ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which depression severity, gender, acculturation, and enculturation are associated with help-seeking attitudes among Arab/Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Americans. A hierarchical linear regression was conducted with a sample of 296 Arab/MENA participants (154 women and 142 men). After controlling for pertinent demographic variables, depression severity was negatively associated with help-seeking. Further, there was a significant three-way interaction between depression severity, gender, and enculturation on help-seeking attitudes. For women with higher levels of depression symptoms, higher levels of enculturation were associated with less positive help-seeking attitudes; conversely, higher levels of enculturation for men were associated with more positive help-seeking attitudes. These results have significant implications for clinicians working with Arab/MENA American populations. Practitioners should be aware of acculturation and enculturation processes as well as the ways in which depression symptom severity may influence engagement in treatment differentially for Arab/MENA women and men. Future research is needed to examine the mechanisms underlying these relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Arab/Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Americans experience high levels of discrimination, which is associated with greater engagement in coping strategies to alleviate the stress. The Coping with Discrimination Scale (CDS; Wei, Alvarez, et al., 2010) remains one of the only measures that assesses responses to discrimination. Given the difficulties of conducting research with Arab/MENA groups, few measures have been validated for use with this population. Thus, the purpose of this study is to validate the CDS among Arab/MENA Americans. METHOD: The sample consisted of 297 Arab/MENA Americans (n = 139, Christian; n = 158, Muslim). Overall, 143 individuals identified as men and 154 identified as women. The sample's average age was 31.2 years old (SD = 9.5). Confirmatory factor analysis was utilized to assess the preassigned factor structure. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the CDS five-factor structure among Arab/MENA participants. All models resulted in poor fit. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then conducted to identify factors relevant to Christian and Muslim MENA Americans. EFA results were largely similar for both groups and two factors emerged: adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Preliminary reliability and incremental validity was explored. Specifically, adaptive (ß = -0.11, p = .009) and maladaptive coping (ß = 0.52, p < .001) predicted anxiety after accounting for participants' experiences of discrimination. CONCLUSION: This study has implications for utilization of the CDS, with the EFA suggesting a more fitting two-factor structure (maladaptive and adaptive coping) and sensitive interpretation of the scale with Arab/MENA populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
ABSTRACT
Help-seeking attitudes among Arab/Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Americans remain an understudied outcome, despite significant levels of reported mental health concerns. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine whether Arab/MENA Christians and Muslims' help-seeking attitudes were significantly associated with acculturation, enculturation, and religious orientation. Results indicated that acculturation levels were positively associated with help-seeking attitudes, wherein individuals with higher levels of dominant society immersion were more likely to report more positive attitudes toward help seeking. Extrinsic social religious orientation (ESRO) interacted with religious affiliation (i.e., Christian or Muslim) wherein higher levels of ESRO were associated with lower help-seeking attitudes for Muslims but not Christians. Moreover, enculturation and religious affiliation interacted so that higher levels of enculturation were associated with less positive help-seeking attitudes for Christians and more positive help-seeking attitudes for Muslims. Finally, intrinsic religious orientation interacted with religious affiliation so that increasing levels of intrinsic religious orientation predicted lower levels of help-seeking attitudes for Muslims and higher levels for Christians. These findings have implications for working with Arab/MENA groups and implementing interventions to improve access and attitudes toward mental health services, which are often stigmatized (i.e., socially devalued) in this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Research in health disparities and how they affect underserved populations continues to grow and expand. However, the experiences of Arab/Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans often go unnoticed, and yet, preliminary data suggests there are significant disparities between this population and other groups. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine and synthesize the extent of available literature on health disparities and outcomes for this group. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted to investigate the current state of research on health disparities and outcomes among Arab/MENA individuals within the USA. The PRISMA protocol for scoping reviews was utilized. RESULTS: Through the use of PubMed and PsychInfo databases, the search identified 43 articles that were eligible for inclusion in the final review. Five themes emerged: prevalence and health outcomes, factors impacting health, comparison studies, barriers, and health literacy and beliefs. Extant data was equivocal, suggesting the need for further research. CONCLUSIONS: Research on Arab/MENA health disparities and outcomes is in the detection phase, indicating that more research is needed to elucidate the state of Arab/MENA health in the USA. These findings can help healthcare professionals and researchers understand the emerging literature on health disparities within the Arab/MENA community and inform further research and clinical practice within this population.
ABSTRACT
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play a significant role in higher education and in the education of undergraduate students. Previous research suggests that undergraduate students perceive GTAs differently than faculty instructors, but little has been done to explore the nature of those perceptions. This exploratory study uses self-determination theory to investigate how university students describe the effective teaching practices of GTAs and how those descriptions vary depending on GTA gender, GTA international status, and course domain. Findings suggest that the majority of undergraduates described GTAs' competence-supporting practices and that descriptions varied based on GTAs' international status and on course domain. Implications for GTA training are discussed.