The impact of acculturation and religious identification on perceived discrimination for Arab/Middle Eastern Americans

The aim of the current study was to determine the impact of acculturation, ethnic identity, and religious affiliation on perceived discrimination for persons of Arab and Middle Eastern descent. Two aspects of acculturation (ethnic society immersion and dominant society immersion), religious affiliat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 59
Main Author Awad, Germine H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2010
Subjects
Acculturation
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Arabs - ethnology
Arabs - psychology
Female
Humans
Islam - psychology
Male
Middle Aged
Prejudice
Regression Analysis
Social Identification
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Young Adult
United States
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Summary:The aim of the current study was to determine the impact of acculturation, ethnic identity, and religious affiliation on perceived discrimination for persons of Arab and Middle Eastern descent. Two aspects of acculturation (ethnic society immersion and dominant society immersion), religious affiliation, and ethnic identity were measured using a final sample of 177 individuals of Arab or Middle Eastern descent. Results indicated that Arab/Middle Eastern Americans who reported lower levels of dominant society immersion tended to report higher levels of discrimination. Furthermore, Muslims reported a higher level of discrimination than Christians but this finding was moderated by level of acculturation. Specifically, Muslims who reported a high level of dominant society immersion experienced the most discrimination, whereas Christians who reported a high level of dominant society immersion reported less discrimination. Study implications are discussed.
ISSN:1099-9809
DOI:10.1037/a0016675