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The Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) sector is religiously conservative, insular, strictly adheres to Judaism, and considers raising children a central value. This study broadens the research on this sector by examining how conservativeness, parental identity, and parenting behaviors predict parental well-being. Parenting behaviors were assessed by the Parenting Pentagon Model (PPM), which includes five constructs that provide a comprehensive picture of parenting: Partnership, Leadership, Love, Independence, and Rules. Participants were 355 Haredi parents (279 mothers, 76 fathers), who completed questionnaires addressing primary study variables. The parents reported being more conservative than open, having a fairly strong parental identity, more optimal behaviors on the PPM, and fairly high levels of well-being. A regression analysis showed that having a child with a disability, conservativeness, parental identity, and the PPM all explained significant variance in parental well-being. A greater understanding of this sector can lend insight into other insular, conservative sectors around the world.
Opmerkingen
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Well-being, that is, overall satisfaction with life and reduced negative symptomology, is important for parents, child development, and broader societal health (Nomaguchi & Milkie, 2020). Parental well-being relates to how individuals feel when they become a parent and in terms of their parenting, and is often assessed using a variety of aspects including, satisfaction from parenting, parenting self-efficacy, happiness and meaning from having children, and stress (e.g., Augustine & Negraia, 2024; Gupta, 2023; Meier et al., 2018; Negraia & Augustine, 2020). Various facets of parenting may relate to parental well-being, including parental identity and parenting behaviors (e.g., Albanese et al., 2019; Fadjukoff et al., 2016; Nelson et al., 2014). Within Jewish Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities, raising children is a central value, yet there is little research on Haredi parents’ perceptions of parenting their children, daily parenting behaviors, and parental well-being. The Haredi sector is characterized as religiously conservative, insular, and with a strong commitment to adherence to Judaism (e.g., Brown, 2023; Caplan & Leon, 2023). Males generally study Torah full-time, while women are the primary earners in the family, even after having children (Kook & Harel-Shalev, 2021; Cahaner & Malach, 2021; Novis Deutsch & Rubin, 2019). The unique characteristics of this sector may impact parental identity and parenting practices, which, in turn, may predict parental well-being. The current study examines these aspects amongst Haredim with the aim of expanding the research on this unique sector. A greater understanding of parenting in a conservative, religious community can facilitate finding ways to promote parental well-being amongst Haredim as well as other similar societies.
Haredi Parenting
The Haredi sector constitutes 13% of Israeli citizens (Cahaner & Malach, 2021). Unlike sectors such as the Religious-Nationalist, which is well-integrated into the country – serving in the army, joining the workforce, and the like, the Haredi sector is characterized by religious conservatism, insulation from other communities, obedience and observance of rulings by their rabbinic authorities, rejection of modern Western values, refusal to serve in the Israeli army, and a focus on and commitment to Torah education and study (Brown, 2023; Novis Deutsch & Rubin, 2019). Traditional Jewish norms focus on the centrality of the family and of children within the family; Haredi families rely on arranged marriages and marry fairly young (Schejter et al., 2023; Teman et al. (2011)). In 2021, the average age for Haredi men was 23, and for women was 22 (Cahaner & Malach, 2021), contrasted with the national average age of 27.3 for men and 25.2 for women (Israel Bureau of Statistics, 2024). At the same time, Haredim believe that having children is a God-given commandment and a blessing, and birth control is discouraged (Nadan & Ganz, 2018; Teman et al. (2011)). This translates to women having high birth rates, with as many as 10 children in many families (Caplan & Leon, 2023; Teman et al. (2011)). Between 2019 and 2021, the average number of children born to Haredi women was 6.5, compared to 3.1 for the average Jewish Israeli woman (Cahaner & Malach, 2021). Additionally, pre-natal genetic testing is less frequent, as is abortion upon finding the presence of chromosol abnormalities; this is associated with higher rates of genetic disorders and disabilities within the sector (Zalcberg-Block & Zalcberg, 2023).
