Shifts in Traditional Methods of Coping as Growth in Elderly Indigenous Bedouin Men

Background: Bedouin elderly men in the south of Israel are a unique traditional population living in remote unrecognized villages experiencing rapid social transition. Using the salutogenic model, and its core construct of sense of coherence (SOC) with its dimensions of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness, we explored what are the resources which facilitates coping and growth from dealing with stressful events, as self-defined by the participants.

Methods: In this study, twelve men, ages (69-74) were interviewed in long narrative interviews for between 1.5-2 hours. The individuals were asked to narrate significant stressful and meaningful events in their lives, with a focus on how they managed these events- what they understood form these events, and what meaning they gave to the events.

Findings: The interviews were analyzed thematically and five main themes emerged:

The definition of stressful events; the way the narratives were constructed to convey a didactic message for the more westernized younger generation; telling the story as a way of enhancing coping and growth; the family as a frame of support but also pressure; the process of re-framing past evens in light of cultural transitions.

This paper throws new light on how elderly indigenous Bedouin men are self-define coping and growth in the context of cultural transition. The methodological and theoretical contribution of this study is its effort to utilize the salutogenic concepts of SOC within a traditional society that has undergone dramatic and extensive change.