Session: Social Work with An Emerging Population – Muslim American Youth (Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference: Emerging Horizons for Social Work Research)

Background & Purpose: Muslims in the United States are a highly diverse, multi-ethnic group (Bukhari, Nyang, Ahmad, & Esposito, 2004; Gallup, 2009; Pew, 2007). Among some Muslims, their ethnic identity is subsumed under their religious identity (Amer & Hovey, 2007; Bradby, 2007; Bradby & Williams, 2006; Peek, 2005). For these individuals, Islam serves as a source of guidance for all spheres of their lives (Peek, 2005; Pew, 2007). Muslim youth and young adults are an increasingly visible segment of the American community, yet insufficient literature exists to help social workers understand the strengths of and challenges facing Muslim American youth. This symposium consists of three presentations, two presenting quantitative data and one presenting qualitative data collected within the United States. The presentations will provide insight into the experiences of adolescents who are 1.5 (children who immigrated with their parents), or second generation immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. These adolescents are among the cohort of immigrants and refugees of color who arrived in the United States in the last 35 years (Al-Issa, 1997). Further, scholars suggest that immigrant youth face numerous psychosocial and acculturative challenges in their familial, educational, and community settings (Berry, Phinney, Vedder, & Sam 2006; Rumbaut & Portes, 2001; Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001). These socio-cultural factors, including the negative attitude of some Americans towards Muslims – which only increased in intensity after September 11, 2001 (Byng, 2008; Pew, 2007) – increases the vulnerability of this group of young Muslims. Therefore, the symposium presents findings related to emotional well-being, academic achievement, and risk behaviors. Implications: The presentations in this symposium describe factors related to psychosocial well-being among subgroups of Muslim American youth, and discuss both their strengths, and some of the challenges they face. The symposium provides the basis for discerning the similarities and differences between the histories, cultures, and experiences of several subgroups of Muslim American youth. The findings: (1) add to the knowledge base about this diverse and growing segment of the American society; (2) provide a framework for future research, and; (3) allow for practitioners to improve their cultural competence with this group.