Whereas women and men in various Israeli sectors (e.g., secular, national-religious) generally both work, within the Haredi sector, the vast majority of men engage in full-time religious learning, while the women become the primary breadwinners in the family, working outside the home (Kook & Harel-Shalev, 2021; Cahaner & Malach, 2021). Whereas women used to work primarily in the education sector, more recently, they have been moving into employment in various industries, leading to longer working hours outside the home (Kook & Harel-Shalev, 2021; Wagner, 2017). Consequently, Haredi men are more involved in child-care than in the past, often bringing them and picking them up from preschool/school, preparing the mid-day meal for them, and caring for them until their wives return from work (Kook & Harel-Shalev, 2021; Wagner, 2017). Finzi-Dottan and Gilerenter (2018) found that Haredi fathers reported involvement in various areas including spending time talking with children, providing homework support or reading to them, supporting the mothers, and discipline and teaching. Haredi parents related to love as natural, God-given, and part of raising children (Nadan et al., 2022). At the same time, they also viewed love as “intertwined with religious commitment and values and regarded it as a condition for religious commitment; children can be part of the Ultra-Orthodox community and uphold Torah law only if they have experienced love from their parents and other significant figures” (Nadan et al., 2022, p. 242). Haredi parents, particularly fathers, focus on educating and disciplining their children in line with the values of their conservative, religious, and collective communities (Gemara and Nadan (2022)). Being part of a more conservative sector of society thus impacts parenting practices and may similarly relate to parental identity, which may predict parental well-being.
Parental Well-Being
Well-being generally refers to overall satisfaction with life and lower levels of negative symptoms such as stress and mental disorders (e.g., Blanco Castro et al., 2022; Nelson et al., 2014). While becoming a parent is generally considered an exciting and joyful time, it also can be challenging, and studies show an association between becoming a parent and increased stress and decreased well-being (e.g., Milovanska-Farrington & Farrington, 2021; Saxbe et al., 2018). Beyond the transition to parenthood, well-being continues to be an important variable throughout parents’ lives, as each developmental stage brings with it both rewards and challenges (Nelson et al., 2014). Various factors have been associated with parental well-being, including parenting self-efficacy – how confident they are in their parenting ability (Albanese et al., 2019), indulgent parenting (Cui et al., 2019), the meaningfulness attributed to having children (Nelson et al., 2014), the nature of parent-child interactions (Shoshani and Yaari (2022)), as well as parents’ and children’s demographic (e.g., SES) and psychological characteristics, such as social support or the presence of a disability (Gupta, 2023; Nelson et al., 2014). For instance, mothers with greater support systems showed higher levels of well-being (Strange et al., 2016). Additionally, numerous studies have found that parental well-being of both mothers and fathers is lower when raising a child with a disability (e.g., Hartley et al., 2012; Lee (2013)). Parental well-being is also associated with parenting approaches, with higher well-being relating to more optimal parenting practices (Fadjukoff et al., 2016). For example, Fadjukoff et al. (2016) found that having a greater sense of parental identity was associated with more nurturing parental behaviors and lower levels of stress. In the current study, we examined how optimal parenting behaviors, according to the PPM, relate to parental well-being.
Parenting Behaviors – Parenting Pentagon Model
The PPM was guided by rich clinical and empirical findings regarding beneficial parenting behaviors (e.g., Aram et al., 2021). As can be seen in Fig. 1, the model captures, with a simple and straightforward structure of a house, five constructs of parenting behaviors: Partnership between the caretakers, parental Leadership, Love behaviors, encouraging Independence, and adherence to Rules; together, these constructs provide a comprehensive picture of parenting within a family (Aram et al., 2021).
