School-Based Considerations for Supporting Arab American Youths’ Mental Health

An Exploratory Study of School Psychology Students’ Perceptions of Religious and Spiritual Diversity Training in their Graduate Programs

“…Indeed, in a qualitative study examining school psychologists’ experiences with responding to religious and spiritual diversity in their professional practice, Parker and Hanson ((Parker, 2019 )) found that Vieten et al’s ((Vieten, 2016 )) competencies were not fully aligned with participants’ engagement in school-based consultation. Furthermore, Vieten et al ((Vieten, 2016 )) did not detail implications for assessment practices, although school psychology scholars have emphasized the importance of school psychologists seeking to understand youths and families’ religious/spiritual belief systems to inform intervention implementation and respond to their needs (Goforth et al(Goforth (Goforth, 2016 )), (Goforth et al, 2017 ); Haboush, (Haboush, 2007 ); Jerome, (Jerome, 2011 ); Suzuki et al, (Suzuki et al, 2006 )).…”

“…As religious and spiritual issues also may arise within the context of school-based consultation (Parker & Hanson, (Parker, 2019 )), school psychology trainees should be prepared to demonstrate sensitivity to both clients’ and consultees’ religious/spiritual beliefs. Because student advocacy is a critical aspect of school psychologists’ professional work, trainees also should be equipped to advocate for clients who are negatively impacted by a school and community climate that utilize religious rhetoric to ostracize and marginalize other youth (i.e., religiously/spiritually minoritized youth and/or LGBTQ + youth; Atwal & Wang, (Atwal, 2019 ); Dupper et al, (Dupper et al, 2015 ); Goforth et al, (Goforth et al, 2017 ), (Goforth et al, 2017 ); Haboush(Haboush (Haboush, 2010 )); Newman et al, (Newman et al, 2018 ); Sulkowski et al, (Sulkowski et al, 2014 )).…”

“…The lack of discussion surrounding religion and spirituality is detrimental to the field, considering that youth, families, and educators will have various religious/spiritual beliefs that inform how they perceive and interact with the world around them, including K through 12 schools. For example, some families may be hesitant to utilize educational and psychological support due to a preference to utilize religious and spiritual support systems (e.g., Goforth et al, (Goforth et al, 2017 ), (Goforth et al, 2017 ); Parker & Hanson, (Parker, 2019 )), a phenomenon that may be particularly true for racial/ethnic minoritized individuals (Haboush, (Haboush, 2007 ); Hodge et al, (Hodge, 2009 ); Kouyoumdjian et al, (Kouyoumdjian et al, 2003 ); Taylor et al, (Taylor et al, 2000 )).…”

Experiences of Arab heritage youth in US schools and impact on identity development

“…The two most common religions represented among Arab heritage individuals in the US are Christianity and Islam. Christian Arabs have been immigrating to the United States since the mid 1800s and share similar religious values with non-Arab Christian Americans (Goforth, Nichols, Stanick, Shindorf, & Holter, 2017; Semaan, 2014) The question of religious heritage impacts the degree to which Arabs and Arab Americans prescribe to their ethnicity (Haboush, 2007; Howell & Jamal, 2009; Sheldon, Oliver, & Balaghi, 2015). Research indicates that Muslim Arab Americans are more likely to identify with their Arab heritage than Christian Arabs (Amer & Hovey 2007; Awad, 2010; Nassar-McMillan et al., 2011; Sheldon et al., 2015; Shyrock & Lin, 2009,).…”