How Discrimination Shapes Social Identification Processes and Well-Being Among Arab Americans

Abstract

The increasingly xenophobic U.S. climate warrants a close investigation of Arab American responses to discrimination. We conducted secondary analyses of two large data sets to examine social identity processes and their relationship to well-being. In a representative sample of Muslim Arab Americans (Study 1, n = 228), discrimination was related to decreased American identification, which in turn predicted lower well-being. Another large sample of Arab Americans (Study 2, n = 1,001) revealed how social identity processes differ by religious group. For Christian Arab Americans, discrimination predicted an indirect negative effect on well-being through decreased American identification. Muslim Arab Americans showed the same pattern, but also stronger religious and ethnic identification the more they experienced discrimination, which partially buffered the harmful effects on well-being. These data present a social cohesion challenge where the maintenance of national identity necessitates less discrimination and injustice against minorities.