Arab American Muslim Adolescents’ Symbolic Psychological Reckoning With Discrimination During the First Trump Era (2016–2020): An Existential and Critical Race Theory Perspective

Abstract

This study examined Arab American Muslim adolescents’ descriptions of ethnic discrimination against the backdrop of a tumultuous sociopolitical era in the United States. Ten Arab American Muslim adolescents participated in the study using a phenomenological approach, with 50% female participants. Critical Race Theory (CRT) and existential concepts were used as a theoretical framework. Semi-structured individual interviews and adolescents’ online journals were used to collect, triangulate, and member-check the data. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, results highlighted three main themes among adolescents’ lived experiences with discrimination: disbelief at the open acceptance of discrimination in the United States, postelection fears, and racist nativism. These three themes also highlighted the experience of the four existential givens (death, meaninglessness, freedom, and isolation). Understanding Arab American Muslim adolescents’ experiences during a tumultuous time in U.S. history, through both a CRT and existential framework, can provide researchers and clinicians insight into how sociopolitical culture can shape Arab American Muslim adolescents’ lived experiences of discrimination. Furthermore, integrating principles of CRT with existential approaches in therapy can assist clinicians when working with clients from marginalized backgrounds