Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Father involvement, family dynamics, and child development

• In Event: What happens to family dynamics in a protracted refugee situation?

Abstract

In refugee settings, the “father factor” has been all too often ignored. We know surprisingly little about the extent to which fathers engage with their children and how father involvement impacts child outcomes such as mental health and social-emotional learning. In 2021-22, we conducted a prospective study of 160 Syrian families, parenting 4–8-year-old children and living as refugees in Jordan. We collected data on father-mother-child triads, at two time points. We assessed the extent of spousal agreement in reports of father involvement within and outside the home, and using linear regressions, their impacts on multiple father-mother-child outcomes. Syrian men viewed themselves as highly involved with their children, but wives often disagreed. We found that levels of father-mother disagreement (about father involvement) were associated with a whole suite of family-level behaviors and child health and development outcomes. In the most discordant families, child social and emotional learning was a full standard deviation (24%) below levels observed in the most concordant families. Additionally, parents reported poorer spousal relationship quality, worse father and mother mental health, and more child mental health problems. Such results suggest that helping parents negotiate caregiving and spousal interactions could impact key aspects of family functioning, mental health, and social emotional learning. As a follow-up to this survey, we re-interviewed 15 couples, scheduling separate conversations with the 30 parents to better understand parenting experiences and family dynamics. We analyzed father and mother perspectives with respect to how they enacted caregiving responsibilities in challenging environments, striving to guide their child’s learning and development. Our study contributes to an emerging literature that focuses attention on men as fathers, their family-directed behaviors, and refugee parenting in situations of protracted displacement.

Authors

• Catherine Panter-Brick, Yale University
  Presenting Author

• Kristin Hadfield, Trinity College Dublin

• Majd Al-Soleiti, Tahgyeer Foundation

• Lama Sawalha, Jordan Hospital

• Isabelle Mareschal, Queen Mary University of London

• Rana Dajani, Hashemite University