The effect of Saudi women''''s driving on their family and entertainment roles in the Kingdom''''s geographical regions

Abstract

The decision to allow Saudi women to drive for the first time in 2018 touched various aspects of their lives. This paper aimed to assess the impact of Saudi women’s ability to drive on their family and entertainment roles according to geographical region. The study was applied to (586) Saudi women who fulfil family roles and have driven a car for more than a year. The paper depended on the Family Role Performance Scale (FRPS), developed by Chen et al (2014), on the women''s entertainment roles list. The results showed that women driving have had multiple effects - fulfilling expectations completely - on their family roles with a mean of (4.32). The family tasks most affected were, respectively; doing tasks around the house, completing household responsibilities, doing household chores, and maintaining things around the home. The family relationships most affected were; providing general support to family members, keeping family members connected with each other, providing emotional support to family members, and giving advice to family members. The results also showed that women driving have had multiple effects - fulfilling expectations completely – on their entertainment roles with a mean of (3.32). The entertainment roles most affected were; accompanying family members on family visits, taking family members to the mall or amusement parks, and travelling to other cities and tourist attractions. The results also showed there were no differences in the effects of women driving on their family roles, while there were differences to their entertainment roles, according to geographical region.