Ethnic Identity Among Arab Americans: An Examination Of Contextual Influences And Psychological Well-Being

Existing theories and research have indicated that ethnic identity is crucial for ethnic minority young adults because ethnicity is an important component of their personal identity that is likely to influence various aspects of their development. Given the centrality of this construct, the overarching aim of the present study was to examine ethnic identity and psychological well-being among members of an ethnic group that have long been ignored in the psychological literature: Arab Americans. Specifically, the goals of the study were threefold. The first goal was to examine the association between multiple contextual factors (such as students\u27 perceptions of their parents\u27 style of parenting, family ethnic socialization, perceived discrimination, and generational status) and ethnic identity or its\u27 two components (ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation). The second goal was to explore the potential role of ethnic identity or its\u27 components to promote psychological adjustment and well-being: self-esteem and depressive symptoms are indices of psychological functioning that were examined in the study. The final goal of the study was to examine whether ethnic identity, or its\u27 components, can serve as a protective factor, mitigating the negative effects of discrimination on psychological well-being. Participants (N= 323) were recruited from Wayne State University (WSU) campus and were assessed using a package of 7 batteries: Demographic Questionnaire, Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM), Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire (PEDQ), Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D Scale). Pearson correlation analyses revealed that higher family ethnic socialization, authoritative parenting and lower generational status were all significantly associated with higher ethnic identity, ethnic identity, exploration and ethnic identity affirmation. Further mediation analyses revealed that the relation between generational status and ethnic identity was fully mediated by family ethnic socialization. With respect to gender differences, results revealed that the strength of the association between ethnic socialization and ethnic identity did not differ for males and females. As for the relation between ethnic identity (or its components), perceived discrimination, and psychological well-being, results from the correlational analyses revealed that higher ethnic identity, ethnic identity exploration, and ethnic identity affirmation were associated with higher self-esteem and lower depressive symptoms whereas perceived discrimination was associated with lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms. Finally, with respect to the potential protective roles of ethnic identity, ethnic identity exploration, and ethnic identity affirmation, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that ethnic identity (and its components) moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being. Specifically, perceived ethnic discrimination was negatively associated with self-esteem among participants with high ethnic identity; however, this relationship was even stronger among participants with low ethnic identity. Similarly, perceived ethnic discrimination was positively associated with depressive symptoms among participants with high ethnic identity; however, this relationship was even stronger among participants with low ethnic identity. Findings suggest that ethnic discrimination takes a toll on Arab American young adults, but, for this population, having a salient ethnic identity may have profound mental health benefits as ethnic identity may serve as valuable resource to help them deal with negative discriminatory experiences

Youth Development: An ecological Approach to Identity

This chapter examines the process of youth development and the impact of socialization among Arab Americans. The distinctiveness of Arab Americans as an ethnic group stems from the fact that their visibility is intimately tied to events and political instabilities in the Arab world. This reality places them in a uniquely marginal position as “not quite White� (Samhan, 1999 ), yet not fully accepted as a legal minority (Cainkar, 2009 ). This wider societal experience provides an overarching context for the study of Arab American youth development within an ecological model. This chapter explores theoretical models for understanding youth identity development, and then reviews research fi ndings related to the ways in which family, peers/school, community, and media play a role in the identities of Arab American youth. This is followed by a case example to illustrate concepts and ideas introduced throughout the chapter. Finally, the chapter concludes with a critique of current research and suggests future directions for better understanding Arab American youth development