Belonging as a Predictor of Substance Use for Muslim American Emerging Adults

Abstract

Identified as a human need, belonging is severely under-studied among Muslim American emerging adults. During this transitional period, Muslim American emerging adults must also grapple with experiences of discrimination and ostracization, which may increase the likelihood of substance use as a coping mechanism. Due to the experiences of marginalization, combined with the taboo nature of substance use in religious and cultural contexts, Muslim American young adults may be at an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes compared to their non-Muslim peers. Therefore, it is important to identify predictors of substance use in Muslim American young adults to provide culturally relevant and responsive prevention and intervention measures. Our study surveyed 183 Muslim American young adults using snowball sampling to collect data on substance use and belonging experiences. Findings from the study provide evidence of moderate substance use among Muslim American young adults, with nearly half of the sample reporting lifetime use. Results from a binary logistic regression indicate that young American Muslims with higher rates of belonging to the Muslim community are less likely to report using substances compared to young Muslims with lower rates of belonging to the Muslim community.