“YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR”: MUSLIM AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS ON IDENTITY, BELONGING, AND MENTAL HEALTH

Abstract

Muslims living in the United States face unique challenges due to their religious identity being stigmatized in the Western world. Muslims living in the United States face ongoing experiences of othering and marginalization, which have been intensified by recent sociopolitical and geopolitical events, including the 2016 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections and escalating conflicts in Southwest Asia and North Africa, such as the Israel-Palestine war. These events influence public discourse and shape experiences of Islamophobia. The increased religious discrimination and negative rhetoric about Islam and Muslims, reflected in rising hate crime reports and documented experiences of Islamophobia, make Muslim Americans more vulnerable to detrimental health effects, including mental health-related challenges. Muslim American college students (MACS) are particularly vulnerable to mental illness, as young adulthood is typically characterized by a period of increased stressors that come with many life changes. This exploratory study aimed to: 1) understand how MACS describe and make sense of belonging and marginalization; 2) examine how the meanings that MACS assign to belonging and marginalization experiences influence their mental health; 3) identify individual and community-based coping strategies that MACS employ to support their mental health. Critical Race Theory and Minority Stress Theory were used to guide this study. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with (N = 25) MACS in the DMV region and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that MACS experience identity development as an ongoing negotiation between internal values and external contexts which take the form of religious identity, visibility, cultural and generational background, and experiences of marginalization to name a few. MACS are strategic in seeking out communities that support their intersectional identities and accept them for their authentic selves. Moreover, MACS find belonging through a variety of social support systems: through friends with shared identities, family members at home, and student organizations on campus that allow them to connect with like-minded peers. When examining the coping mechanisms used by this group, MACS utilize a variety of strategies to support their mental health that are rooted in a faith-based perspective of approaching the world. MACS utilize cognitive, behavioral, and religious coping strategies at the individual level, and, at the community level, they tend to seek support from those closest to them within their social network and from others who share similar identities and experiences. Importantly, although MACS acknowledge the presence of formalized mental health services, they tend not to use them or feel they are not sufficient in helping address their challenges. Findings from this study address an important population that has been understudied - Muslim American college students. Moreover, given the qualitative methodology used, there is a depth of knowledge related to participants’ lived experience that is captured in the data. These findings reveal that MACS are not passive recipients of their environment, rather they are agentic in seeking out inclusive communities that align with their intersectional identities. Additionally, the findings from this study provide important information for campus administrators on ways to proactively support this specific subset of college students through a variety of systemic changes they can implement on college campuses. For mental health clinicians and community leaders, this research can inform how to better support MACS’ mental health through targeted interventions that align with the values of this community.