Fig. 1
The Parenting Pentagon Model
×
Partnership relates to how the primary caregivers (usually parents) communicate and collaborate. This includes behaviors such as conflict resolution, role division, and presenting a united front to the child. Parents with greater partnership tend to be more responsive to their children, which, in turn, encourages children’s optimal development, including their behaviors, social adjustment and their mental health (e.g., Doss et al., 2020; Lau & Power, 2019; Mares et al., 2018). Leadership in parenting entails setting the home values, being responsible for decisions regarding children, and organizing and monitoring daily activities. Parents are motivated to transmit their values to their children, and when they act in ways that clearly reflect their values, similarly promote these values in their children (e.g., Barni et al., 2017). Research has also shown that parental leadership and involvement were associated with children’s academic, social and emotional outcomes (e.g., Barger et al., 2019). Love includes parents’ physical and verbal expressions and gestures of affection, along with caring behaviors such as listening, sensitivity, encouragement, empathy, shared time, and shared play. Parents’ love behaviors and more positive parenting styles are associated with positive outcomes in their children, such as prosocial behavior and emotion regulation (e.g., Batool & Lewis (2020); Bozkurt Yükçü, & Demircioğlu, 2021), while less affectionate behaviors and colder parenting was associated with poorer social competence in children (e.g., Kompirović et al., 2020). Encouraging Independence refers to the extent to which parents are aware of their children’s development and encourage them to perform age-appropriate tasks, providing them with a sense that they are capable (e.g., Vasquez et al., 2016). Supporting young children’s autonomy is associated with greater academic and socio-emotional outcomes (e.g., Froiland & Worrell, 2017; Vasquez et al., 2016), and an absence of autonomy support and more psychological control is associated with increased antisocial behaviors (Basili et al., 2021). Adherence to Rules refers to the ways that parents create a structured framework of rules and norms at home and apply them with determination and consistency. Parental rule-setting and consistency are associated with greater socialization of children and with better self-regulation and resilience (Dadds & Tully, 2019). Additionally, in today’s digital world, setting rules is associated with less problematic internet and social media use among adolescents (van den Eijnden et al. (2021)).
Previous studies have found that beneficial parents’ behaviors in line with the PPM have been associated with positive parent and child outcomes in various cultures in countries across the world, such as Spain, Bulgaria, United States, and both Jewish and Arab Israelis (Aram et al., 2021; Meoded et al., 2021; Even-Tov, 2020). For example, Sagi and Aram (2019) found that amongst secular and traditional Israelis, more beneficial behaviors predicted parental well-being. In this study, we examined Haredi parents’ behaviors, which were assessed by the PPM. An important aspect that can influence parenting is how parents view themselves as parents, that is, their parental identity.
Parental Identity
Parental identity encompasses how people define themselves as parents and how much they identify with their parental role (Piotrowski, 2018, 2021). Rooted in Marcia’s (1966) elaboration of Erikson’s identity formation, Fadjukoff et al. (2016) found that parents’ commitment to their parental role, combined with their exploration of the role (e.g., “What kind of parent do I want to be?”), related to parental well-being. Further, Piotrowski et al. (2023) reported that greater commitment to the parenting role was associated with positive outcomes such as lower depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower relationship stress. Expanding on this newer area of research, Piotrowski and colleagues (2023) examined this model of parental identity (looking at commitment and exploration) across countries from each continent: U.S., Israel, Poland, South Africa, and Japan. They found that the structure of identity formation was similar cross-culturally and was comprised of commitment to the parental role, exploration of the role, and reconsideration of the role in the face of doubts and concerns. At the same time, they found that cultural elements impacted parental identity formation. For instance, parents in Israel and Poland showed stronger levels of commitment and exploration compared to parents in Japan (Piotrowski et al., 2023). Cultural aspects such as collectivism, more masculine orientation, and indulgence were found to impact parental identity (Piotrowski et al., 2023). In light of this, parental identity within the Haredi sector may be impacted by its unique cultural elements. As such, we examined the conservativeness of the Haredi community, their parenting practices, and identity, and how these variables predict parental well-being.
Current Study
The current study aimed to expand the research on the unique Israeli Haredi population, focusing on their parental well-being. In light of the above reviewed literature, we particularly examined how conservativeness, as a defining characteristic of the Haredi sector, parental identity, and parenting behaviors assessed by the PPM, predict parental well-being. The following research questions and hypotheses guided the study:
1.
What is the nature of Israeli Haredi parents’ conservativeness, parental identity, and behaviors according to the PPM? We hypothesized that Israeli Haredi parents would show strong conservativeness and parental identity and higher levels of Leadership and adherence to Rules compared to the other aspects of the PPM.
2.
What is the nature of Israeli Haredi parental well-being, and how do the study variables (conservativeness, parental identity, and daily parenting behaviors -PPM) predict parental well-being, in addition to demographic factors within the Haredi community (parents’ sex, education, and age, family’s income, number of children in the family, and presence of a child diagnosed with a disability)? We hypothesized that conservativeness, parental identity, and daily parenting behaviors would predict parental well-being, beyond the demographic factors.
