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1060974
research-article2021
JHPXXX10.1177/00221678211060974Journal of Humanistic PsychologyAwad et al.
Article
Foundations for an
Arab/MENA Psychology
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
2022, Vol. 62(4) 591–613
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
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https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678211060974
DOI: 10.1177/00221678211060974
journals.sagepub.com/home/jhp
Germine Awad1 , Ayse Ikizler2,
Laila Abdel Salam3, Maryam Kia-Keating4,
Bahaur Amini5 , and Nabil El-Ghoroury6
Abstract
Arab/Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) American psychology is a
field rooted in ethnic studies and multicultural psychology. Although its study
is relatively nascent in U.S. psychology, it has slowly been growing since the
1990s. The events of 9/11 resulted in an increase in psychological research
on the Arab/MENA population in the United States, providing empirical
evidence to inform the historical and social foundations for an Arab/MENA
psychology. This article seeks to identify key elements and factors present
in an Arab/MENA psychology focusing on issues of identity and recognition,
discrimination, cumulative racial-ethnic trauma, acculturation, and cultural
values, such as hospitality and generosity, morality, family centricity, honor
and shame, religiosity, and communication style.
Keywords
Arab, Middle Eastern and North African, MENA, Arab/MENA psychology,
paradigm
1
The University of Texas at Austin, USA
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, USA
3
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
4
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
5
The University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA
6
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, San Diego, USA
2
Corresponding Author:
Germine Awad, The University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway, D5800, Austin,
TX 78712, USA.
Email: [email protected]
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Journal of Humanistic Psychology 62(4)
The field of Arab/Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) psychology in
the United States is newer when compared with the other, more established
fields acknowledging ethnic-cultural perspectives in psychology. Our aim in
this article is to put forth the social and historical foundations for Arab/
MENA psychology. Arab/MENA psychology provides an alternative to
White, mainstream definitions of psychology. While the Arab/MENA group
continues to face hypervisibility through negative media portrayals, discrimination, racism, hate-based crimes, and exclusionary or restrictive policies,
Arab/MENA communities are largely invisible when it comes to representation, available data, and understanding community needs (Awad et al., 2019).
This article presents the predominant issues faced by the Arab/MENA community, such as identity, recognition, and discrimination. Furthermore, we
seek to identify values that might be used to aid in the development of Arab/
MENA psychology.
Who Are Arab/MENA Americans?
Given many misconceptions about Arab/MENA Americans in the United
States, it is important to understand how this group is defined. The MENA
region comprises the northern strip of Africa and the southwestern point of
Asia. MENA itself consists of three non-Arab countries: Iran, Turkey, and
Armenia (ordered by size of population from these countries in the United
States). In addition, MENA includes the 22 nations that make up the Arab
League including Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and
Yemen (Harb, 2016). As of 2011, Syria was suspended from the Arab League,
although they are still considered part of the Arab/MENA population
(MacFarquhar, 2011). MENA immigrants are one of the most ethnically and
religiously diverse pan-ethnic groups in the United States (Bozorgmehr et al.,
2016). Arab/MENA individuals also represent a wide range of skin tones and
other phenotypes similar to other ethnic groups of color.
Individuals have been migrating to the United States from the MENA
regions since the late 1800s (Zarrugh, 2016). However, in recent decades,
political turmoil and economic opportunities increased the number of
immigrants from the MENA regions to the United States as well as to other
parts of the world. The first group of Arab/MENA migrants from the 1800s
to mid-1920s primarily consisted of Arab Christians fleeing war from the
Ottoman province of Syria and Lebanon (Erickson & Al-Timimi, 2001;
Haboush, 2007; Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson, 2003). Not long after,
the second wave of immigration was triggered by the 1948 Arab–Israeli
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593
War as well as revolutions in Egypt and Iraq. This group largely consisted
of Palestinians and Egyptians. The third wave started in 1965 after the U.S.
government opened its immigration policy regarding people from regions
outside of Europe. For this group, reasons for migration included family
reunification, employment and education opportunities as well as safety
from war and persecution (e.g., the 1979 Islamic Revolution; Abraham,
1995; Naff, 1985). The last two waves included greater numbers of highly
educated Muslims from all MENA nations, with a large proportion of
migrants from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria (Foad, 2013).
