Evaluating child-custody recommendations of Israeli Arab social workers: Between traditionalism and professional decision-making

Objectives: To evaluate Israeli Arab social workers’ custody recommendations, given the unique cultural context in which they operate. Methods: The current study used an experimental-design embedded within a survey. Data regarding custody recommendations were collected from 137 Israeli Arab social workers. Results: Israeli Arab social workers tend to adhere to traditional norms and prefer mother’s custody (odds ratio [OR] = 3.74; effect size [ES] = 0.73) over father’s (OR = 0.05; ES = −1.65) and joint custody (OR = 0.19; ES = −0.91). Contrary to the hypothesis, males were not associated with father’s custody, but female gender increased the chances for mother’s custody (OR = 1.27; ES = 0.13). Parents’ education level increased the chances for joint-custody recommendation (OR = 1.69; ES = 0.29). Conclusion: Traditional social norms have an impact on the social worker’s decision. The relationships between social workers’ decision-making processes and their perception societal expectations and norms can be viewed from the perspectives of tacit knowledge, worker’s reflexivity, and evidence-based practice. We emphasize the importance of developing and assimilating relevant organizational mechanisms, supervision, and teaching curricula.