Methods
Participants
The sample included 355 parents (279 mothers and 76 fathers), all of whom self-identified as Haredi. Participants were all married, but data was collected independently (i.e., none of the participants were married to each other). On average, mothers were 32.75 years old (SD = 6.05, range 21–54), and fathers were 35.04 years old (SD = 6.30, range 19–53). Fathers reported their current or past education: 55% in a yeshiva or kollel (institution for higher level Judaic studies learning), 17.3% in a university or other academic institution, 16% in a Haredi college setting, and 12% in a trade school (e.g., trade, teaching, computers). Mothers reported their current or past education: 18% in a Haredi post-high school institution for females, 17.2% in a university or other academic institution, 52.6% in a Haredi college setting, and 11.3% in a trade school. Family income was reported as follows: 20% earned between 5500–9500 Israeli shekel per month (average income in Israel in 2021 was reported as 19,016 shekel/month, Israel Bureau of Statistics); roughly 29.6% earned 9500–13,500 shekel/month, 24.9% earned 13,500–17,500 shekel/month, 17.4% earned 17,500–21,500 shekel/month, and 8.1% earned 21,000–25,500 shekel/month. On average, the families had 4.26 children (SD = 2.41, range 1–17), and participants became first-time parents, on average, at age 23.36 (SD = 3.10). Of the children, 16.1% had a diagnosed developmental delay or disability (motor, language, learning, ADHD, hearing), and 1.7% had a diagnosis of autism.
Measures
Demographic Questionnaire
This 16 item questionnaire asked participants various information regarding themselves and their families. This included parents’ age, education, and income, as well as the number of children in the family, and any diagnosed disability amongst the children. In addition, the following question was included to measure conservativeness: “To what extent do you define yourself between openness and conservativeness?” Participants responded to this question on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being more open and 10 being more conservative.
Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale-Parental Identity (U-MICS-PI), (Piotrowski, 2018, 2021)
We used the Hebrew version (translated by Cohen-Malayev & Schachter) of the U-MICS-PI (Piotrowski et al., 2023). This 13 item questionnaire forms three subscales: commitment (5 items; e.g., “Being a parent gives me self-confidence”), in-depth exploration (5 items; e.g., “I often reflect on being a parent”), and reconsideration of commitment (3 items; e.g., “I often think not being a parent would make my life more interesting”). Participants responded to items on a Likert scale ranging from (1) = completely untrue to (5) = completely true. Following a pilot study of the questionnaire within the Haredi sector, we added two questions to the original questionnaire that better apply to the sector and elaborate on this aspect of identity: “On occasion, I think that being a parent is holding me back in my career/my study” and “Sometimes I think that being a parent is hindering my personal development.” The same scale was used as in the above items. Inter-item reliability was Cronbach’s α = 0.77.
This 21-item self-report questionnaire explores parents’ positive (e.g., “I feel joy from my parenting”) and negative feelings (e.g., “I am frustrated with my function as a mother”) towards parenting. Parents rated the extent of their agreement with each statement on a 6-point scale (from 1 = never to 6 = always). After reversing negatively worded items and averaging all the items, a higher score indicated higher parental well-being. Inter-item reliability was Cronbach’s α = 0.91.
Parenting Pentagon Model (Meoded Karabanov et al., 2021)
The questionnaire included 38 items. Parents were requested to report the frequency of their behaviors in relation to one of their children under the age of eight on a scale of (1) = never to (6) = always. The items referred to each of the constructs: Partnership - ten items described parents’ daily collaboration behaviors, (e.g., “I back up my partner in her/his reactions to our child”); Leadership - eight items described daily behaviors that emphasize the parents’ role as the family leaders who organize family life and set an example for their children (e.g., “I behave according to goals I have relating to raising my child”); Love - ten items described daily physical (e.g., hugs, kisses) and verbal expressions of love, sensitivity and empathy towards the child (e.g., “I hug and kiss my child”); Independence - five items described encouraging the child to independently perform tasks that match their age and abilities (e.g., “I encourage my child to be independent in his/her day-to-day activities (e.g., dress, shower, eat, brush teeth on their own)”); and Rules - five items described parents’ daily adherence to the home rules and routines (e.g., “I remind my child of the rules of the house”). The average score across each construct’s items constituted the construct’s score. Higher scores indicated more beneficial parenting behaviors. Inter-item reliability for the overall scale was Cronbach’s α = 0.95, and among items for Partnership, Leadership, Love, Independence, and Rules was Cronbach’s α = 0.88, α = 0.85, α = 0.91, α = 0.79, α = 0.84, respectively.
