Mental health research among individuals belonging to minority groups has become increasingly common, as it is recognized that such individuals face heightened vulnerability for the development of mental health problems and barriers to accessing mental health services given their minority status (Meyer, 2003; Williams & Chapman, 2011). However, the extant literature has primarily focused on individuals holding single minority status (i.e., belonging to one minority group), namely based on a minority ethnic identity or minority sexual identity. Limited research has begun to examine mental health among individuals with dual minority status (i.e., belonging to two minority groups), despite the fact that individuals with multiple marginalized identities are likely at even greater risk for psychopathology and barriers to help-seeking, given the increased experiences of minority stress they may experience. Thus, greater research is needed to better understand mental health needs and factors that influence mental health for individuals with multiple minority status.
The goal of this dissertation is to investigate mental health needs, determinants of mental health (i.e., perceived discrimination, religious and ethnic group identification, and sense of belonging), and perceived barriers to service-seeking for young adults, in the context of individuals who hold multiple minority identities. To achieve this goal, this dissertation examined Muslim American young adults (ages 18 to 25), who belong to both minority ethnic and minority religious groups. The first study employed a qualitative research design, using focus group methodology, to understand how various community stakeholders (i.e., Muslim mental health professionals, community leaders, and young adults) perceive determinants of mental health, specific mental health needs, and barriers to service-seeking, for Muslim American young adults. The second study utilized a cross-sectional survey of 277 participants across the United States to examine perceived discrimination as a predictor of mental health status among Arab and South Asian Muslim American young adults, with investigation of religious and ethnic identification patterns as a moderator of the discrimination—mental health pathway. Lastly, the third study employed the same cross-sectional survey design as Study 2, to investigate familial, communal, and societal sense of belonging as predictors of Arab and South Asian Muslim American young adults’ mental health status. Through better understanding of the mental health needs and barriers to care for this population, we can identify specific targets to further study in order to improve mental health service delivery and prevention efforts for Muslim American young adults.
