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Religion in the Hallways: Academic Performance and Psychological Distress among Immigrant origin Muslim Adolescents in High Schools
- Source :
- American Journal of Community Psychology. 61:344-357
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Islamic norms and Islamophobia present unique challenges for Muslim adolescents in Western countries. For Muslim students, even "secular" public schools are not a religion-free space because their religious beliefs and values are central in their manner of living. To inquire more about these issues, an exploratory sequential design mixed-method study was conducted that included focus groups and a survey addressing the public school experiences of Muslim adolescents in a Midwestern state in the United States and how those experiences are related to their academic achievement, educational aspirations, and psychological adjustment. Overall, the findings characterize this study's sample as coping well in the school context in terms of academic achievement, high educational expectations, and relatively low levels of psychological distress. However, those who experience greater frequency and severity of hassles at school report higher levels of psychological distress. In particular, the frequency of hassles associated with representing Islam, limited English competency, relations with both Muslim and non-Muslim peers, and religious discrimination at school related to increased distress. Together, these findings suggest the importance of considering both individual and ecological determinants of wellbeing for Muslim adolescents. The findings also suggest the importance of looking more carefully at the sample, context, and time when the data were collected before making generalizations within or across cultural and/or religious groups.
- Subjects :
- Male
Coping (psychology)
Health (social science)
Adolescent
Islamophobia
media_common.quotation_subject
education
Immigration
Emigrants and Immigrants
050109 social psychology
Academic achievement
Islam
Midwestern United States
Developmental psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Academic Performance
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Applied Psychology
media_common
Schools
05 social sciences
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
050301 education
social sciences
Focus group
humanities
Religion
Distress
Female
Psychology
0503 education
Religious discrimination
Acculturation
Stress, Psychological
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00910562
- Volume :
- 61
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- American Journal of Community Psychology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6cd0376b4ac6cde2e585fb94ff13ae60