Procedure
Ethics approval was obtained from the ethics board of Tel Aviv University. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling technique where initial participants were recruited via professional connections, social media, WhatsApp groups, and then participants recruit other participants. Sample size was determined in line with planned analyses. Participants needed to self-identify as Haredi and have at least one child under age eight in order to be included. Participants signed a consent form prior to completing the various questionnaires, all of which were completed digitally. Data was collected in the summer of 2023, following the Covid-19 pandemic, but prior to the events of October 7, 2023 and the outbreak of the Iron Swords war in Israel, during a time of “relative quiet” in the country.
Data Analysis
Data analysis was conducted as follows. Initial descriptive analyses were run on all the demographic variables and variables of interest. There were five participants who had children older than 8-years-old of the inclusion criteria, who were excluded from all remaining analyses (leaving a total of the reported 355 participants). Following this, Pearson correlations were run, exploring relations between demographic variables and study variables (parental identity, PPM, parental well-being) as well as within the study variables (e.g., within the PPM subcategories). Finally, to predict participants’ wellbeing, we ran a hierarchical regression with the following steps. Step 1 included demographic variables that correlated in the correlational analysis; Step 2 added the conservativeness variable; Step 3 added parental identity; and Step 4 added the overall PPM.
Results
Table 1 presents the descriptive results of the main study variables. As can be seen, participants tended more towards conservative views and less open to modernity, with an average of nearly seven on a scale of 1 to 10. Additionally, participants had greater certainty regarding their parental identity. In terms of the PPM, participants also reported more optimal parental behaviors, with the strongest construct being Love behaviors and the weakest being adherence to Rules. Finally, in terms of well-being, this measure was also fairly high, with an average of 3.95 on a scale of 1 to 5.
Table 1
Descriptives of Study Variables (N = 355)
Variable
Possible Range
Obtained range
M
SD
Conservative
1–10
1.00–10.00
6.58
1.91
Parental identity
1–5
2.40–4.93
4.01
0.48
PPM
Partnership
1–6
1.20–6.00
4.82
0.79
Leadership
1–6
1.00–6.00
5.02
0.64
Love
1–6
1.00–6.00
5.30
0.61
Independence
1–6
1.00–6.00
4.81
0.70
Rules
1–6
1.00–6.00
4.78
0.70
Well-being
1–6
1.57–5.00
3.95
0.54
An Analysis of Variance revealed significant differences between the five parenting constructs (F(4,1416) = 92.22, p < 0.001, partial eta2 = 0.22. Bonferroni post-hoc tests revealed that Love was significantly higher than all other constructs. Leadership was significantly lower than Love and higher than Partnership, Independence, and Rules, with no significant differences between them (see Fig. 2). To learn about the correlations between the constructs, we ran Pearson correlations. We found medium-to-high correlations amongst the constructs (r = 0.51, p < 0.001 to r = 0.75, p < 0.001). Based on these medium-to-high positive correlations, we created an integrated beneficial parenting variable as the mean score of the five PPM constructs to avoid multicollinearity within the regressions (reliability among items was α = 0.95).
Fig. 2
Frequency of Parenting Behaviors According to the PPM Note. PPM=Parenting Pentagon Model
×
Before assessing the unique contribution of parents’ conservativeness, parental identity, and parenting behaviors (PPM) to parental well-being, we studied the correlations (Pearson) between background measures (parents’ sex, education, and age, family’s income, number of children in the family, and present of a diagnosed child) and parental well-being. We only found significant correlations between family income (r = −0.11, p < 0.05) and parental well-being. That is, parents whose income was lower reported lower parental well-being. We also found that the presence of a child with a diagnosis related to parental well-being (r = −0.16, p < 0.01). Studying the correlations between parents’ conservativeness, parental identity, and parenting behaviors (PPM) with their well-being, we found significant correlations (r = 0.19, r = 0.36, and r = 0.49, p < 0.01, respectively). That is, parents with higher conservativeness, parental identity, and parenting behaviors reported higher parental well-being.