This third wave represented the largest volume of migration from Arab/
MENA nations (Awad et al., 2019).
Generally, Middle Eastern immigrants identify themselves along with
national (e.g., Iranian, Palestinian, and Turkish), multinational or ethnic
(e.g., Arab), or ethnoreligious (e.g., Coptic and Maronite) categories. In
addition, some Arab/MENA Americans feel more strongly about the cultural
differences between Arab and non-Arab Middle Easterners and by regions
(e.g., Levant/Levantine and Persian Gulf Arabs). Yet, there are shared cultural, linguistic, and, in some cases, religious identities that cut across
national boundaries. In the United States, individuals of Arab/MENA
descent often share similar cumulative ethnic/racial traumas, being forced to
contend with prejudice and discrimination, Islamophobia (due to the racialization of Muslims and Islam), and structural racism.
There are sizable within-group differences worth noting. Arab/MENA
Americans are a heterogeneous group, representing diverse social identities
as generally recognized by mainstream multicultural psychology (e.g., gender diversity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc.; Ikizler &
Szymanski, 2014). Some especially salient within-group differences among
Arab/MENA Americans include religious identities, levels of religiosity, generational statuses in the United States, languages and dialects, and reasons for
emigrating from country of origin (e.g., displacement and educational attainment). Despite within-group differences, most Arab/MENA Americans still
identify as Arab/MENA ethnically when given the option do to do so on government forms (Awad et al., 2021).
Arab/MENA American Psychology
The field of Arab/MENA psychology is rooted within the broader discipline
of Arab American Studies which began in the 1920s. The earliest known
scholarly publication on Arab/MENA Americans was produced by Philip
Hitti, a historian, in 1924. He chronicled the experiences of Syrians in the
United States (Amer & Awad, 2016). The literature and scholarly attention
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toward Arab/MENA populations in the field of American psychology has
been slowly building since the mid-1990s. One reference that stands out is
the publication of Nuha Abudabbeh’s (1996) chapter on Arab families in the
second edition of the textbook Ethnicity and Family Therapy (McGoldrick
et al., 1996).
Amer and Awad (2016) conducted an analysis of the psychological scholarship on Arab Americans and found that strikingly few articles were published up until 2001—specifically, only an average of zero to three articles
were published on an annual basis. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the literature increased significantly with an average of 13 to 23 articles produced
yearly, up until 2014 (summarized in detail in Amer & Awad, 2016). The
psychological literature on Arab/MENA Americans has continued to increase
with greater recognition of the need to include a demographic category for
Arab/MENA and acknowledgment of the vital need to expand the scholarship and science on this community.
The scholarship in Arab/MENA American psychology that emerged in the
mid-1990s has grown into a slow boil from 2014 onward (e.g., Nassar et al.,
2014). Although Nassar et al. (2014) included the work of psychologists in
their Biopsychosocial Perspectives on Arab Americans text, the first book
solely focused on Arab American psychology was released in 2016. The
Handbook of Arab American Psychology, edited by Amer and Awad, was
published in 2016 and includes 28 chapters providing a broad array of topics
about Arab American experiences, such as identity, acculturation, health, and
psychological interventions. Another seminal work during this period was
the introduction of a model of cumulative racial-ethnic trauma for MENA
Americans and was published in the American Psychologist (Awad et al.,
2019). This model articulates the cumulative racial-ethnic trauma experienced by Arab/MENA Americans at both macro- and microlevels. The inclusion of microlevel factors such as lack of identity recognition and macro-level
factors of historical trauma help build the case for a cultural paradigm that
emerges from Arab/MENA psychology.
