Parental coping with developmental disorders in adolescents within the ultraorthodox Jewish community in Israel.
Ultraorthodox Jewish parents turn teen developmental delay stress into personal growth more than secular peers — tap their faith and community supports in treatment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team surveyed ultraorthodox Jewish parents who live in Israel and raise teens with developmental delays.
They asked about stress, coping, and sense of coherence — how clear and meaningful life feels.
The same questions were given to secular Israeli parents for comparison.
What they found
Ultraorthodox parents scored higher on stress-related growth and sense of coherence.
In plain words, they felt life still made sense and they had grown from the stress.
Secular parents reported lower scores on both measures.
How this fits with other research
Manor-Binyamini et al. (2016) looked at Druze parents in Israel using the same survey tools.
Those parents reported higher stress and lower sense of coherence — the opposite of the ultraorthodox group.
The clash disappears when you see the groups hold different beliefs and supports.
Manor-Binyamini (2014) found Bedouin mothers also reported growth and gratitude, backing the idea that tight culture can buffer stress.
Pisula et al. (2010) showed Israeli parents of autistic children usually score low on sense of coherence, so the ultraorthodox lift is even more striking.
Why it matters
You can ask ultraorthodox families what community rituals or faith practices help them cope.
Link those strengths to your behavior plans instead of working against them.
For secular families, add extra stress checks and teach meaning-making skills the community may not provide.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This preliminary study compares the coping strategies used by 100 ultraorthodox Jewish parents and 100 secular Jewish parents for dealing with adolescent children with developmental disorders. The parents completed two questionnaires on the sense of stress-related personal growth and the sense of coherence. The ultraorthodox parents reported a higher sense of growth and a higher sense of coherence than the secular parents. In addition, there were associations found between demographic characteristics. Gender differences between mothers and fathers in the sense of growth and community differences between ultraorthodox fathers and secular fathers in the sense of coherence are discussed. The study highlights the uniqueness of the religious point of view in dealing with adolescent children with developmental disorders.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2012 · doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1313-y