Lifestyle differences in traditionalism and modernity and reasons for divorce among Muslim Palestinian citizens of Israel

This study compared the various reasons for divorce endorsed by a large, heterogeneous sample of divorced male and female Muslim Palestinian citizens of Israel who reported modern-traditional lifestyle differences as one of their reasons with the reasons of those who did not. The findings show that the divorced women who named these lifestyle differences as one of the reasons for their divorce reported significantly more other reasons for divorce as well. Significantly higher proportions of these women reported eleven out of the other 17 reasons tapped in the study than their no lifestyle differences counterparts. Specifically, higher percentages of them reported incompatibility (both didn't get along and communication problems); infidelity and lack of commitment (to the marriage and the family); mental illness and refusal to work; interference by the extended family (both daily and in the form of forcing the divorce); and verbal and sexual abuse. These findings seem to provide empirical evidence of the disruptive impact of modern-traditional lifestyle differences on the marital relationship of Muslim Palestinian citizens of Israel.