Arab mental health: Historical context and cultural beliefs

Historical context

Communities of Arab descent have had diverse experiences throughout history. This has led to a wide variety of cultural norms, linguistics, and religious beliefs. Despite these differences, Arab American groups are connected through deep cultural roots, historical experiences, and how others perceive them. These perceptions unfortunately often result in unfair treatment. Additionally, many of these communities have made significant contributions to American society. Some of these contributions include: the phonetic alphabet, Arabic numerals, advanced medicines and sciences, as well as being the birthplace of many of the world’s largest religions.

Many Arab regions have been ravaged by war, causing mass displacements of people. The actions of foreign militaries, including those from the U.S. and Russia, have led to hundreds of thousands of civilians killed, neighborhoods destroyed, and entire communities traumatized. A recent example is the ongoing oppression faced by the Palestinian people, leading to widespread inequalities, feelings of hopelessness, trauma, and social isolation. Within the U.S., many communities of Arab descent have experienced discrimination, violence, travel bans, increased surveillance, and harassment. These experiences can be tied to poor mental healthoutcomes.

Historically many different groups of Arab descent have had conflict with one another. Despite this, post-9/11 U.S. attitudes have often given way to generalized discrimination, including Islamophobia and xenophobia, which is the fear or hatred of people from other countries.