Discrimination, Marginalization, Belonging, and Mental Health Among Somali Immigrants in North America

In this study, we examined the relationships among discrimination and mental health for Somali young adults, a group at risk for an unfavorable context of reception, and the way in which individual- and community-level factors explain these associations. The present study drew upon data collected during the first wave of the Somali Youth Longitudinal Study, a community-based participatory research project focused on understanding and supporting the healthy development of Somali young adults in four different regions in North America: Boston, MA, Minneapolis, MN, and Portland/Lewiston, ME in the United States and Toronto, Canada. Somali men and women aged 18 - 30 participated in quantitative interviews that included questions about their health, their neighborhoods, and their thoughts and feelings about their resettlement communities (N = 439). Results indicate that discrimination has a direct effect on worse mental health; this effect was mediated through both individual (marginalized acculturation style) and community-level (sense of belonging) factors. These findings suggest that factors associated with a receiving society's attitudes and behaviors, in addition to its structural supports and constraints, may be particularly important in understanding immigrant mental health. Public Policy Relevance Statement Understanding the ways in which Somali young adults' experiences of discrimination and exclusion contribute to worsening mental health, and mechanisms of resilience in the face of these discriminatory experiences, will inform our understanding of these factors among immigrant groups and other groups of people that similarly contend with multiple marginalized statuses. These findings are needed to inform policy and practice to promote the mental health and well-being of immigrants.