Abstract:

This qualitative comparative study examines how Bedouin and Jewish mothers in Israel process their experiences parenting children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual developmental disability (IDD).

A total of 128 mothers (50 Bedouin Muslim and 78 Jewish) participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Using content analysis, two overarching domains of meaning-making emerged across groups: religious processing and social processing, each encompassing both diminishing (stress-oriented) and empowering (resilience-oriented) dimensions. While both groups drew upon religious and social narratives, the content and structure of these narratives differed significantly. At the religious level, both Bedouin and Jewish mothers described the child’s diagnosis as a divine test or punishment, reflecting culturally embedded theological frameworks. However, only Bedouin mothers articulated a distinct discourse of submission to divine authority, emphasizing surrender to God’s will as a central organizing principle. Conversely, only Jewish mothers articulated a secular-scientific explanatory framework, often invoking genetic or biomedical interpretations and expressing self-blame independent of religious reasoning. This dual religious-secular processing reflects the pluralistic nature of Jewish identity in Israeli society, in contrast to the more unified religious orientation characterizing Bedouin communities.

At the social level, both groups described stigma and marginalization. Yet the structural positioning of minority versus majority status generated a “mirror image” pattern. Jewish mothers described active struggles with bureaucratic systems, positioning themselves as knowledgeable advocates navigating institutional barriers. Bedouin mothers, by contrast, described lack of access to knowledge and limited awareness of entitlements as central stressors. For Jewish mothers, professional proficiency functioned as a resilience factor, while for Bedouin mothers, lack of such proficiency intensified vulnerability. Additionally, Bedouin mothers uniquely emphasized spousal support as a distinct resilience resource, reflecting gendered and hierarchical family structures within traditional communities.

The findings extend the social model of disability by demonstrating that disability is mediated not only by structural barriers but also by culturally embedded religious worldviews, epistemic access to knowledge, and minority-majority dynamics. The study highlights how social identity intersects with disability to produce differentiated coping trajectories, even within shared geographic space.

Practically, for minority mothers in traditional communities, increasing access to information, legal rights, and system navigation support is essential. Engaging religious leaders and fathers in intervention frameworks may further promote adaptive meaning-making and reduce diminishing religious interpretations rooted in guilt or submission. By illuminating culturally patterned maternal processing, this study offers a nuanced understanding of how social structures and belief systems shape parental adaptation to raising children with special needs.

Keywords:

Special Needs Parenting, Religious Coping, Cultural Meaning-Making, Qualitative Comparative Research.