221752 Perceived discrimination and mental health among Arab Americans

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 1:40 PM - 1:55 PM

Sawsan Abdulrahim, PhD , Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon
Wayne Baker, PhD , School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Rouham Yamout, MD, MPH , Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Social epidemiologic studies have revealed the complexity of the association between discrimination and poor mental health for racial and ethnic groups in the United States (US). In this paper we explored the social patterning of perceived discrimination and its association with mental health among Arab Americans, a growing and increasingly visible minority group who do not fit well on the US-system of racial stratification. We used data from the Detroit Arab American Study (N = 1016), carried out in 2003 and based on a random probability sample of households in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. We conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses to explore the following questions: 1) What is the pattern of the association between perceived discrimination and socio-demographic (gender, age, education, income, immigrant status, religion, preferred language) and race/ethnic-related variables (subjective racial identification, Arab American identity, interviewer-reported complexion of interviewee)?; 2) Is the association between perceived discrimination and poor mental health (measured by the Kessler-10 scale of psychological distress) moderated by socio-demographic and race/ethnic-related variables? Our results revealed that, whereas most independent variables were associated with perceived discrimination, only gender (female), low education, and phenotype (interviewer-reported dark complexion) significantly increased the effect of perceived discrimination on poor mental health. Our findings highlight the complexity of the association between perceived discrimination and poor mental health for Arab Americans and highlight the nuanced ways in which socio-demographic and race-related factors influence the extent to which one's mental health is affected by discrimination.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the epidemiological literature on perceived discrimination and poor mental health among racial/ethnic groups in the United States 2. Demonstrate the importance of examining the social patterning of perceived discrimination and its association with mental health among Arab Americans 3. Explain methodological aspects of the Detroit Arab American Study 4. List the findings of multivariate analyses conducted to examine the complexity of the association between perceived discrimination and mental health 5. Discuss the implications of the findings on the stronger moderating effect of phenotype, compared to subjective racial/ethnic identity, on the association between perceived discrimination and poor mental health

Keywords: Mental Health, Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract author on the content I am responsible for because I contributed to the literature review, analysis, and write-up on the study
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4180.0: Social epidemiology