To examine the contribution of significant demographic variables (income, presence of a child with a diagnosed disability), conservativeness, parental identity, and parenting behaviors (PPM) to parental well-being, we ran a four-step hierarchical regression analysis. An examination of the results in Table 2 reveals that the demographic variables plus conservativeness, parental identity, and PPM together explained 34% of the variance in parents’ well-being. In the first step, only the presence of a diagnosed disability significantly explained 4% of the variance in well-being (F(2,337) = 6.82, p = 0.001). Conservativeness in Step 2 explained an additional 4% of the variance (F(1,336) = 13.16, p < 0.001). Parental identity in Step 3 explained an additional 11% of the variance in parental well-being, and diagnosis and conservativeness remained significant (F(1,335) = 47.04, p < 0.001). The addition of the PPM in Step 4 explained an additional 15% of the variance in parental well-being (F(1,334) = 75.07, p < 0.001). Diagnosis, conservativeness, and parental identity remained significant in this final step.
The current study explored the parental well-being of Israeli Haredi parents. We examined how the parents’ demographics, conservativeness, parental identity, and parenting behaviors (according to the PPM) predict their well-being. Results largely confirmed our hypotheses and revealed that the parents were more conservative than open, had a fairly strong sense of their parental identity, and reported more optimal parenting behaviors. However, in contrast to our expectation that parents would report Leadership and adherence to Rules as the strongest behaviors, instead, Love behaviors emerged as the strongest and adherence to Rules as the weakest. Parents reported fairly high levels of well-being, and the regression analysis showed that the presence of a child with a disability, conservativeness, parental identity, and the PPM all explained significant variance in parents’ well-being.
Context Variables and Parental Well-Being
Context variables such as SES, having a child with a disability, religiosity, and others can impact parental well-being (e.g., Finzi-Dottan & Gilerenter, 2018; Ganz, 2023; Naude & Piotrowski, 2022). Much research has shown that having a child with a disability is associated with higher levels of stress and increased risk for, and incidence of, mental disorders such as anxiety and depression (e.g., Halstead et al., 2018). This literature supports the current study’s finding that having a child with a disability predicted parents’ well-being at each step of the regression. Within the Haredi sector, having a child with a disability is associated with complex emotions, including feeling that the disability is a punishment from God, feeling removed from the community while being dependent on its generosity and charity, and feeling stigmatized while still loving the child (e.g., Nov-Klaiman et al. (2024); Orr et al., 2021). These complex emotions may help explain our finding that having a child with a disability predicted parents’ well-being.
It was somewhat surprising that income did not significantly predict parental well-being. However, it is possible that since more than half of the participants were earning below the Israeli income average, that this homogeneity was not associated with significant variance in well-being. Interestingly, Augustine & Negraia (2024) found that more socioeconomically challenged parents reported similar levels of well-being compared to socioeconomically advantaged parents, countering the perception that lower income is necessarily associated with lower parental well-being, and that family cohesion may counteract lower income. It may be that the lack of significance in income predicting parental well-being is related to the cohesiveness and insular nature of Israeli Haredi communities.
Conservativeness & Parental Well-Being
The study’s results indicate the importance of the conservativeness variable in Haredi parents’ well-being, which remained significant at each step of the hierarchical regression. Conservatism is one of the characteristics of the Haredi community (Brown, 2023; Caplan & Leon, 2023), and it is understandable that being identified as part of this community is associated with parents’ well-being. Conservativeness provides stability and self-confidence as individuals see themselves as one link in a multi-generational chain of adherents to Judaism and the Haredi way of life. In this way, conservativeness also connects to the idea of community and a sense of belonging, which seems to impact well-being. This is in line with other research showing that communal relationships can promote their members’ well-being (Hirsch et al., 2022). Appau et al. (2019) found that the strength of belonging to a neighborhood and country were associated with residents’ wellbeing. Haredi communities tend to be quite insular, but with significant intracommunal ties (Alfasi et al., 2013). Belonging to the community, in the sense of having similar conservativeness to those around you, can therefore understandably be associated with the Haredi parents’ well-being.
Parental Identity and Parental Well-Being
Parental identity reflects how individuals see themselves as parents and how much they identify with that role (Piotrowski, 2018, 2021). The Haredi parents in the study reported fairly strong parental identities, which seems to be in keeping with the central role that having children and being a parent plays within the Haredi community (Nadan & Ganz, 2018; Teman et al. (2011)). The strong parental identity was found despite the numerous changes that have transpired within this sector over the past couple of decades in terms of mothers working longer hours out of the house in various industries, and increased paternal involvement in child care (Finzi-Dottan & Gilerenter, 2018; Kook & Harel-Shalev, 2021; Wagner, 2017). It may be that strongly identifying with the Haredi values of having and raising children counteracted the kinds of changes within the sector that might impact parental identity. This is supported by research showing that parenting identity becomes more coherent and mature with the arrival of a child (Naude & Piotrowski, 2022).
