Detroit Arab American Research Articles

Religious Identity, Discrimination, and Psychological Distress Among Muslim and Christian Arab Americans.

This study examines differences in experiences between Muslim and Christian Arabs (N = 1016) utilizing data from the Detroit Arab American Study (DAAS). Results showed that Muslim and Christian Arabs held similar levels of religious centrality and psychological distress but differed in reports of negative religious public regard and experiences of discrimination. Additionally, religious public regard and religious centrality predicted psychological distress similarly for Muslim and Christian Arab Americans. The relationship between religious centrality andpsychological distress was mediated by negative religious public regard and perceived discrimination. Study implications are discussed.

RETHINKING FEAR AND PROTEST: RACIALIZED REPRESSION OF ARAB AMERICANS AND THE MOBILIZATION BENEFITS OF BEING AFRAID*

Most scholars believe that fear thwarts activism unless it is suppressed or transformed. We challenge this view. We argue that for racialized minorities, people for whom fear is rooted in daily lived experiences, fear mobilizes unless it is at extreme levels. We investigate this claim using the Detroit Arab American Study (2003), a representative sample of Arab Americans in metropolitan Detroit shortly after 9/11. Multivariate analyses support our curvilinear thesis: Arab Americans with intermediate levels of fear protest more than people unafraid as well as those with intense fear. Our findings suggest that fear can be a useful tool for organizers and speculate that fear is a racialized emotion because of the role the state plays in producing it. The vitriolic rhetoric of the Trump administration toward minority populations provides scholars a plethora of future opportunities to investigate how the emotional consequences of racialized repression affect political participation.

The Effect of Acculturation on Extreme Response Style: A Mediation Analysis Among a Sample of Arab American Adults

Although the connection between culture and extreme response style (ERS) has received much attention from researchers, the relationship between acculturation and ERS has not been fully explored. This study utilizes the 2003 Detroit Arab American Study to examine the impact of acculturation of Arab Americans on ERS. The results indicate that less acculturated respondents are more prone to ERS than more acculturated respondents, and this is especially true for 5-point rating scales as compared to 3-point rating scales. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that less acculturated respondents identify more strongly with honor-based collectivist cultures that value decisive and assertive answers since this is a way of showing one’s unambiguous attitude and standing, an important quality in such culture. The language of interview (English, Arabic, or a combination of both) primes the relevant cultural norms and therefore mediates the relationship between acculturation and ERS.

Discrimination and Psychological Distress: Gender Differences among Arab Americans.

Despite the existing knowledge on the association between discrimination and poor mental health, very few studies have explored gender differences in this association in Arab Americans. The current study aimed to investigate whether gender moderates the association between the experience of discrimination and psychological distress in a representative sample of Arab Americans in Michigan. Using data from the Detroit Arab American Study (DAAS), 2003, this study recruited Arab Americans (337 males, 385 females) living in Michigan, United States. The main independent variable was discrimination. The main outcome was psychological distress. Covariates included demographic factors (age), socioeconomic status (education, employment, and income), and immigration characteristics (nativity and years living in United States). Gender was the focal moderator. We used multivariable regression with and without discrimination × gender interaction term. In the pooled sample, discrimination was positively associated with psychological distress [B = 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.22-1.03, p = 0.003]. We found a significant gender × discrimination interaction in the pooled sample (B = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.01-1.59, p = 0.050), suggesting a stronger association in males than females. In our gender-specific model, higher discrimination was associated with higher psychological distress among male (B = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.33-1.42, p = 0.002) but not female (B = 0.18, 95% CI = -0.43 to 0.78, p = 0.567) Arab Americans. While discrimination is associated with poor mental health, a stronger link between discrimination and psychological symptoms may exist in male compared to female Arab Americans. While efforts should be made to universally reduce discrimination, screening for discrimination may be a more salient component of mental health care for male than female Arab Americans.

How the Central Intelligence Agency recruited Arab Detroit: Government communication, interpellation and citizenship

ABSTRACTIn 2009, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employed a multipronged communications campaign to encourage Arab Americans in Detroit, MI, to apply for employment. Adapting Althusser’s notion of interpellation, this article examines how this government agency’s communications exacerbated the conditional, incomplete status of Arab American citizenship in post-9/11 America. At this precarious time, facially inclusive gestures can be understood as exclusive practices. This beckons more scholarly attention to how government communication implicates citizenship.

Cross-border ties and Arab American mental health

Due to increasing discrimination and marginalization, Arab Americans are at a greater risk for mental health disorders. Social networks that include ties to the country of origin could help promote mental well-being in the face of discrimination. The role of countries of origin in immigrant mental health receives little attention compared to adjustment in destination contexts. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the relationship between nativity, cross-border ties, and psychological distress and happiness for Arab Americans living in the greater Detroit Metropolitan Area (N = 896). I expect that first generation Arab Americans will have more psychological distress compared to one and half, second, and third generations, and Arab Americans with more cross-border ties will have less psychological distress and more happiness. Data come from the 2003 Detroit Arab American Study, which includes measures of nativity, cross-border ties – attitudes, social ties, media consumption, and community organizations, and the Kessler-10 scale of psychological distress and self-reported happiness. Ordered logistic regression analyses suggest that psychological distress and happiness do not vary much by nativity alone. However, cross-border ties have both adverse and protective effects on psychological distress and happiness. For all generations of Arab Americans, cross-border attitudes and social ties are associated with greater odds of psychological distress and for first generation Arab Americans, media consumption is associated with greater odds of unhappiness. In contrast, for all generations, involvement in cross-border community organizations is associated with less psychological distress and for the third generation, positive cross-border attitudes are associated with higher odds of happiness. These findings show the complex relationship between cross-border ties and psychological distress and happiness for different generations of Arab Americans.

