Does Discrimination Predict Depression Among Muslims? a National Study of the Effects of Four Different Types of Discriminatory Practices

Particularly since 9/11, Muslims may experience discrimination in the United States. Discrimination is often experienced as a stressful event that negatively impacts perceptions. Unsurprisingly, a relationship between discrimination and depression has been documented among many minority populations. Yet, despite the growth of the Islamic community in the US, no studies have examined this relationship among Muslims. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between various types of discrimination Muslims commonly encounter in the US and depression. Consistent with research on other minority groups, we expect that Muslims who report experiencing discrimination in the past year will have a higher probability of reporting clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms.

Method

To obtain a national sample of self-identified Muslims, a purposive, snowball sampling strategy was used to identify Islamic organizations in the US (N=22). The study design was cross-sectional. After pilot testing, surveys were administered online to members of organizations who agreed to participate in the study. A post hoc power analysis indicated that the resulting study sample size (N=269) had sufficient power (.86) to identify significant relationships (≤ .05) given an odds ratio or effect size of 1.6.

 Discrimination was assessed with four items developed by the Pew Research Center (2011) to measure different types of discriminatory behaviors that Muslims frequently experience in the US. Depression was measured with a short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). A Cronbach's alpha of .81 was obtained in the original validation study and a value of .87 was obtained in the present study. To test the study hypothesis, four separate logistic regression models were constructed, reflecting the four different types of discriminatory behaviors that Muslims can experience in the US.

Results

Varying degrees of discrimination were reported across the four types of discriminatory practices. A majority (62.8%, n=169) reported that people had acted suspiciously toward them in the past year, while 37.2 percent (n=100) had been called offensive names. Most also reported being singled out by airport security (55.8%, n=150), while 17.1 percent (n=46) had been singled out by law enforcement.

After controlling for demographics, two of the four types of discrimination were significantly related to depression, indicating partial support for the study hypothesis. Muslims who reported being called offensive names in the past 12 months (OR=3.39, 95% CI=1.82–6.32) and being singled out by law enforcement officials (OR=2.56, 95% CI=1.26–5.30) had a higher probability of having clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions & Implications

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health challenges in the nation. Yet, despite the growth in the Muslim population, little research has been conducted on depression with members of this group. The results suggest that certain types of discrimination may be contributing factor to depression among Muslims. In terms of implications, the results implicitly highlight the importance of efforts designed to mitigate: 1) name calling, verbal abuse and bullying directed towards Muslims and 2) profiling of Muslims by law enforcement officials.