Dimensions for an Arab/MENA Cultural Paradigm
Although a cultural paradigm has not been identified nor developed for Arab/
MENA Americans, the present article suggests the elements to be included in
the creation of one to help elucidate the significant issues that should be considered in the psychology of this population. The following sections start
with issues of identity, recognition, and discrimination that interact with one
another to compound experiences of cumulative racial-ethnic trauma and
acculturation processes for MENA Americans. Next, cultural values that may
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serve as protective and resilience factors for this population are presented.
These include hospitality and generosity, morality, family centricity, honor
and shame, religiosity, and communication style.
Identity and Recognition
Arab/MENA Americans occupy a complicated position within the U.S. racial
landscape. According to the Office of Management and Budget, Arab/MENA
Americans are placed within the White racial category alongside European
Americans. As a result, the U.S. Census race/ethnicity forms do not include a
MENA checkbox. The lack of a separate race/ethnicity category severely hinders the data collection involving this population. Despite evidence that
Arab/MENA Americans report experiences consistent with being an ethnic
minority (e.g., Awad et al., 2017, 2019), they are often not recognized as
such. The lack of a separate racial/ethnic category on the U.S. Census has
far-reaching consequences. For example, data on health and educational disparities are not available for this population; this gap has significant implications, resulting in under resourced institutions (e.g., schools, hospitals, and
community clinics serving this population). Furthermore, the U.S. Census
sets the standard for all demographic forms used in the United States.
Therefore, when institutions collect data on race and ethnicity, they use the
Census race and ethnicity question as a guide to help determine which racial
groups to include in their data collection. As a result, there are very few institutions that include a separate MENA category on their race/ethnicity demographic forms.
Although there is not currently a separate MENA race/ethnic category on
the 2020 U.S. Census race/ethnicity question, several significant strides have
been made to build legitimacy on this issue. In 2011, the U.S. Census convened Arab/MENA scholars to discuss issues pertaining to the undercount of
Arab/MENA Americans (Jones & Bentley, 2017). These scholars worked
with the U.S. Census to determine the best way to accurately capture the
Arab/MENA population. As a result, the U.S. Census launched the National
Content Test (NCT) to assess a separate MENA category. Results were simple but profound. Namely, when a MENA check box was available, individuals of Arab/MENA descent chose it over the White racial category (Jones &
Bentley, 2017). Given these results, the Obama administration supported
adding a separate category for Arab/MENA Americans. When the Trump
administration took over, it ignored the data and stalled efforts to add a separate category resulting in missing the Census’ 2020 operational deadline for
launching the 2020 decennial census. Thus, the Arab/MENA population does
not have a separate category for reasons that are political and disregard the
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overwhelming data indicating that the “White” racial label is inaccurate and
even harmful (Jones & Bentley, 2017).
Racial and ethnic identity development for Arab/MENA Americans is
complicated by the fact that this group faces constant identity invalidation
(Awad et al., 2017). Negative outcomes that may emerge from identity invalidation include feelings of alienation, hopelessness, and fear (Awad et al.,
2019). The relative invisibility of this group compared with other ethnic
minority groups further impedes the availability of appropriate psychological
interventions culturally tailored to Arab/MENA Americans. It is imperative
for a cultural paradigm that includes the unique experiences faced by Arab/
MENA Americans to include both invisibility (i.e., and thus, invalidation)
and hypervisibility as evidenced by the considerable interpersonal and systemic discrimination faced by this group. Mental health professionals working with this group need to understand the complex relationship between
identity and discrimination for this community.
