Foreigners in a Strange Land: Self-Construal and Ethnic Identity in Male Arabic Immigrants

Many authors have emphasized the importance of cultural sensitivity in delivering mental health services to immigrants. Self-construal and ethnic identity are important components of the acculturative process, which may be useful in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of immigrant clients. This study investigated the self-construal and ethnic identity of male Arabic immigrants in the United States. Based on pilot interview data and existing measures, a Male Arabic Ethnic Identity Measure (MAEIM) was developed using a sample of 115 male Arabic immigrants. Satisfactory reliability is reported for the overall MAEIM as well as its four factor analytically derived scales, including Religious–Family Values, Sense of Belonging/Ethnic Pride, Friendship, and Ethnic Arabic Practices. Arabs reporting a strong Arabic ethnic identity had a more salient interdependent sense of self than those reporting a weaker ethnic identity. Independent self-construal was not significantly correlated with any of the individual MAEIM scales or the total MAEIM scale. The implications of these findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.