The impact of air pollution on asthmatic vulnerable populations of Arab Americans in Detroit, Michigan, USA

The impact of air pollution on asthmatic vulnerable populations of Arab Americans in Detroit, Michigan, USA

Panethnic mobilisation among Arab Americans in Detroit during the post-9/11 era: a photo-elicitation study

This article uses photo-elicitation interviews to explore Arab Americans’ reactions to a collection of photographs documenting ethnic community events in Detroit. Its goal is to gain insight into processes of identity construction that have occurred since 11 September 2001. Drawing on fieldwork and a review of journalistic and scholarly literature, the article examines connections to panethnic identity in respondents’ views of local geography, communal diversity, simultaneous involvement in United States and Arab culture, and understandings of racism.

Discrimination and psychological distress: Does Whiteness matter for Arab Americans?

The white racial category in the U.S. encompasses persons who have Arab ancestry. Arab Americans, however, have always occupied a precarious position in relationship to Whiteness. This study examined differences in reporting racial/ethnic discrimination among Arab Americans. It also investigated whether and how the association between discrimination and psychological distress varies by characteristics that capture an Arab American's proximity to/distance from Whiteness. We used data from the Detroit Arab American Study (2003; n = 1016), which includes measures of discrimination and the Kessler-10 scale of psychological distress. A series of logistic regression models were specified to test the discrimination–psychological distress association, stratified by five measures that capture Whiteness – subjective racial identification, religion, skin color, ethnic centrality, and residence in the ethnic enclave. Discrimination was more frequently reported by Muslim Arab Americans, those who racially identify as non-white, and who live in the ethnic enclave. Conversely, the association between discrimination and psychological distress was stronger for Christian Arab Americans, those who racially identify as white, who have dark skin color, and who live outside the ethnic enclave. Even though Arab Americans who occupy an identity location close to Whiteness are less subjected to discrimination, they are more negatively affected by it. The findings illuminate the complex pathways through which discrimination associates with psychological distress among ‘white’ immigrants. Further research on discrimination and health among Arab Americans can help unpack the white racial category and deconstruct Whiteness.

"Flying While Arab": the Experiences of Arab Americans in the Wake of 9/11

Book Review| July 01 2012 "Flying While Arab": the Experiences of Arab Americans in the Wake of 9/11 Citizenship and Crisis: Arab Detroit after 9/11. By Detroit Arab American Study Team. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2009. x + 299 pp. Graphs, tables, index, and bibliography. $42.50 (cloth).Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience after 9/11. By Louise A. Cainkar. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2009. xii + 325 pp. Graphs, tables, notes, index, and bibliography. $35 (cloth). Akram Fouad Khater Akram Fouad Khater Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of American Ethnic History (2012) 31 (4): 74–79. https://doi.org/10.5406/jamerethnhist.31.4.0074 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Akram Fouad Khater; "Flying While Arab": the Experiences of Arab Americans in the Wake of 9/11. Journal of American Ethnic History 1 January 2012; 31 (4): 74–79. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/jamerethnhist.31.4.0074 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressJournal of American Ethnic History Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2012 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois2012 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Relationship Between Acculturation and Mental Health of Arab Americans

This study investigated the relationship between mental health and the degree of acculturation among Arab Americans. Subjects were adults of Arab or Chaldean descent who took part in the 2003 Detroit Arab American Study (DAAS). Data from 1,016 Arab American families revealed that the relationship between acculturation and mental health is complex and influenced by a number of other variables. There was significant evidence that besides demographic variables, factors like religion, discrimination experiences, and age at migration are also related to the mental health of Arab Americans. However, acculturation was not found to be as significant in the current study. Implications for mental health counselors who work with Arab Americans and researchers who study this population are presented.

Differences in self-rated health by immigrant status and language preference among Arab Americans in the Detroit Metropolitan Area

Arab Americans are a growing minority in the U.S., yet only a few studies have examined their health utilizing representative samples. Using data from the 2003 Detroit Arab American Study, which is based on a probability sample, we examined the self-rated health (SRH) of Arab Americans by two measures of acculturation--immigrant status and language preference. We specified logistic regression models to test whether immigrants report better or poorer health status compared to U.S.-born Arab Americans and whether language preference among the immigrant generation accounts for the association between immigrant status and SRH. Our findings reveal that the health status of Arab Americans improves with acculturation. Arab immigrants are more likely to report poorer SRH compared to U.S.-born Arab Americans. When language preference is taken into account, Arabic-speaking immigrants are more likely to report poorer SRH compared to both U.S.-born Arab Americans and to English-speaking immigrants. We discuss these findings in light of similar ones obtained in the literature on SRH among other immigrant groups in the U.S. We conclude by arguing that language is an important measure to include in SRH studies among Arab Americans as well as other non-English speaking ethnic groups.