Discrimination and Subjective Well-Being Among Muslims in the United States

Background and Purpose: Subjective well-being or wellness is a central overarching goal of the Grand Challenges Imitative. As noted in the second challenge, discrimination can have a detrimental effect upon heath status. Despite the discrimination Muslims frequently encounter in the US, little research has examined wellness among Muslims, a critical oversight given the growing size of the Muslim population in the US.

This study sought to address this gap by examining the relationship between discrimination and wellness with a sample of American Muslims. Drawing from stress/coping theory, a theoretically based model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Based upon prior related research, it was hypothesized that higher levels of discrimination would predicts lower levels of wellness, and that depression and spirituality would mediate the relationship between discrimination and wellness.

Methods: To obtain a national sample of Muslims for this cross-sectional study, a purposive, snowball sampling strategy was used to identify Islamic organizations in the US (N=22). After pilot testing, surveys were administered online to members of organizations who agreed to participate in the study. The mean age of the resulting sample (N=265) was approximately 38 years (SD=11.77), and a majority were: female (69%), held 4-year college degrees (78%), married (57%), born outside the US (51%), and a plurality self-identified as Middle Eastern (37%).

In addition to demographic items, the self-report survey included measures of perceived wellness [drawn from the OECD’s (2013) Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being]; discrimination [Pew Research Center (2011)]; depression [short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)]; and spirituality [Jana-Masri & Priester, 2007]. SEM was conducted with AMOS using Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation. To obtain trustworthy estimates using ML estimation, at least five cases per model parameter are required. The model contained 25 distinct parameters requiring estimation, necessitating a sample size of at least 125. Thus, the sample size of 265 was judged adequate for data analysis.

Results: After validating the measurement model, the fit of the structural model was assessed with four widely recommended fit indices: normed chi-square, CFI, RMSEA, and SRMR. The values for the fit indices indicated an adequate fit between the data and the proposed model [χ²=143.18 (df=54, p<.001), normed χ²=2.65, CFI=.94, RMSEA=.08 (90% CI, .06 - .09), and SRMR=.05].

Partial support was found for the study hypotheses. Discrimination did not have a direct effect on wellness. Rather, discrimination effected wellness indirectly through increased levels of depression. Spirituality did not mediate the relationship between discrimination and wellness. Rather, spirituality exhibited an independent effect on both depression and wellness, apart from the effects of discrimination. Spirituality also impacted wellness indirectly through lower levels of depression.

Implications: The results have important implications, especially in the current political climate. Given the effects of discrimination on wellness (which operated indirectly through increased depression), policies might be considered that alleviate societal discrimination targeting Muslims. In direct practice settings, the protective effects of spirituality suggest the advisability of including spirituality in therapy by, for example, adapting CBT to incorporate Muslims’ spiritual beliefs.