopted with varimax
rotation and a .10 item-factor loading criterion. All the 20 items which comprise each disorder
were matched accordingly with item-factor loadings between .20 and .79. Ten items had shared
item-factor loadings in more than one factor.
The internal consistency of each sub-scale was tested by Cronbachs alpha coefcient. The
coefcients of the permissive, authoritarian and authoritative style were .62, .64 and .76,
respectively. The coefcients of the emotional, functional and nancial connectedness were .67,
.75 and .60, respectively. Finally, the coefcients of the identity, anxiety, depression and conduct
disorder were .69, .62, .64 and .61, respectively. Although some of Cronbachs alpha coefcients
were low but the fact that most items had been converged accordingly in factor analysis and based
on former validation studies on the scales (Dwairy, 2004a, b) we found it safe to use these scales in
our research.
Results
Effect of sex and urbanization on parenting styles
In order to test the effect of urbanization and sex on parenting styles, connectedness, and
psychological disorders, we conducted a two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).
Urbanization was found to have a signicant main effect on the authoritative parenting style
F1; 338 12:88; po:0001 (Table 1): Adolescents in villages reported a more authoritative
parenting style than did adolescents in town. A signicant interactive effect between urbanization
and sex on both authoritarian F1; 338 14:36; po:0001 and authoritative F1; 338
9:90; po:002 parenting styles was found. Sex and urbanization was found to have no main
effect on the permissive parenting style. A post hoc analysis revealed that male adolescents in the
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M. Dwairy, K.E. Menshar / Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117 109
villages reported a higher level of authoritarian style than did females t175 3:28; po:001, this
trend is reversed in the town where female adolescents reported a more authoritarian style than
males t163 2:18; po:031. In villages female adolescents reported a more authoritative
parenting style than males t175 3:66; po:0001. No such sex-related difference was found
in town.
Sex and urbanization effect on intergenerational connectedness
A two-way MANOVA analysis revealed a signicant main effect of sex on the three types of
interconnectedness. Female adolescents disclosed higher emotional F1; 338 6:37; po:012,
nancial F1; 338 4:90; po:028, and functional connectedness F1; 338 4:81; po:029 than
male adolescents. No signicant main effects of urbanization or signicant interaction with regard
to intergenerational connectedness were found. A post hoc t-test comparing the means of
connectedness scores of males versus females in the villages and in town revealed that the main
effect of sex on emotional and nancial connectedness occurred in the villages, and on functional
connectedness in town. Female adolescents in the villages were more connected to their families
emotionally and nancially than males [t170 2:11; po:036; t176 2:03; po:043; respec-
tively], while in town it was the functional connectedness of females that was stronger than that of
males t162 2:24; po:025.
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Table 1
The means of PAQ, MIS, and PSS according to urbanization and sex
Village Town Signicant factors Z
2
F M F M F p
PAQ Perm. M 26.21 27.07 27.88 26.97 Not signicant
SE .56 .55 .47 .83
Athn. M 25.25 28.75 28.18 26.22 Interaction 14.36 .000 .045
SE .65 .64 .55 .97
Athv. M 40.59 37.54 35.63 37.22 Urbanization 12.82 .000 .040
SE .67 .65 .56 .99 Interaction 9.90 .002 .031
MIS Emot. M 4.56 4.23 4.61 4.40 Sex 6.37 .012 .020
SE .10 .09 .08 .14
Finan. M 5.48 5.18 5.48 5.17 Sex 4.90 .028 .016
SE .13 .13 .11 .19
Funct. M 4.43 4.25 4.59 4.23 Sex 4.80 .029 .015
SE .11 .11 .09 .17
PSS Id. M 10.01 8.99 9.72 8.22 Sex 13.80 .000 .043
SE .31 .30 .26 .46
Anx. M 10.99 9.53 10.37 10.75 Sex 3.46 .064 .011
SE .26 .26 .22 .39 Interaction 10.19 .002 .032
Dep. M 10.38 9.11 10.34 8.83 Sex 19.73 .000 .060
SE .28 .28 .24 .42
Cond. M 6.88 7.54 8.05 8.56 Urbanization 19.57 .000 .060
SE .22 .22 .19 .33 Sex 5.57 .019 .018
M. Dwairy, K.E. Menshar / Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117 110
Sex and urbanization effects on mental health
A two-way MANOVA analysis revealed that sex had a signicant main effect on all mental
health measures. Female adolescents reported higher levels of identity problems, anxiety and
depression; than did boys who, however, reported higher levels of conduct disorders (Table 1).
Conversely, urbanization was found to exert a signicant main effect only with regard to conduct
disorders F1; 338 19:58; po:0001. It seems that both boys and girls in town display a higher
level of conduct disorder than they display in villages. A signicant interaction effect was found
with regard to anxiety disorders F1; 338 10:19; po:002. Post hoc analysis indicated that only
in villages did girls report a higher level of anxiety than did boys t178 4:64; po:0001.
