Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States The New Arabia Felix Justin Thomas Zayed University, United Arab Emirates © Justin Thomas 2013 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-28750-2 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. 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Rabia and KIF: your love and lessons live on Contents List of Figures and Tables viii Preface x Acknowledgements xiii 1 The New Arabia Felix 1 2 Eating Disorders 29 3 Substance-Related Disorders (Addiction) 59 4 Mood Disorders: Melancholy, Mania and Modernity 84 5 Anxiety Disorders 122 6 Intervention 141 References 158 Index 179 vii List of Figures and Tables Figures 2.1 Fashion dolls Fulla (left) and Barbie, purchased in the UAE, 2013 40 2.2 Shifting ‘abaya styles 57 3.1 Increase in alcohol-related incidents between 1995 and 2002 (consumption/manufacture/possession/sale) based on two independent data sources (Alcohol related incidents in 1000s) 71 4.1 Watson and Tellegren’s model of independent positive (PA) and negative affects (NA) 86 Tables 1.1 Mean births per women across the Arabian Gulf States, 1970–2005 15 2.1 Anthropomorphic measurements of fashion dolls Fulla and Barbie 39 2.2 Studies undertaken in the Arabian Gulf States with a focus on eating behaviours and body image concerns 49 3.1 Data on alcohol-related incidents derived from two independent Saudi sources 70 3.2 Thematic factors reported as contributing towards substance use initiation amongst Kuwaiti citizens receiving treatment for substance-related problems 76 4.1 Mean Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores for university students across the Arabian Gulf States 104 4.2 Percentage of consanguineous marriages within Arabian Gulf States 119 viii List of Figures and Tables ix 5.1 Lifetime prevalence estimates for anxiety disorders from the Al Ain Psychiatric Community Survey (2001) 123 5.2 Arab world and world averages based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions data 131 5.3 Comparison between Hofstede’s original cultural dimensions data for the Arabic-speaking region, and a recent subsample of scores for Gulf citizens 139 Preface The email was from the office of the Crown Prince Court: ‘You are invited to attend the Majlis of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’. The occasion was a lecture entitled ‘New Frontiers of Scientific Research: the Interface between the Computer World and Biological World’. Dr. Craig Venter, one of the 21st century’s leading scientists, was to be the distinguished guest speaker. Venter’s long list of research accolades includes being a key player in sequencing the human genome. He is also the creator, if that is the appropriate designation, of the first cell with a synthetic genome – Mycoplasma l aboratorium – an organism provocatively hailed, by some, as the world’s first man-made life form. Venter sits at the very cutting edge of the brave new – slightly Frankensteinian – world of synthetic genomics. His is the type of research with the potential to redefine worldviews, provoking messy theological and lifestyle conundrums such as: would vegetarians eat the meat-like fruit of a genetically synthesized plant? This was my first invitation to the majlis (hall, or literally: sitting place) at Al Bateen Palace, a relatively anonymous building located in the heartlands of Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I saw the invitation as both an honour and a great opportunity. Not only would I get to attend an interesting scientific discussion, but I would also get to take a slightly closer look at the inner dimensions of the UAE, the nation within which I’d resided for the past seven years. Just inside the main gate, the head of the Crown Prince’s agenda and protocol department greeted me, and graciously guided me to my seat. The majlis was comfortable and elegantly decorated. A fra- grance, unmistakable to anyone who has spent time in the Arabian Gulf – the woody aromatic scent of oud (Agarwood) – perfumed the climate-controlled air. Also in keeping with Gulf traditions, the majlis was structured to resemble the inside of a large tent. Along one side of this tent-like hall sat the men of the ruling Al Nahyan family. All of them wore some form of the iconic Arab headdress known as the ghutra, along with the loose fitting – usually white – robe known in the UAE as a kandoura. On the opposite side of the hall sat their x Preface xi female counterparts, dressed in decorative black abayaat (over-cloaks) and sheyaal (head coverings). At the head of the hall, just behind the guest lecturer, sat foreign diplomats, and immediately behind them, sat my fellow academics and I. A very clear protocol was obviously governing where people sat and who should and shouldn’t rise when certain members of the rul- ing family entered. The women were slightly more selective in terms of whom they either rose or did not rise for. When the Crown Prince arrived, everyone rose and remained upstanding until his highness emphatically and fraternally insisted everyone be seated. At one level the whole scene reminded me of the ceremony and splendour of a romantic bygone age, a time of courtiers, chivalric knights and court intrigues. I momentarily indulged in a grandiose daydream, casting myself as Sir Thomas More, academic and advisor to England’s King Henry VIII. In reality, however, this was far from any kind of anachronistic fairy tale. This meeting was, in fact, a small part of a living and some, would argue, highly effective system of governance – a system anchored in regional heritage whilst simultaneously receptive to those aspects of global culture concordant with its core values. The scene brought to mind the chapter of a book I had recently read on globalization and the Gulf. The chapter’s inquisitive subtitle was: ‘Traditionalism glo- balized or globalization traditionalized?’. The central proposition was that in the Gulf, traditional social structures and other conservative forces effectively direct, manage and perhaps moderate the processes of globalization (Fox, Mourtada-Sabbah & Al-Mutawa, 2006). As the keynote lecture began, the hitherto-unnoticed wall-mounted LCD displays sprang into action, ensuring that nothing the speaker said or illustrated could be missed. The focus of the lecture was the Malthusian threat posed to humanity by population growth, over- reliance on fossil fuels and our growing demands for water and food. In addition to describing the problem, an earnest discussion ensued focusing on the key role that the UAE might play in safeguarding the future of humanity – cultivating seaweed in the desert was just one of the counterintuitive ideas under consideration. This visit to the Crown Prince Court reflects my broader impres- sion of the Arabian Gulf region. This is a society poised to play an increasingly important role in the future of humanity, whilst simul- taneously preserving and promoting its own unique traditions and