ABSTRACT
The Arab society in Israel is an ideal place for the application of the research strategy and the investigation of the relationship between family patterns and population and socioeconomic development. The political, economic, and demographic changes which occurred after the establishment of the state of Israel have had major repercussions on Arabs in Israel. The intense contact with the Jewish population, who represent for Israeli Arabs the agents of westernization, has exposed Arabs to a new sociocultural experience which has great potential influence on many aspects of their lifestyle. Fewer efforts have been made to analyze family patterns in the framework of a dynamic approach which takes into consideration the interactions among the family units and between them and the broader social units. The study of family structure, attitudes, and decision making is crucial for understanding population and socioeconomic development processes.
