Psychology Commons^™

Interventions With Continuous Traumatic Stress Of Discrimination In Youth, Ibrahim Aref Kira

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Continuous and Present Traumatic Stress (CTS) is different from traumas that happened in the past. Traumas enacted by institutions and systems (for example, Japanese internment after Pearl harbor and recent backlash against Arabs and Muslims after September 11) are different from traumas enacted by individuals or Nature. Continuous traumatic stress can emanate from either source: Individuals (interpersonal), nature, institutions (intergroup), or / and systems (intersystem) (Kira, et al., 2013).Trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy and most other evidence-based interventions focused on past traumas, perpetrated by individual or nature need to be modified for different continuous and present traumas and their cumulative dynamics …

Children Of Iraqi Refugees: Risk Profile For Substance Abuse, Cynthia Arfken, Evone Barkho, Maisa Ziadni, Mark A. Lumley, Luay Haddad, Bengt B. Arnetz, Hikmet Jamil

International Symposium on Arab Youth

What is the risk profile of children of Iraqi refugees? Among adult refugees, higher prevalence of mental disorders has been associated with shorter time since resettlement and exposure to more potential traumatic events (PTE). We hypothesized that similar associations would hold in the children of Iraqi refugees.

Mental Illness And Chronic Disease In A Random Sample Of Newly-Arrived Refugees And Immigrants To The U.S., Hikmet Jamil, Bengt B. Arnetz, Ghosh Samiran, Judith E. Arnetz

International Symposium on Arab Youth

The goal of this research is to examine the prevalence of chronic diseases [Hypertension, Heart diseases, Asthma and Diabetes] among newly arrived refugees and immigrants to U.S., to predict the risk factors for each of the four chronic diseases studied, and to discuss whether self-reported mental illnesses [Depression and PTSD] have an impact on the occurrence of chronic diseases.

Theory And Method In Cross-Cultural And Intercultural Psychology, John Berry

International Symposium on Arab Youth

The field of cross-cultural psychology examines the relationships between the cultural contexts in which individuals develop and now live, and the psychological characteristics they display. The field of intercultural psychology examines how individuals with different cultural backgrounds and psychological characteristic engage each other and adapt to each other when living in culturally-diverse societies. In both fields, the theoretical position of universalism is helpful. This approach considers that all human beings share the same fundamental psychological processes (such as perceiving, thinking). Cultural experiences shape these processes during the course of development into variable competencies (such as abilities, attitudes, and values). Cultural …

Resiliency In Lebanese Adolescents, Huda A. Abdo Dr

International Symposium on Arab Youth

This study investigated resiliency using the Resiliency Scale of Children and Adolescents (RSCA; Prince-Embury, 2007) grounded in three factors (i.e., Sense of mastery, Sense of relatedness, and Emotional reactivity) in a sample of 599 Lebanese adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between resiliency factors, the Big Five personality traits and Hope. We also explored gender differences in the key study variables. As a secondary aim, we compared differences in resiliency scores of the present Lebanese sample and a comparative US sample of adolescents (taken from Prince-Embury & Steer, 2010). Emotional stability correlated negatively …

Child-Rearing Practices, Cultural Believes And Shaping Identities, Leyla Akoury-Dirani Phd

International Symposium on Arab Youth

No abstract provided.

Parent Practices And Identity Outcomes In Arab Youth, Nancy H. Wrobel

International Symposium on Arab Youth

TITLE: Parent Practices and Identity Outcomes in Arab Youth

By: Nancy H. Wrobel, Univeristy of Michigan - Dearborn

Description:

The presentation addresses some cultural distinctions in parenting practices and outcomes in families in Arab countries as well as immigrant families. Parenting styles as well as parent control, consisstency and acculturation are considered.

