Immigrant generation and mental health among Muslim American youth: Pathways through perceived discrimination and Muslim American identity

Prior research suggests that immigrant generation, perceived discrimination, and identity shape Muslim American immigrants' mental health, but these factors have rarely been examined simultaneously, especially not while comparing different immigrant generations of Muslim Americans directly to each other and to Muslim Americans with no recent history of immigration. We examined the relationships between these factors and depression and anxiety symptoms in a sample of 157 Muslim American college students (range = 17-48; Mage = 21.16, SD = 3.69; 75.2% female; immigrant generations: 23.6% first, 54.1% second, and 22.3% third or later generations; region of origin: 65.6% Arab or Middle Eastern, 19.2% Southeast Asian, 6.4% sub-Saharan African or Caribbean, 5.6% European, and 3.2% South or Central American). These students were primarily recruited through announcements in relevant classes and student organizations to complete an online survey that included a question on their birthplace and their parents' birthplace as well as measures of perceived discrimination (General Ethnic Discrimination Scale), Muslim identity (Multigroup Ethnic Identity Scale), depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-8), and anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7). We conducted path analytic models and tested the indirect effects of immigrant generation on depression and anxiety symptoms through perceived discrimination and Muslim American identity. Results showed that first- and third- or later-generation immigrants reported significantly lower perceived discrimination than second-generation immigrants, which in turn was linked to lower symptoms. Indirect effects via perceived discrimination were statistically significant, but those via identity were not. These results suggest that second-generation Muslim Americans are at heightened risk of psychological symptoms partly due to greater perceived discrimination and stress the need for clinical interventions and advocacy efforts targeting the high levels of discrimination that this group of students confronts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).