Ecological change, psychological mindedness, and attitudes toward school psychology: a three-generation study of Bedouin women in Israel

Abstract

The ecologies of Bedouin communities in Israel have changed in recent generations. This mixed-method study examines how such changes have augmented psychological mindedness and a willingness to accept professional psychological help. Twenty-one adolescent girls, their mothers, and their grandmothers responded to dilemmas regarding aspects of psychological knowledge and practice. We expected that ecological change, such as increased Bedouin participation in the Israeli school system through high school, would be associated with greater psychological mindedness. Quantitative analyses of all participants and qualitative analyses of three families each indicated that daughters and mothers accepted psychology as a source of knowledge, accepted psychological intervention, and were willing to share mental health problems outside the family to a greater degree than grandmothers, who preferred religious authorities, older family members for help, and secrecy. Qualitative analyses revealed that mothers were mediating a transition between the perspective of grandmothers and perspective of their daughters.