Keywords: Arab. Arab-American, youth, child, adolescent, parenting styles, identity, acculturation

Development, Knowledge And Perception Of Sexuality Among Arab Youth, Brigitte Khoury

International Symposium on Arab Youth

This presentation explores Arab youth sexuality and the challenges of studying youth sexuality in the Arab world. 330 young adults (70% ages 18-25) completed an online survey that assessed their knowledge, experience, perceptions, and values related to reproductive health and sexual education, masturbation, virginity, sexual experiences and relationships, marriage, and sex and the internet. Participants primarily resided in Lebanon (79%), but respondents also included individuals from Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Morocco. The results indicate that Arab youth are getting more liberal with their ideas and some practices with the …

The Living In History Effect And The Intergenerational Transmission Of Memories, Samar A. Zebian Dr.

International Symposium on Arab Youth

The paper for the symposium on Arab Youth Identity has two parts, the first discusses research on the Living in History effect and why some national samples have shown a heightened level of historical consciousness. The second part proposes a project to examine how living in history affects the intergenerational transmission of personal and historical memories among youth living in Lebanon.

The line of research I wish to discuss in this symposium examines why some individuals and some groups in some nations have a heightened historical consciousness. Research by cognitive scientists studying memory has shown that individuals living through collectively …

Youth Coping With Oppression In Arab Spring And Its Psychological And Socio-Political Dynamics: The Example Of Palestinian Youth, Ibrahim Aref Kira, Abdul-Wahab Nasser Alawneh, Sharifa Aboumediene, Linda Lewandowski

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Arab Spring exemplified how distress due to cumulative dynamics of oppression, poverty and chronic stress can result in mental health events that prime shared distress and trigger socio-political uprisings. Further, Islamist parties won the elections that followed the uprisings. Additionally resiliency of youth and will to survive is the source of their positive coping with oppression. Unfortunately, most of our understanding of and interventions with trauma are focused on past traumas perpetrated by individuals, current and ongoing traumas perpetrated by social groups, such as oppression and discriminations are mostly ignored. Why Arab Spring? And why religious groups became the dominant …

Using Convoys Of Social Relations To Understand Culture And Forgiveness From An Arab American Youth Perspective, Kristine Ajrouch

International Symposium on Arab Youth

The study of forgiveness among Arab Americans is both unique and illustrative. First, the nature of social relations within Arab American culture, particularly the high value placed on family relations, draws attention to the ways that close and important relationships inform attitudes and behaviors around the act of forgiveness. Second, the growing sentiment of “otherness” that is both projected on to Arab Americans by mainstream U.S. society, as well as internalized by recent cohorts of Arab American youth hold potential insights into relations between Arab Americans and other racial/ethnic groups. In this presentation, I focus on forgiveness as a potential …

Arab Canadian High School Students’ Perceptions Of Their Schooling Experiences: A Narrative Analysis, Nesreen Elkord

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Due to the rise in the number of Arab students in Canadian schools, I am interested in Arab immigrant youths’ everyday lived experiences at school.

Because I believe in Dewey’s (1938) argument, that knowledge is constructed through experience and experience is an essential element in education, I am conducting an exploratory study to learn more about the perceptions of new comer Arab Canadian high school students of their schooling experiences in Canadian schools.

The purpose of this study is to bring an understanding of their lived experiences in an effort to potentially enhance the school-home connections and bridge a cultural …

Acculturation Strategies And Arab Youth Cultural Identity Development: A Review, Riham N. Al-Saadi

International Symposium on Arab Youth

As youth immigrate to a new country, they tend to acculturate in various ways. By definition, acculturation is “the processes through which immigrants gradually adapt their language, behavior and/or values as a result of their contact with the mainstream culture” (Wang et al., 2012). Immigrant youth adopt one of four acculturation strategies, namely assimilation, separation, integration and marginalization (Berry & Sabatier, 2010; Coatsworth & Maldonado-Molina, 2005; Wang et al., 2012). Research has shown that adopting an integrated profile with a balance between both heritage and mainstream cultures translates into greater psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. Synthesized information from research on immigrant …

Help Seeking Behaviours And Depressive Symptoms In Arab Canadian And European Canadian Adolescents, Emily M. Johnson, Emily Kear, Julie Norman, Erin Romanchych, Rosanne Menna

