Biopsychosocial Perspectives on Arab Americans, 2nd Edition: Culture, Development, and Health

ISBN-13: 9783031283598 / Angielski

Sylvia C. Nassar; Kristine J. Ajrouch; Florence J. Dallo

Opis

The biopsychosocial study of Arab Americans continues to uncover compelling insights into theoretical and applied initiatives. This book, like the first edition, is uniquely divided into three distinct yet interwoven sections – culture, psychosocial development, and health and disease. Though the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) legally classifies Arab Americans as White, there is growing evidence to suggest that Arab American experiences do not mirror overall White experiences, and, as such, are increasingly recognized as a distinct and important group. In keeping with this recognition, in 2023 the OMB proposed the inclusion of a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) racial/ethnic category on the decennial US Census. It is a label that is broader than Arab American (those with ancestry from one of the 22 Arab League states) as it includes the non-Arab countries of Turkey, Israel and Iran. Yet, the MENA category holds enormous promise for accurately identifying Arab Americans at the population level. Notably, the population of Arab Americans is growing in number. Coupled with the current tenure of xenophobia and exposed structural racism in the US, clinical and community practitioners must be attuned to their clients of Arab ancestry, as well as the nuances of their developmental and health concerns. This second edition provides a rich overview of critical topics in an updated and contemporary relevant context. The audience for the text includes counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, psychiatrists, sociologists, and any other public and mental health practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who work with and on behalf of clients and patients of Arab descent. The editors represent a team of leading experts spanning disciplines of sociology, clinical mental health, and community public health.  "This edition draws on leading experts in Arab American health and sociology who document the complexity of this population's immigration and acculturation experience. It offers critical and current research that speaks to the centrality of context and diversity in treating Americans of Arab descent. Contributors explore the complex and limited racial framework within which Arabs in the U.S. form their identities, and the impact of structural racism on their lives and health. This collection offers practitioners much needed insights on a population often hidden or rendered invisible by data limitations, and yet misrepresented by cultural stereotypes." Helen Hatab Samhan, Former Executive Director, Arab American Institute/Foundation. "Nassar, Ajrouch, Hakim-Larson, and Dallo’s breakthrough work in the area of culturally competent health care has been inspiring across interdisciplinary fields and to the communities they serve. Their work on Arab American health issues, in particular, has greatly improved clinical practice at the community and national levels. I heartily recommend taking the time to become familiar with their important body of work and this latest text."Ismael Ahmed, Former Michigan State Director of Health and Human Services.

Spis treści

Chapter 1: Contexts of Immigration and Diversity: Biopsychosocial implications for Arab Americans  (Ajrouch, Samhan, Nassar) 

 

 This chapter will address the importance of immigration contexts (highlighting the newest waves of  "immigration" e.g., refugees), for the diversity of Arab American experiences.  In particular, the chapter  will present events/changes in ME and the US over last 10 years, the  impact/implications for health in ME  and the US, and the connections between them.  The diversity of Arab American experiences that arise  because of these contexts will then be presented —possibly replacing Samhan’s chapter below or perhaps  in addition  

 

 

 

Section I: Arab American Culture: Introduction (Ajrouch) 

 

 Chapter 2: Identity and Discrimination (Erik Love) 

 

 This chapter will consider the interplay between identity and the experiences of discrimination among  Arab Americans.  

 

 

 Chapter 3: Intergenerational Relations (Rebecca Karam) 

 

 This chapter will replace the family value chapter to focus on the latest issues around intergenerational  family relations. 

 

 Chapter 4: Gender and Racialized Experience at Work (Salam Abolhassan) 

 

 This chapter will replace the gender chapter and focus on both women’s and men’s experiences in the  world of work. 

 

 Chapter 5: Cultural Sources and Expressions of Stigma around Health (Tahira Abdullah) 

 

 This chapter will replace the forgiveness chapter to focus on the cultural foundations of stigma associated  with various health issues (e.g., Cancer, Mental Health, Dementia).  

 

 

 Chapter 6: Adapting an Alzheimer’s Disease Care Intervention to Arab American Families (Ajrouch,  Janevic, Antonucci) 

 

 This chapter will replace the aging chapter to document the ways in which cultural ideals and pragmatic  experiences informed the adaptation of an existing Alzheimer’s Disease Care Intervention to the context  of Arab American families. 

 

 

Part II: Psychology and Arab Americans: An Introduction (Hakim-Larson) 

 

 

 Chapter 7: Developmental Psychology and Arab Americans: (Julie Hakim-Larson and Jenna Thompson)-  Hakim-Larson and Thompson will provide an overview of taking a life-span developmental  psychopathology approach to Arab Americans with a focus on the role of vulnerabilities, risk and  protective factors, and the study of resilience. 

 

 Chapter 8: Acculturation (Amer).  Mona Amer will review the current state of the literature on  acculturation in Arab Americans.    Chapter 9: Refugees (Kira, Amer, Wrobel). Ibrahim Kira, Mona Amer, and Nancy Wrobel will address the  worldwide refugee crisis as it applies to the health and well-being of refugees 

 

 Chapter 10: Mental Health Risks (Wrobel and co-authors tbd).  Taking a developmental psychology  approach, Nancy Wrobel and co-authors will review the literature on specific risk factors related to  pathology in Arab Americans. 

