Intergenerational Conflict Analysis

Formal Academic Critique of “Intergenerational Conflict in Arab Families”

Mohamed Shashaa

American University of Sharjah

Formal Academic Critique of “Intergenerational Conflict in Arab Families”

In their study “Intergenerational Conflict in Arab Families,” Sarah Rasmi and Timothy M. Daly (2015) identify some of the generational problems and cultural morals within Arabic families using a scale that measures the quantitative and qualitative aspects of these issues. Dr. Rasmi is an assistant professor of psychology at the American university in Dubai. She has a PhD in applied social psychology and has contributed to several articles related to her research areas that focus on the psychological and cultural variation among Arab children’s and

Firstly, they argue that there are existing cultural differences between Arabic culture and other cultures. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge these differences in order add up a range of issues that are unique in this culture. Secondly, they emphasize that parents and children’s have contradictory cultural values over domains that include dating and marriage, education, and family expectations. Consecutively, many of the generational problems revolve around these areas, especially in the Arabic culture. Thirdly, according to their study outcomes, the authors indicate that most participants across the three studies have mentioned the desire of protecting the family status and the prevailing gender differences as the most common problems between Arab parents and children’s. Furthermore, they contend that as age increases, conflict between Arabic families increases as well. Lastly, the authors propose some recommendations for future studies that will discuss this topic and demonstrate that there is a strong correlation between honor and conflict within Arabic

Nevertheless, their use of statistics can be both effective and ineffective depending on the audience knowledge about statistics and the reliability of the samples. They present their study through main headings, sub-headings, and separate sections. For example, they define the general “Intergenerational Conflict” (p. 2) on a separate section than the regional “Intergenerational Conflict in Arab Families” (p. 2). I think that these divided sections and headings help readers in understanding the general causes of the generational conflicts and the specific causes of them in relation to the central focus of the topic. Such an approach can prevent readers from mixing up the information and main concepts of this article. Likewise, they evidently use quotations from experts to support and clarify their argument. For instance, they refer to a quote that says “It is important to build our understanding of conflict in this population because Arab cultural norms and family dynamics differ from European American, Asian, and Latino cultures” (p. 1). Such a quote points out why it is important to discuss this topic in-depth to know the cultural variations in the Arabic culture. Additionally, the authors provide many statistical evidences and outcomes to improve their study. As an