Discrimination
The experience of prejudice and discrimination among Arab/MENA
Americans is well documented (e.g., Awad & Amayreh, 2016; Ibish, 2001,
2003; Ikizler & Szymanski, 2018; Zogby, 2002). Although many believe
that prejudice toward this group started after the events of 9/11, Arab/
MENA Americans have been experiencing prejudice since they first came
to the United States in the 1890s (Naber, 2000). The first documented experiences of discrimination toward Arab/MENA Americans occurred between
1914 and 1930, where Whites feared Arab immigrants as threats to White
racial purity (Naber, 2000). Furthermore, the invalidation of identity as an
ethnic minority adds insult to injury when one considers the rampant and
pervasive discrimination faced by Arab/MENA Americans. Arab/MENA
are often not considered real “Americans” and often experience significant
“othering” (Awad et al., 2021).
Arab/MENA Americans experience discrimination on interpersonal,
institutional, and societal/cultural levels. Examples of interpersonal discrimination toward Arab/MENA Americans include the use of racial epithets,
“othering,” and social exclusion (Awad & Amayreh, 2016). Institutional
examples of discrimination and structural racism include FBI and police
misconduct that reached a fever pitch during the enactment of the USA
PATRIOT Act of 2001. Cultural levels of discrimination include what
Edward Said has termed orientalism (Said, 1978), where Arab/MENA peoples are viewed as backward, uncivilized, and dangerous, and often manifests in the negative media portrayals of this group, with women stereotyped
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in simultaneously exoticized and oppressed roles (Alsultany, 2012). Similar
to other groups, discrimination, racism, hate crimes, and microaggressions
experienced by Arab/MENA Americans are typically underreported. This is
in part due to the fact that reports depend on individuals coming forward,
according to the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC,
www.adc.org), which collects data on discrimination experiences (e.g.,
workplace, housing, and hate crimes).
The experiences of discrimination of Arab/MENA Americans are further
complicated by the conflation of Arab/MENA and Islam that often results in
a combination of prejudice based on perceptions of religious background
and race/ethnicity. Therefore, it is common for Arab/MENA individuals of
all religious backgrounds to experience the consequences of Islamophobia.
One reason given for the conflation of Islam and race/ethnicity is the racialization of Muslims. This racialization conflates being Muslim with an array
of ethnic and cultural groups that may not even include Muslims. This
racialization includes diverse groups, such as Arabs, South Asians, and nonArab Middle Easterners, Christian Arab/MENA, and Jewish Iranians
(Cainkar & Selod, 2018). Although most Arab Americans are Christian and
most Muslims are not Arab, Islamophobia impacts all Arab/MENA
Americans, regardless of actual religious identification, and this discrimination can contribute to the experience of cumulative racial-ethnic trauma in
for all Arab/MENA Americans (Awad et al., 2019).
A cultural paradigm that includes Arab/MENA Americans must represent
the intersection of identity invalidation and the experiences of discrimination. Despite their experiences of cumulative racial-ethnic trauma, Arab/
MENA Americans are often left out of discussions pertaining to the public
health and personal costs of discrimination and policy and practice to combat
racism. The invalidation of identity faced by the group, and sense of alienation, is compounded when they are left out of ethnic minority spaces. This
further contributes to microinvalidations that contribute to the cumulative
racial-ethnic trauma faced by Arab/MENA Americans.
Cumulative Racial-Ethnic Trauma
Applying a cumulative racial-ethnic trauma conceptualization to the multifaceted trauma experiences of Arab/MENA people is imperative and necessary for the development of a cultural paradigm for this group (Awad
et al., 2019). Cumulative racial-ethnic trauma experiences can have a farreaching and fundamental impact on the psychological well-being and
health of Arab/MENA Americans (Awad et al., 2019). Historical trauma,
institutional discrimination, and national context serve as the framework
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for cumulative trauma, whereby those who migrate may have faced social
upheaval, persecution, and threat to their lives during premigration and
migration phases (Kia-Keating et al., 2016). They may also have to contend with the fear and stress of having family members who still reside in
dangerous or unstable sociopolitical contexts in their home countries.
Moreover, resettlement and acculturative stress may continue, particularly
in hostile contexts where migrants are not welcomed and do not feel that
they belong.
