Family values and traditions

Abstract

Family values and traditions are a critical source of connection between Arab Americans and their culture. The literature describes traditional Arab culture as valuing kinship, large and extended family forms, patrilineality, marriage, and parent-child relationships. As Arab families faced global social change and immigrated to the United States, they often adjusted traditional value expectations in response to the values of individualism, nuclear family, egalitarian gender roles, adolescent independence, and conformity. This chapter focuses on the interaction between theoretical constructs of acculturation, collectivism, patrilineality, violence, and resilience on the one hand, and Arab family traditions on the other. Identifying how Arab family values and traditions are affected by larger social forces as well as the dominant culture in the United States may inform practitioners and policy makers about how to support and strengthen Arab American families.