IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v75y2012i12p2116-2123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Abdulrahim, Sawsan
  • James, Sherman A.
  • Yamout, Rouham
  • Baker, Wayne

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdulrahim, Sawsan & James, Sherman A. & Yamout, Rouham & Baker, Wayne, 2012. "Discrimination and psychological distress: Does Whiteness matter for Arab Americans?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2116-2123.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:12:p:2116-2123
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.07.030
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953612005710
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.07.030?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ford, Chandra L. & Harawa, Nina T., 2010. "A new conceptualization of ethnicity for social epidemiologic and health equity research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 251-258, July.
    2. Padela, A.I. & Heisler, M., 2010. "The association of perceived abuse and discrimination after september 11,2001, with psychological distress, level of happiness, and health status among Arab Americans," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(2), pages 284-291.
    3. Williams, D.R. & Neighbors, H.W. & Jackson, J.S., 2003. "Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(2), pages 200-208.
    4. Joni Hersch, 2008. "Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 345-386, April.
    5. Ford, Chandra L. & Airhihenbuwa, Collins O., 2010. "The public health critical race methodology: Praxis for antiracism research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(8), pages 1390-1398, October.
    6. Bhopal, R. & Donaldson, L., 1998. "White, European, Western, Caucasian, or what? Inappropriate labeling in research on race, ethnicity, and health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 88(9), pages 1303-1307.
    7. Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A., 2007. "Beyond acculturation: Immigration, discrimination, and health research among Mexicans in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(7), pages 1524-1535, October.
    8. Rousseau, C. & Hassan, G. & Moreau, N. & Thombs, B.D., 2011. "Perceived discrimination and its association with psychological distress among newly arrived immigrants before and after september 11, 2001," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(5), pages 909-915.
    9. Diane Lauderdale, 2006. "Birth outcomes for Arabic-named women in California before and after September 11," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(1), pages 185-201, February.
    10. Abdulrahim, Sawsan & Baker, Wayne, 2009. "Differences in self-rated health by immigrant status and language preference among Arab Americans in the Detroit Metropolitan Area," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2097-2103, June.
    11. Borrell, Luisa N. & Kiefe, Catarina I. & Williams, David R. & Diez-Roux, Ana V. & Gordon-Larsen, Penny, 2006. "Self-reported health, perceived racial discrimination, and skin color in African Americans in the CARDIA study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1415-1427, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Donna M Cormack & Ricci B Harris & James Stanley, 2013. "Investigating the Relationship between Socially-Assigned Ethnicity, Racial Discrimination and Health Advantage in New Zealand," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(12), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Sara Ali & Danah Elsayed & Saadia Elahi & Belal Zia & Rania Awaad, 2022. "Predicting rejection attitudes toward utilizing formal mental health services in Muslim women in the US: Results from the Muslims’ perceptions and attitudes to mental health study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(3), pages 662-669, May.
    3. Santosh Jatrana & Ken Richardson & Tony Blakely & Saira Dayal, 2014. "Does Mortality Vary between Asian Subgroups in New Zealand: An Application of Hierarchical Bayesian Modelling," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Perreira, Krista M. & Telles, Edward E., 2014. "The color of health: Skin color, ethnoracial classification, and discrimination in the health of Latin Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 241-250.
    5. Samari, Goleen, 2016. "Cross-border ties and Arab American mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 93-101.
    6. Sara E. Grineski & Timothy W. Collins & Ricardo Rubio, 2019. "Distributional Environmental Injustices for a Minority Group without Minority Status: Arab Americans and Residential Exposure to Carcinogenic Air Pollution in the US," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-16, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A. & Miranda, Patricia Y. & Abdulrahim, Sawsan, 2012. "More than culture: Structural racism, intersectionality theory, and immigrant health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2099-2106.
    2. Samari, Goleen, 2016. "Cross-border ties and Arab American mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 93-101.
    3. Johnston, David W. & Lordan, Grace, 2012. "Discrimination makes me sick! An examination of the discrimination–health relationship," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 99-111.
    4. Bijou, Christina & Colen, Cynthia G, 2022. "Shades of health: Skin color, ethnicity, and mental health among Black Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    5. Armijos Bravo, Grace & Vall Castelló, Judit, 2021. "Terrorist attacks, Islamophobia and newborns’ health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Randall Akee & Mutlu Yuksel, 2012. "The Decreasing Effect of Skin Tone on Women's Full-Time Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 398-426, April.
    7. Barr, Ashley B. & Simons, Ronald L. & Beach, Steven R.H. & Simons, Leslie Gordon, 2022. "Racial discrimination and health among two generations of African American couples," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    8. Tsai, Alexander C. & Venkataramani, Atheendar S., 2015. "Communal bereavement and resilience in the aftermath of a terrorist event: Evidence from a natural experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 155-163.
    9. Lee, Catherine, 2009. ""Race" and "ethnicity" in biomedical research: How do scientists construct and explain differences in health?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1183-1190, March.
    10. Lukachko, Alicia & Hatzenbuehler, Mark L. & Keyes, Katherine M., 2014. "Structural racism and myocardial infarction in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 42-50.
    11. Arne Risa Hole & Anita Ratcliffe, 2015. "The impact of the London bombings on the wellbeing of young Muslims," Working Papers 2015002, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    12. Colen, Cynthia G. & Ramey, David M. & Cooksey, Elizabeth C. & Williams, David R., 2018. "Racial disparities in health among nonpoor African Americans and Hispanics: The role of acute and chronic discrimination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 167-180.
    13. Chen, Danhong & Yang, Tse-Chuan, 2014. "The pathways from perceived discrimination to self-rated health: An investigation of the roles of distrust, social capital, and health behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 64-73.
    14. Rengin B. Firat, 2017. "Discrimination and Well-Being: The Moderating Effects of Agentic Value Orientations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 167-194, October.
    15. Hudson, Darrell L. & Puterman, Eli & Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten & Matthews, Karen A. & Adler, Nancy E., 2013. "Race, life course socioeconomic position, racial discrimination, depressive symptoms and self-rated health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 7-14.
    16. Arne Risa Hole & Anita Ratcliffe, 2020. "The Impact of the London Bombings on the Well‐Being of Adolescent Muslims," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(4), pages 1606-1639, October.
    17. Schnittker, Jason, 2020. "Religion, social integration, and depression in Europe: Evidence from the European Social Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    18. Perreira, Krista M. & Telles, Edward E., 2014. "The color of health: Skin color, ethnoracial classification, and discrimination in the health of Latin Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 241-250.
    19. Diane Coffey & Ashwini Deshpande & Jeffrey Hammer & Dean Spears, 2019. "Local Social Inequality, Economic Inequality, and Disparities in Child Height in India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1427-1452, August.
    20. Nakabayashi, Masaki, 2011. "Schooling, employer learning, and internal labor market effect: Wage dynamics and human capital investment in the Japanese steel industry, 1930-1960s," MPRA Paper 30597, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:12:p:2116-2123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.