title: Discrimination and Psychological Distress: Gender Differences among Arab Americans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the existing knowledge on the association between discrimination and poor mental health, very few studies have explored gender differences in this association in Arab Americans.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to investigate whether gender moderates the association between the experience of discrimination and psychological distress in a representative sample of Arab Americans in Michigan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the Detroit Arab American Study (DAAS), 2003, this study recruited Arab Americans (337 males, 385 females) living in Michigan, United States. The main independent variable was discrimination. The main outcome was psychological distress. Covariates included demographic factors (age), socioeconomic status (education, employment, and income), and immigration characteristics (nativity and years living in United States). Gender was the focal moderator. We used multivariable regression with and without discrimination × gender interaction term.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the pooled sample, discrimination was positively associated with psychological distress [B= 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.22-1.03,p= 0.003]. We found a significant gender × discrimination interaction in the pooled sample (B= 0.79, 95% CI = 0.01-1.59,p= 0.050), suggesting a stronger association in males than females. In our gender-specific model, higher discrimination was associated with higher psychological distress among male (B= 0.87, 95% CI = 0.33-1.42,p= 0.002) but not female (B= 0.18, 95% CI = -0.43 to 0.78,p= 0.567) Arab Americans.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While discrimination is associated with poor mental health, a stronger link between discrimination and psychological symptoms may exist in male compared to female Arab Americans. While efforts should be made to universally reduce discrimination, screening for discrimination may be a more salient component of mental health care for male than female Arab Americans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Shervin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Assari
authors.affiliation: Medicine and Health Promotion Institute , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam Moghani
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lankarani
keywords: Arab Americans; discrimination; distress; gender; psychological symptoms