Dynamics to Buffer Discrimination and Its Psychological Effects among Arab Americans: Religiousness, Family Affinity, and Ethnic Affiliation

Abstract

The research purports to analyze discrimination, its effects, and the way it impacted the Arab Americans. Through a brief historical survey of the Arabs' immigration to America, the research seeks to emphasize that ethnic and religious discrimination against Arab Americans is as old as the early arrival of the first Arab wave. Unquestionably, the ethnic and religious discrimination against Arab Americans results in stress, malaise, and other psychological discomforts. This research spots the light on certain elements that had been deeply examined and, consequently, considered by ethnic studies researches as negative aspects that aggravate the existing stereotypes of the Arab Americans' status. Contrary to that, this research investigates the ways in which family affinity, religiousness, and racial affiliation can be turned reversibly into positive factors that help Arab Americans to mitigate discrimination and, consequently, its serious psychological effects.