Oppressive and targeted national policies such as President Donald J.
Trump’s Executive Orders 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign
Terrorist Entry into the United States, and 13780, known as the “Muslim
Ban” or the “travel ban” violate Arab/MENA civil liberties, restrict their freedoms, place them at a disadvantage, and create a sense of alienation (Awad
et al., 2019; Cainkar, 2009). Furthermore, other policies such as the USA
PATRIOT Act of 2001 as well as harassment and social exclusion further
contributed to the dehumanization and discrimination of Arab/MENA
Americans. The continued lack of recognition and legal classification reduce
the likelihood for funding and resource allocations to Arab/MENA communities. This invisibility has grave implications, adding to the cumulative racialethnic trauma, and impeding a useful scientific base of knowledge to help
inform policies and practices that can help this community.
Acculturation
Research on the role of acculturation among Arab/MENA Americans reveals
that more studies are needed (e.g., Erickson & Al-Timimi, 2001; NassarMcMillan & Hakim-Larson, 2003). The dominant groups’ receptivity of the
nondominant group may be a powerful predictor of acculturative stress and
psychological well-being over time (Berry, 1998). For example, living in a
hostile environment not only exacerbates the acculturation stress but also
complicates the process of ethnic identity development for Middle Eastern
American youth (Awad, 2010; Keshishian, 2000; Moradi & Hasan, 2004).
Furthermore, a study assessing acculturation with a sample of Arab Muslim
youth revealed the variability in acculturation strategies utilized within this
population. Results indicated that participants were highly bicultural, moderately bicultural, or align more strongly with Arab cultural values. Participants
who identified as moderately bicultural also reported more family acculturation stress and less support (Britto & Amer, 2007). A cultural paradigm
focused on the experiences of Arab/MENA Americans must take into consideration the diversity of acculturation strategies for this group and how these
experiences impact psychological outcomes.
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Religious identification appears to be related to acculturation. For example, one study found that Arab American Christians were more likely to
report higher levels of assimilation and integration compared with Arab
American Muslims (Amer & Hovey, 2007). In addition, Arab American
Muslim youth reported higher levels of separation compared with their
Christian counterparts. More importantly, while the groups differed in acculturation approach, no differences were found in family functioning, depression, or acculturative stress between Christians and Muslims. Another study
reported differences in perceived discrimination based on acculturation level
(Awad, 2010). Specifically, Muslims higher in dominant society immersion
(e.g., greater adjustment to mainstream U.S. culture) reported higher levels of
discrimination than their Christian counterparts, whereas Muslims and
Christians low in dominant society immersion reported similar levels of discrimination (Awad, 2010).
Cultural Values
A cultural paradigm that takes into consideration the experiences of Arab/
MENA people necessitates the inclusion of resources and cultural values
that may serve as protective factors for this population (Ahmed et al., 2011).
As highlighted by Abraham (1995), Arab Americans, and by extension Arab/
MENA communities, are one of the most diverse ethnic groups in the United
States regarding their political affiliations, religious beliefs, languages, cultural backgrounds, family structures, and degree of acculturation.
Nevertheless, despite these differences among Arab/MENA populations,
some scholars have argued that some key common cultural values seem to
be shared by the various Arab/MENA groups (Awad, 2010; Erickson &
Al-Timimi, 2001; Samhan, 2006). There are a number of core cultural values that have been identified and studied in the scientific literature, including hospitality and generosity, morality, family centricity, honor and shame,
religiosity, and communication style. These are summarized subsequently,
providing a starting point for future study of Arab/MENA psychology that
may help inform its conceptual foundations.