Relationship between parenting style, connectedness, and mental health
Multiple-regression analysis was applied to assess the relationship between the three parenting
styles entered together in a single step and the three kinds of connectedness, and the four measures
of identity, anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders. The regression models of the three kinds
of connectedness, identity, and conduct disorders were signicant. The R
2
indicated a moderate to
low goodness of t of the model (Table 2). Standardized beta coefcients indicated a signicant
positive relationship between the authoritative parenting style and the three kinds of
connectedness, and a signicant negative relationship between authoritative parenting style and
identity and conduct disorders.
Multiple-regression analysis between the three kinds of connectedness entered together in a
single step and the four measures of mental health revealed that the regression models of the
identity, depression, and conduct disorders were signicant. The R
2
indicated a moderate to low
goodness of t of the model (Table 3). The standardized beta coefcients indicated a signicant
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Table 2
Constants, R
2
, and standardized beta coefcients of multiple-regression of parenting styles and connectedness and
mental health
Constant Model Beta
R
2
F Perm. Athv. Athn.
Connectedness
Emotional 32.41 .14 16.60** .08 .35** .22**
Financial 3.55 .12 13.81** .09 .33** .01
Functional 2.66 .04 4.45** .05 .21** .06
General 25.85 .17 20.90** .06 .42** .16
Mental health
Identity 10.79 .03 2.61* .01 .14* .06
Anxiety 10.72 .01 .88 .07 .00 .05
Depression 9.69 .01 .90 .02 .05 .06
Conduct 10.96 .09 10.24** .06 .29** .02
General 10.64 .03 3.74* .01 .16** .06
M. Dwairy, K.E. Menshar / Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117 111
negative relationship between functional connectedness and identity and depression disorders,
and between nancial connectedness and conduct disorder.
Discussion
Based on cross-cultural differences reported in parenting style, individuation, and mental
health, three questionnaires that assess these variables were administered among Arab-Egyptian
adolescents: The Psychological State Scale, Multigenerational Interconnectedness Scale, and The
Psychological State Scale. After validating the questionnaire among Egyptian adolescents, the
effect of sex and urbanization upon these variables and the relationship between parenting style
on the one hand, and connectedness and mental health on the other, were examined.
With regard to the effect of urbanization and sex differences on parenting style, the results
indicate that the parenting styles applied to male and female adolescents in the villages seem to be
reversed in town. In the villages, the authoritarian style was applied more in the parenting of male
than of female adolescents, while the authoritative style was applied more to female than to male
adolescents. In town, on the other hand, the authoritarian style was applied more in the parenting
of female than of male adolescents (Table 1). The sex differences pertaining to parenting styles
found in the Egyptian villages seem to be consistent with other studies (Al-Kittani, 2000; Al-
Shqerat & Al-Masri, 2001) and similar to those found among the parallel Palestinian sample in
Israel. In both samples, male adolescents reported a more authoritarian and less authoritative
parenting style than female adolescents (Dwairy, 2004b). On the surface, these results seem to
contradict many studies in which harsher and stricter authoritarianism and abuse toward the
Arab women were found (Abd Elkader, 1986; Shabib, 1993; Dwairy, 1998a; Shabib, 2001). The
authors therefore suggest that this sex-based disparity should be attributed to the differences in
how authoritarianism is applied to the two sexes in rural areas, and in its focus. Based on study
conducted on about 10,000 Egyptian youths (Mohamad, 1985) one can realize that
authoritarianism with regard to males in Egyptian villages is focused on obligations,
responsibilities, and duties, while with regard to female adolescents the focus is on modesty,
mobility, and sexual behaviour. Within rural life, where traditions are in force and stable, girls are
more threatened and submissive, and dare to challenge the tradition less than boys do, and
therefore fewer active debates and conicts occur between them and their parents (Mohamad,
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Table 3
Constants, R
2
, and standardized Beta coefcients of multiple-regression of Connectedness and mental health
Mental health Constant Model Beta
R
2
F Emot. Finan. Funct.
Identity 12.45 .06 6.44** .05 .08 .23**
Anxiety 10.73 .02 2.07 .12 .06 .12
Depression 10.70 .04 3.17* .10 .02 .18**
Conduct 11.68 .11 13.07** .12 .23** .07
General 11.39 .06 6.94** .07 .14* .21**
M. Dwairy, K.E. Menshar / Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117 112
1985; Markaz al Maraah al Arabiyah, 2003). In addition, within this cultural system, Arab
females are raised to identify with the oppressor and justify the restrictions upon them (Dwairy,
1997b, 1998a), and thus, being less aware of the abuse, they complain less than boys about
authoritarianism and restrictions. Boys, on the other hand, being less threatened and submissive,
are more daring when it comes to challenging restrictions and obligations. More confrontations
and conicts therefore occur between them and their parents. Thus village boys experience of
authoritarianism is more salient and they dare more to report it. In town, tradition, especially
concerning the modesty of female adolescents who are exposed to free values, is challenged. It is
therefore safe to assume that more debates and conicts between parents and their daughters will
occur in towns, and that the parents become actively controlling in order to regulate the
behaviour of their daughters (Zayed & Lot, 1993). Thus female adolescents in town actually
experience authoritarianism more than their counterparts in the village and more than male
adolescents in town. Put it in another way, it seems that in rural areas male adolescents challenge
authoritarianism while female adolescents submit and may identify with the authoritarian control.