 

 Chapter 11: Mental Health Interventions and Resilience in Arab Americans—Julie Hakim-Larson, Abirami  Kandasamy, and Clare Hinch.  Hakim-Larson, Kandasamy, and Hinch will discuss specific mental health  interventions and prevention strategies with Arab Americans as well as their resilience in overcoming  adversities. 

 

 

Part III Public Health: Primary and Secondary Data Sources: An Introduction (Dallo)    Chapter 12: Primary and secondary data sources (Flora Dallo):  This chapter will provide brief description, including strengths and weaknesses of community studies using primary data; US Census; national, state, and hospital secondary data sets; and   suggestions to improve these data sets as applied to Arab Americans.       Chapter 13: Mortality (Abdulrahman El-Sayed):  This chapter looks at Arab American mortality rates in comparison to other groups; strengths and limitations of these studies; and guidance for future research.    Chapter 14: Chronic health conditions and their risk factors (including environment) (Nadia Abuelezam) This chapter will summarize top five chronic conditions among Arab Americans and review prevalence, common risk factors, prevention and interventions as well as identify strengths and challenges of relevant research.       Chapter 15: Health Behaviors (Arfken, Aroian and Pinelli)   This chapter will summarize top ten health behaviors among Arab Americans and review prevalence, common risk factors, prevention and interventions, and implications for future research.   

 Chapter 16: Stress and health (Germine Awad or Sawsan Abdulrahim)  This chapter will summarize studies focused on stress among Arab Americans and identify common stressors, their assessment, and implications for practice and research.     Chapter 17: Future strategies to improve health (Dallo)    This chapter will summarize the section and provide overview of strategies to improve health.    Chapter 18: Xenophobia in the US and Globally: Biopsychosocial Research and Policy Implications  (Dallo, Ajrouch, Nassar) 

 

 This chapter is a stand-alone, concluding chapter that will draw connections across the text. 

 

O autorze

Sylvia C. Nassar, PhD is Professor of Counselor Education at North Carolina State University. Her predominant areas of focus over the past decades have included ethnic, gender, and career development, and the intersection thereof. A consistent thread has been her commitment to communities of Arab descent, ensuring that their voices are heard within dominant discourses of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Dr. Nassar was one of the co-authors of the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies, and many of her current initiatives apply the MSJCC across a variety of contexts, through which she increasingly connects her ethical practice, research, and policy efforts.

 

Kristine J. Ajrouch, PhD is Professor of Sociology at Eastern Michigan University and Adjunct Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Her research has focused, for over twenty years, on Arab Americans beginning with ethnic identity formation among adolescent children of immigrants followed by a focus on aging and health.  Dr. Ajrouch’s current work addresses social aspects of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) where she is leading efforts to establish prevalence levels of AD among Arab Americans as well as adapt an AD caregiver intervention program to meet the needs of Arab American families.   

 

Florence J. Dallo, PhD, MPH is professor and associate dean of the School of Health Sciences at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Since 1996, she has used national, regional, state, hospital and community data to better understand and improve the health of the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) in Michigan and beyond. Given that MENA individuals do not have their own racial or ethnic “check-box”, Professor Dallo has matched a MENA surname list with data bases to obtain more valid and reliable estimates of health conditions and behaviors than would be available otherwise.

 

Julie Hakim-Larson, Ph.D. obtained her doctorate in life-span developmental psychology from Wayne State University in 1984 and postdoctoral training in Clinical Child Psychology. She has been on the faculty of the University of Windsor since 1991 and is a Professor of Clinical Psychology (Child Track). Her interests include emotional development, developmental psychopathology, the history of psychology, and mental health and culture.  Dr. Hakim-Larson’s research interest has focused on the mental health and overall well-being of individuals and families of Arab and Middle Eastern origin. In 2013, Dr. Hakim-Larson organized an international study group on Arab youth identity funded by the Society for Research in Child Development and collaborated in organizing an international symposium on Arab youth identity funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.  Dr. Hakim-Larson’s publications and current research interests include culture and emotional development within a global perspective, emotion in families, Arab ethnic identity in North America, and the promotion of mental health in Arab immigrants and refugees.

Blurb

The biopsychosocial study of Arab Americans yields compelling insights into innovative theoretical and applied initiatives. In the context of a growing population of Arab Americans, coupled with the current tenure of xenophobia and exposed structural racism in the US, clinical and community practitioners must be attuned to their clients of Arab ancestry, whose experiences, development, and health concerns are distinctly different than that of their White counterparts. This second edition, with its uniquely interwoven sections of culture, psychosocial development, and health and disease, provides a rich overview of timely, critical topics. The audience for the text includes counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, psychiatrists, sociologists, and any other public and mental health practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who work with and on behalf of clients and patients of Arab descent. The authors represent a team of leading experts spanning disciplines of sociology, clinical mental health, and community public health.