Hospitality and Generosity. A core cultural value and practice for Arab/
MENA Americans is hospitality and generosity (Al Khateeb et al., 2014;
Harb, 2016; Noman, 2019; Sobh et al., 2013). A frequent hospitality ritual
among Arab/MENA American families is to provide guests with food and
drink, such as tea, snacks, or a generous meal (Noman, 2019). The likely
origin of Arabic hospitality stems from the Bedouin Arab traditions, where
generosity between strangers was essential for enduring the unrelenting
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Arabian desert; extending hospitality to strangers was an effective way of
ensuring that the same would be offered to oneself in the future (Torstrick
& Faier, 2009). Failing to provide for a guest would bring shame to the
host family (Sobh et al., 2013). While no longer critical for survival, hospitality rituals persist in the Arab/MENA and Arab/MENA American world
(Sobh et al., 2013).
Modern interpretations of hospitality rituals suggest that generosity may
serve a role of elevating the status of the host who can demonstrate higher
status with a larger and more impressive food and drink presentation (Sobh
et al., 2013). Even a small gesture of hospitality is important for affirming
culture and values; Syrian refugees in camps with extremely limited access to
food and water outside food tents will offer tea and whatever sweets they
have to visitors (Vandevoordt, 2017).
Morality. Morality represents another core cultural value among Arab/MENA
Americans, with an emphasis on character virtues (Harb, 2016; Noman,
2019). Morality and religion are inextricably linked for this population (Halstead, 2007; Harb, 2016; Kalliny & Gentry, 2007). Virtues such as justice,
fairness, humility, and respect are emphasized for Arab/MENA Americans
(Halstead, 2007). Elements of moral sensitivity include professional responsibility, moral meaning, expression of good deeds, and guiding principles
(Bayoumy et al., 2017). Judgments of morality may also differ in valence
based on gender and sexuality (Stephan & Aprahamian, 2016). For some
Arab/MENA communities, psychological interventions that may be interpreted as inconsistent with religious and moral values may be viewed as less
acceptable (Haboush, 2007) and therefore less likely to succeed. Therefore, a
cultural paradigm for this group should include issues pertaining to morality
in mental health practice.
Family Centricity. Family centricity emerges as a key cultural norm shared by
MENA individuals (Haboush, 2007). In Arab/MENA cultures, family does
not solely pertain to the nuclear family, rather it includes the extended family
as well (Abudabbeh, 1996). Family centricity in Arab/MENA culture is highlighted by the tendency to give priority to family obligations over individual
needs (Haboush, 2007; Harb, 2016; Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson,
2003). In that vein, Abudabbeh (1996) emphasized that the active pursuit and
development of an individual identity independent of that of one’s family is
often discouraged. Such individuation may be perceived as a threat to the
family’s centrality and, in essence, goes against Arab/MENA individuals’
typical concern for their family’s well-being over their own individual happiness and health (Erickson & Al-Timimi, 2001).
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Arab/MENA individuals are especially mindful of how personal decisions
may impact their family, be it nuclear or extended, and typically refrain from
making decisions that may not prioritize their family, even if that means prioritizing the needs of others. Prioritizing one’s needs over the needs of the
family may be viewed as selfish and self-centered and could lead to relationship ruptures. Providers working with this population need to be mindful
about Western interventions which may prioritize individuation from the
family. Specifically, as asserted by Abdel-Salam et al. (2019), mental health
professionals are advised to understand the centrality of family in Arab/
MENA culture and to comprehend that individuation from family may be an
inappropriate goal of treatment. Rather, framing the discussion of navigating
one’s individual needs, alongside one’s family needs in terms of dialectic,
may be more effective and enhance the well-being of all parties.
The centrality of family in Arab/MENA cultures also impacts how Arab/
MENA individuals view and relate to themselves. Specifically, for many
Arab/MENA individuals, the concept of family is central to their identity. In
a consensual qualitative research study focused on experiences of gender
among Arab American women, Abdel-Salam and colleagues (2019) found
that while participants were able to generate 14 core ideas regarding societal
and familial expectations and assumptions around being an Arab American
woman, the same participants only yielded 3 core ideas regarding their own
sense of what being an Arab American woman means to them. This divergence seems to empirically support Abudabbeh’s (1996) assertion that the
development of an independent individual identity is not supported in Arab/
MENA culture. By extension, these findings further reflect how familial
expectations are often given priority over individual needs in Arab/MENA
cultures (Haboush, 2007; Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson, 2003). A cultural paradigm advanced by Arab/MENA psychology must consider family
centricity accordingly.
