Background: Arab-American immigrant youth have multiple marginalized identities that raise their risk for worse health outcomes, yet there remains a paucity of literature about their health, particularly their SRH. Furthermore, no scholars to date have applied a social determinants of health approach to the study of Arab-American immigrants’ health. Thus, we investigated the relationships among sexual behaviors, sexual attitudes, acculturation, and religiosity for Arab-American immigrant youth aged 18-25 years living in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study. Participants (N=100) were recruited via purposive sampling and completed either an in-person or online survey. Data on the frequency of sexual behaviors, sexual attitudes (Sexual Double Standards Scale, Premarital Sexual Permissiveness Scale), acculturation (Arab Acculturation Scale), and religious identification and religiosity (Duke University Religion Index) were collected and then analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, and standard deviation), bivariate analyses, and multiple regression analysis.

Results/Conclusion: Preliminary findings demonstrate a nuanced relationship of sexuality among youth who are navigating multiple identities and norms about sex and sexuality. This study contributes new knowledge about sexuality in Arab-American youth. Ultimately, our findings can be used as a guide to plan, develop, and test interventions that are culturally sensitive and guided by community-based research, to promote healthy sexualities among this understudied population. We also recommend the representation of Arab-Americans and, more broadly, Middle Eastern and North African individuals, in the federal racial schema such that their experiences of greater structural harms, such as racism and racialization, can be quantified and monitored.