Examining the Relationship between Discrimination, Resilience, and Psychological Well-Being of Sub-Saharan African Hijabi Women in the United States

Objective: This study examined the psychological well-being of Sub-Saharan African hijabi women in the United States, focusing on perceived discrimination, resilience, and psychological Well-being. The population studied faced distinctive challenges in the context of intersectionality amidst rising anti-Muslim sentiments. Methods: The study is quantitative research, with cross-sectional design. The number of participants is N=155. Data were collected through Google Forms from women 18 years old and above, using the Anti-Muslim Discrimination scale, Transcultural Resilience Scale and the Psychological (Distress and psychological) Scale. Employing convenience and network sampling approaches, diverse experiences were captured within this demographic. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 21 and SPSS-Amos for structural equation modeling. Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between variables.

RQ1: To what extent do perceived discrimination, transcultural resilience, and psychological distress correlate with each other among Sub-Saharan hijabi women living in the United States?

H1_a: Perceived discrimination (both societal and interpersonal) will have a significant

negative correlation with transcultural resilience.

H1_b: Perceived discrimination (both societal and interpersonal) will have a significant

negative correlation with life satisfaction.

H1_c: Higher transcultural resilience will significantly correlate positively with life

satisfaction.

RQ3: To what extent does perceived discrimination (both societal and interpersonal)

predict transcultural resilience and psychological well-being (life satisfaction and

distress) among Sub-Saharan hijabi women living in the United States?

H3_a: Perceived discrimination (both societal and interpersonal) will significantly predict

transcultural resilience.

H3_b: Perceived discrimination (both societal and interpersonal) will significantly predict

decreases in life satisfaction.

H3_c: Perceived discrimination (societal and interpersonal) will significantly predict

increases in distress.

RQ4: To what extent does transcultural resilience predict psychological well-being (life

satisfaction and distress) among Sub-Saharan hijabi women in the United States?

H4_a: Transcultural resilience will significantly predict increases in life satisfaction.

H4_b: Transcultural resilience will significantly predict decreases in psychological

distress.

RQ5: To what extent does transcultural resilience mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination (both societal and interpersonal) and psychological well-being (life satisfaction and distress) in Sub-Saharan hijabi women (18 and older) living in the United States?

H5_a: Transcultural resilience will significantly mediate the relationship between perceived societal discrimination and life satisfaction.

H5_b: Transcultural resilience will significantly mediate the relationship between perceived interpersonal discrimination and psychological distress.

Results: This study demonstrated that perceived discrimination (Interpersonal and Societal) negatively impacted psychological well-being (Life satisfaction and Distress). The study found a substantial link between societal and interpersonal discrimination (r =.53, p= .01). Transcultural resilience mediated societal discrimination and life-satisfaction. Resilience across cultures was shown to be positively correlated with life satisfaction (B = 0.33, p <.001) but insignificant in predicting distress. As not all hypotheses were proven, the conclusion is that this study was partially supported. Implication: This study filled a critical research gap and provided important insights to assist not only in combating discriminatory policies but supported culturally responsive interventions; the results promoted equitable and fair practices that will uphold human dignities, leading to improved well-being of Sub-Saharan African hijabi women in the United States.