Along these lines, clinicians and mental health professionals working with
this population must be aware of how Western individualistic values may
impact their work with Arab/MENA individuals and consider the way that
this rhetoric may, in the most extreme case, pathologize the Arab/MENA
family structure as being overly enmeshed. As such, cultural humility and
awareness of implicit and internalized biases are important processes for clinicians working with diverse populations.
Honor and Shame. Another dominant characteristic associated with Arab/
MENA culture is the notion of maintaining family honor. As presented by
Harb (2016), issues pertaining to reputation and honor in Arab/MENA culture lead to increased group cohesiveness and serve as a “conduit of social
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and cultural norms” (Harb, 2016, p. 12). Dishonorable behavior is considered
disruptive and threatening to the social standing of individuals, families, and
communities.
This characteristic points to the centrality of family in Arab/MENA cultures, and it additionally has a significant gendered component. Stephan and
Aprahamian (2016) speculated that while family provides emotional and economic support for Arab/MENA women, it also can function as an instrument
of social control. Specifically, as documented in Haddad and Lummis’s
(1987) ethnographic work and in Hattar-Pollara and Meleis’s (1995) qualitative study, Arab/MENA women are held responsible for guaranteeing their
family’s observance of cultural norms, and they are also archetypally answerable to maintaining their family’s honor (Stephan & Aprahamian, 2016). In
that vein, Arab/MENA women with higher levels of acculturation typically
experience a high degree of relationship-related stress regarding the maintenance of their family’s honor, as sexual activity before marriage is considered
dishonorable and shameful (Abdel-Salam et al., 2019; Eid, 2003). Specifically,
Abdel-Salam et al.’s (2019) qualitative study of women highlighted that fear
of judgment was a major driving force of their actions and that it was connected to feelings of obligation regarding family honor. Fear of judgment
pervaded the lives of their Arab/MENA participants, so much so, that participants asserted that while they often felt more understood in the presence of
members of their own culture, their fear of being judged (i.e., bringing shame
to their family) often pushed them to hide parts of themselves. In other words,
it appeared that participants’ fear of judgment and possibly shaming their
family outweighed their need for comfort and inclusion. A cultural paradigm
for Arab/MENA Americans needs to carefully consider the role of family
honor in impacting mental health.
Religiosity. Although there is a misconception in the United States believing
that Arab/MENA Americans are primarily Muslim (Naber, 2000), this population is diverse in terms of religious affiliation. While Christians were previously estimated to represent about 77% of Arab/MENA Americans (Samhan,
2006), this percentage has decreased in the last 20 years given that most
recent Arab/MENA immigrants have tended to be Muslims (Amer & Kayyali, 2016). Meanwhile, the Muslim population is the fastest growing religious
group in the United States (Lipka, 2017).
Religiosity, or the degree to which people are tied to their faith (Read,
2003), plays a central role in the lives of the majority of Arab/MENA individuals (Erickson & Al-Timimi, 2001). In deliberating Arab/MENA religiosity, Erickson and Al-Timimi (2001) highlighted how common it is for Arab/
MENA Americans to be culturally religious, which they defined as the
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intertwining of religion within various aspects of their social life. Read (2003)
further elaborated on the prevalence of religiosity in Arab culture and scrutinized the impact of religion and ethnicity on gender role attitudes among
Christian and Muslim Arab American women. The study found that it was
not the religion itself (i.e., Christianity or Islam) but rather the level of religiosity that influences Arab women’s traditional