In town, on the other hand, the perceived lack of modesty and the freedom of female adolescents
become a major challenge to traditions, and therefore the authoritarian parenting style is actively
enforced with regard to female adolescents.
The level of connectedness of female adolescents with their family was higher than that
of male adolescents indicating a lower level of individuation among female adolescents than
among males. As compared to boys, the connectedness of girls in villages was more emotional
and nancial and in town was more functional. These results may indicate that in town girls
spend more time with their parents than do boys despite the fact that, in terms of emotional
and nancial connectedness to parents, they do not differ from the boys. These results
suggest that, in spite of the space and freedom the town is supposed to offer, in fact Arab girls in
town spend most of their time with their parents and continue to be controlled and observed by
them. This interpretation ts other studies concerning Arab families in town (Zayed & Lot,
1993).
As for mental health, female adolescents in villages and towns reported a higher level of
psychological disorders than male adolescents. This may indicate their distress and helplessness in
the face of having to cope within the authoritarian Arab society. The Arab female adolescents
experience a higher level of anxiety than males in the villages. Interestingly, female adolescents in
town displayed a level of conduct disorders similar to that of their male counterparts, but a higher
level than females in the villages display. This nding may give support to the explanation
mentioned above which suggests that the girls in town dare to challenge the authority and
therefore actually experience more authoritarian parenting.
It seems that in town more confrontations are taking place between the girls and their parents.
The existence of these confrontations is indicated by the fact that town girls displayed more
conduct disorders than village girls on the one hand, while the parents, on the other hand, become
more authoritarian in town and keep their daughters under observation and in their control as
indicated by the high functional connectedness of girls in town. These ndings may indicate that
the effect of urbanization on childparent relationships is sexually dependent: in town the parental
attitude toward boys has become less authoritarian, while the attitude toward girls has become
more authoritarian. Similar picture had been reported concerning Arab immigrated families in
USA (Abu Baker, 1997).
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As concerns the relationship between parenting styles and individuation, results of multiple
regression indicated that the authoritative parenting style is associated with more connectedness
and better mental health (Table 2). Authoritarian parenting was associated only to emotional
connectedness, and permissive parenting had no association with any kind of connectedness.
Connectedness in itself was associated with better mental health too (Table 3). The association
between authoritative style and mental health is consistent with previous reports pertaining to
western societies (Buri et al., 1988; Lamborn et al., 1991; Wenar, 1994) as well as those pertaining
to Arabs (Dwairy, 2004a, b). On the other hand, the association between authoritative style and
connectedness is not consistent with reports published in the western literature that associated
that style with individuation rather than with connectedness (Baumrind, 1966, 1967, 1991; Buri et
al., 1988; Wenar, 1994). It seems that, unlike among western adolescents, among Arab adolescents
an authoritative parenting style fosters connectedness.
Consistent with previous results from studies of Palestinian adolescents (Dwairy, 2004a, b), the
mental health of the Egyptian adolescents was not associated with authoritarian parenting style.
These consistent ndings contradict the reports in the west which associate the authoritarian
parenting style with disruption of conscience development, aggressiveness, resistance to authority,
future addictions, problems with regard to intimate relationships, uncooperativeness, depression,
low self-esteem, low initiative, and difculties in making decisions in adulthood (Whiteld, 1987;
Forward, 1989; Baumrind, 1991; Buri, 1991; Bigner, 1994; Wenar, 1994). Based on our results, it
seems that the meaning and effect of the authoritarian parenting style within an authoritarian,
collective culture differs substantially from the meaning and effect within a liberal, individualistic
society. The consistent ndings among both Palestinians and Egyptians concerning the lack of
association between authoritarian parenting style and mental health may indicate that the effect of
authoritarian parenting is not as harmful within an authoritarian culture as within a liberal culture.
This may suggest that the inconsistency between the authoritarian parenting style and the liberal
individualistic culture may contribute to the harm that this style of parenting causes in the west.
These cross-cultural differences concerning the effect of authoritarian parenting on individua-
tion and mental health of adolescents have important practical and clinical implications. They are
supposed to direct counselors to avoid judgmental attitudes and be more exible and open in
understanding clients and their families who come from authoritarian/collective background, and
to apply more culturally empathic-sensitive interventions.
Although the technique of self-report, on which this study relies, has been used in many studies
of adolescent subjects, it has important limitations. In this study, the results reect how the
adolescents perceive their parents parenting styles, and therefore the deductions that can be
drawn from the results are open to question. Further validation, using other converging
assessment techniques, such as observations, psychological tests or parents self-report, is
required. Furthermore, since the Arab world is very diverse in terms of societal norms, more
research is needed in a number of other Arab countries to validate our results.
Acknowledgement
We thank professor Reda Abouserie (Ph.D.), head of educational psychology department,
Banha faculty of education, Zagazig University, Egypt, for his valuable assistance and comments.
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M. Dwairy, K.E. Menshar / Journal of Adolescence 29 (2006) 103117 114
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