Parenting From a Jordanian Perspective: Findings From a Qualitative Study

Key wordsParenting, understanding of parenting, Jordanian parents, qualitative studyAbstractPurpose: The main purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore Jordanian parents understanding of parenting.Methods: A convenient sample of 1 10 Jordanian parents recruited from four health centers participated in the study. A semi- structured one-on-one interview with open-ended questions was used to collect the data.Results: Three thematic areas reflecting parent understands of parenting were identified; parenting as embraced by Islam, transferring of cultural values and traditions, and parenting as a challenge.Conclusions: Parenting behavior and its effectiveness are reflected by the strong interplay of Islamic teachings, socio-cultural values and traditions in addition to the challenges and difficulties of being a parent.Clinical Relevance: As the ultimate goal of parenting is to promote the wellbeing and the development of children, it is crucial that health care providers involved in the design and delivery of family and children's services have a thorough understanding of how parents perceive parenting and how their understanding can be integrated in programs to enhance parental roles.Parenting is conceptualized and assessed in diverse ways in the developmental literature; some researchers have focused on parenting styles, and others have conceptualized parenting in terms of cognitive processes, such as attitudes toward childrearing, beliefs, and goals (Gamble, Ramakumar, & Diaz, 2007). Currently, parenting is considered one of the most important public health issues facing all social systems (Lewig, Arney, & Salveron, 2010). Parenting as a concept is relevant to many disciplines, including nursing. Knowledge of parenting can be used by many nurses, particularly those who work in areas of family and community health. However, the phenomenon of parenting is not well defined in the nursing literature (Kaufmann et al., 2000). Nurses who work with individuals and families require theoretical and practical understanding of parenting processes that influence health outcomes (Kaufmann et al., 2000).Lewig, Amey, fr Salveron (2009) emphasized that the goals of parenting are commonly consistent across cultures and include keeping children safe from harm, helping them progress through developmental stages, and guiding their moral orientation (Lewig, Arney, & Salveron, 2009). However, parents may achieve these goals in different ways according to cultural, economic, and sociopolitical contexts (Wise, Sanson, & Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2000). Furthermore, there can often be high degrees of variability in parenting practices within as well as between cultural groups (Lewig et al., 2010). In their integrative review of the parenting literature in nursing. Gage, Everett, and Bullock (2006) concluded that parenting as a concept was not defined in any nursing studies and that authors of the reviewed studies relied on the assumption that roles and functions of parenting were self-evident. Furthermore, they indicated that the terms parents and parenting were used inconsistently in the majority of reviewed studies to refer to mothers, fathers, grandmothers, or both mothers and fathers together. The importance of culture in understanding parenting has been recognized in many Asian societies (Ontai & Mastergeorge, 2010). Although a wealth of data regarding perceptions of parenting is available in the literature, most studies are not in nursing, but that does not undermine the value of these studies. To date, few studies have discussed the topic of parenting from a social and cultural perspective involving Arab-Muslim parents (including those in Jordan) to address this area of research. The contribution of this study is its focus on a non-Western population, and therefore its contribution is potentially great, especially to healthcare providers and social workers working with immigrant Arab parents. …