Parental identity significantly predicted the parents’ well-being. This finding is in line with other studies showing that parental identity related to psychological well-being, lower levels of stress, and mental disorders (Fadjukoff et al., 2016; Piotrowski et al., 2023; Schrooyen et al., 2021). Further, parental identity was found to relate to better parental adaptation to crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Schrooyen et al., 2021). It is likely that having a more stable sense of identity in terms of being a parent and the kind of parent one wants to be would give the individual a greater sense of self overall and, in turn, better well-being.
PPM and Parental Well-Being
We hypothesized that parents would report many Leadership and Adherence to Rules behaviors. We thought that these would be the most prominent behaviors in line with the defining characteristics of the Haredi sector. However, we found that the Haredi parents reported Love behaviors as the most frequent. This is similar to what was reported among parents in diverse cultures in Bulgaria, Spain, the United States, non-Haredi Israelis, and Arab Israelis (Aram et al., 2021; Meoded et al., 2021). This may reflect some of the more recent changes taking place within the Haredi sector, with greater paternal involvement and greater expression of love (e.g., Ganz, 2023; Hakak, 2011).
We found that beyond the presence of a child with a diagnosed disability, conservativeness, and parental identity, parents’ reported behaviors in line with the PPM significantly predicted an extra 14% of parental well-being. Beneficial parenting in line with the PPM is demanding but also satisfying, especially in terms of parental well-being - the feeling of worth and happiness from the parenting role. Parenthood brings both demands and rewards to parents (Nelson et al., 2014; Nomaguchi & Milkie, 2020). Our study shows the importance of parenting behaviors in daily life, and how they contribute to parents’ sense of happiness, satisfaction, and meaning. Additionally, intervention programs that promoted positive parenting were associated with better parental competence and fewer behavior problems in children (Nogueira et al., 2022). Instructing parents in accordance with beneficial parenting behaviors in line with the PPM may promote more beneficial and positive parenting skills.
Limitations and Future Research
The study’s results are limited in a number of ways. First, the study relied on a snowball recruitment method and self-report measures. These methods are associated with a less representative sample and social desirability bias, respectively. In this way, they may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research should attempt to utilize a more representative sampling technique, and include other methods such as observations within the home or interviews to strengthen the data. The current study presents a picture of the Israeli Haredi sector which can serve as a launchpad to explore these variables amongst other Haredi sectors outside of Israel (e.g., the United States and Western Europe both have large Haredi populations), and as a comparison to other Israeli sectors. Additionally, future studies may also explore how the Haredi sector compares to other insular, conservative sectors such as certain Israeli-Arab communities, or the Amish in the United States.
Implications and Conclusions
A number of implications for policy and practice emerge from the current study’s results. As the sense of community is quite meaningful amongst conservative populations such as the Haredi sector, we recommend reinforcing parents within this sector in general, and in light of our findings, particularly parents of children with disabilities. This can be accomplished using communal structures such as municipal services in Haredi neighborhoods, communal leaders, and programs to promote parents such as support groups, lectures, and guidance from experts in the field. Within the Israeli Haredi community today, there are growing numbers of social workers, psychologists, and parent counselors who undergo advanced and up-to-date professional training in academic institutions who can serve as agents of change in this society for the development and promotion of parenting (Malach et al., 2023). Governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Welfare and Ministry of Education should aim to coordinate with some of these Haredi professionals to better accommodate the specific needs of this sector when designing policies that impact families.
This study highlights the importance of parental well-being within the family unit and how it relates to parental identity and parental practice. The PPM model can serve as a means for exploring optimal parenting behaviors and for parental guidance in attempts to promote parents’ well-being. The study’s results can be applicable to other religiously conservative, insular societies around the world, shedding light on how these sectors may be set apart from the mainstream in terms of their parenting identity and practices, and parental well-being.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical approval
All ethical requirements were obtained. The authors elect not to share the data.
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