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to examine the relations between help-seeking behaviours and mood problems among Arab Canadian and European Canadian adolescents. Method. Participants were 12 Arab Canadian adolescents (six males and six females; M = 15.75, SD = 1.42) and 12 European Canadian adolescents, matched for age and gender (six males and six females; M = 15.75, SD = 1.42) from three demographically diverse high schools in a midsized city in Ontario, Canada. Participants completed questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms, stressful life problems, sources of help, and barriers to seeking help for a stressful problem. Results. Youth …

Ethnic Identity Among Arab Americans: An Examination Of Contextual Influences And Psychological Well-Being, Rand R. Fakih, Barry Markman Ph.D., Stephen B. Hillman Ph.D., Francesca Pernice-Duca Ph.D., Marjorie Beeghly Ph.D.

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Existing theories and research have indicated that ethnic identity is crucial for ethnic minority young adults because ethnicity is an important component of their personal identity that is likely to influence various aspects of their development. Given the centrality of this construct, the overarching aim of the present study was to examine ethnic identity and psychological well-being among members of an ethnic group that have long been ignored in the psychological literature: Arab Americans. Specifically, the goals of the study were threefold. The first goal was to examine the association between multiple contextual factors (such as students’ perceptions of their …

Multicultural Youth In Canada: Comparing Friendships And Perceived Social Support, Samantha Daniel, Julie Hakim-Larson

International Symposium on Arab Youth

There is paucity of research examining the differences between friendships among multicultural youth. Specifically, youth of Arab, East Asian, South Asian, and European descent were examined in this study because these groups are among the largest ethnic groups in Canada and are diverse for the purpose of comparison. Previous researchers have assessed differences between immigrant generations when comparing same- and cross-ethnicity friendships (e.g., Harker, 2001), whereas the effect of cultural group has been neglected. Thus, examination of same- and cross-ethnicity friendships was largely exploratory. Researchers in the past have theorized that individuals of Arab descent may be more likely to …

Importance Of Ethnicity: Differences In Reported Discrimination Towards Muslim Students, Sameera Ahmed, Wahiba Abu-Ras, Cynthia Arfken

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Numerous studies have reported on the negative impact of perceived discrimination on health of Arabs and Muslims (Ahmed, Kia-Keating, Tsai, 2011; Rippy & Neuman, 2006). However, it is unknown if discrimination is experienced at similar rates among co-religionists. To date, there have been no studies exploring perceived discriminatory experiences of Muslims by ethnicity. This study assumes that Arab Muslim student will report similar recent discriminatory experiences compared to other non-Arab Muslim students.

Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit self-identified 156 Muslim under-graduates to complete a web-based survey (2010-11) at one large U.S. urban commuter university. Arab Muslim student (N=55) were …

Influence Of Media Stereotypes On Muslim-Americans’ Perceptions Of Identity, Muniba Saleem

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Most Americans depend on media for information regarding Muslims (Nisbet, Ostman, & Shanahan, 2009). The portrayal of Muslims within media is largely negative (Shaheen, 2001). Given the importance of media as a socializing agent, it is important to understand how media might influence the perceptions of Muslims and non-Muslims on several important dimensions. Media portrayals of Muslims as the “enemy” are likely to reduce the acceptance and inclusion of Muslim-Americans within the American national identity by Non-Muslims. This presentation is also likely to influence Muslim Americans’ perceptions of the compatibility or conflict between their two identities. Using the Social Identity …

Acculturation, Identity And Wellbeing Among Ethnocultural Youth, John Berry

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Acculturation is the process of cultural and psychological change that results from the prolonged contact between groups and individuals of different cultures. Much acculturation takes place in culturally-diverse societies that have emerged following colonization and immigration. There are three important acculturation issues that need consideration: how do individuals of different cultures engage each other; how well do they adapt to their intercultural situation; and are there relationships between how individuals acculturate and how well they adapt. Core concepts in dealing with these questions are acculturation strategies and cultural identities (how) and psychological and social wellbeing (how well). The search for …

Arab Youth Symposium 2013: Conference Program, Julie Hakim-Larson, Rosanne Menna

International Symposium on Arab Youth

Please have a look at the short program with a detailed list of the day, time and name of the presentations.