International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

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 Volume 10, Issue 10 (October 2023), Pages: 10-24

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 Original Research Paper

Socio-anthropological exploration of Saudi youth identity formation in domestic and social spaces

 Author(s): 

 Maher Trimeche 1, 2, *, Mongi Zidi 1, Turki Al-Shalaki 1, Alnair Mohammed Ali Alnair 1, Elyas Saeed SaadAshwal 1, Mohamed Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim 1, 3, Ashraf Abd El-Hakim Mohamed Megahed 4

 Affiliation(s):

 1Department of Social Sciences, College of Literature and Arts, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, Saudi Arabia
 2Department of Anthropology, College of Letters and Human Sciences, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia
 3Department of Social Work Methods, College of Social Work, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt
 4Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

  Full Text - PDF 

 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1271-7998

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2023.10.002

 Abstract:

This comprehensive research examines the formation of social identity among Saudi youth within the domains of bedrooms, homes, and Istiraha, a traditional communal gathering space. Drawing inspiration from Western studies on room culture and societal dynamics, the primary objective of this research is to scrutinize the socio-cultural transformations occurring within Saudi society, as reflected in the interactions of its youth in these distinct spaces. Departing from the conventional functional and moralistic framing of Saudi youth as social issues, this study adopts a socio-anthropological perspective. It perceives young individuals as active agents in the process of shaping their identities within a unique cultural milieu, employing a descriptive-analytical methodology. Fieldwork was conducted in late 2022, involving the administration of questionnaires to a randomly selected sample of 384 students at the University of Hail, Saudi Arabia, in addition to focus group discussions with 37 students. These methods were utilized to explore students' perceptions, activities, and attitudes within the specific social environments under investigation. The study's findings reveal that Saudi youth employ their bedrooms, homes, and Istiraha spaces to delineate their identities through three distinct social strategies: Autonomy, Reproduction, and Integration. Additionally, this research uncovers a gender-based distinction in the prevalence of room culture among the youth, contrary to Western findings. Istiraha, as an ancient cultural tradition, assumes a significant role as a gathering space for Saudi youth, affording them an opportunity to distance themselves from societal and familial constraints. In light of these discoveries, this research recommends an expansion of studies concerning the anthropology of spaces and social milieus in relation to the ongoing social transformations in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it suggests an examination of room culture and Istiraha culture among Saudi youth from the perspective of their parents to gain insights into how these phenomena are perceived, their attitudes towards them, and the resulting behaviors. This exploration can illuminate aspects of generational continuity and disruption within the Saudi social fabric.

 © 2023 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: Social identity formation, Saudi youth, Socio-cultural transformations, Room culture, Istiraha culture

 Article History: Received 26 February 2023, Received in revised form 10 September 2023, Accepted 12 September 2023

 Acknowledgment 

This research has been funded by Scientific Research Deanship at the University of Ha'il – Saudi Arabia, through project number RG-21 143.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Trimeche M, Zidi M, Al-Shalaki T, Alnair AMA, SaadAshwal ES, Ibrahim MMH, Megahed AAEM (2023). Socio-anthropological exploration of Saudi youth identity formation in domestic and social spaces. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 10(10): 10-24

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