The Effects of Perceived Discrimination and Backlash on Iraqi Refugees’ Mental and Physical Health

Abstract The effects of discrimination and the post-9/11 backlash on Iraqi refugees have not yet been fully examined. The present study aimed to adapt a scale of the perceived backlash (BTS; a modified version of the Race Related Stressors Scale), and measure its relationships with Cumulative Trauma Dose (CTD), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and health. The BTS was found to have high reliability; and construct, convergent, divergent, and predictive validities. The BTS predicted PTSD and poor health after controlling for the cumulative effects of other reported life traumas. The BTS correlated significantly with neurological, respiratory, digestive and blood disorders, and non-life-threatening illnesses. The results provided evidence for the validity of the trauma model of backlash and discrimination and its importance in the treatment of Iraqi refugees. Keywords: Arab Americansbacklash traumadiscriminationIraqi refugeesracism We wish to acknowledge the grant provided by Russell Sage Foundation to the first author to conduct advanced data analysis of the Iraqi data. Notes aFindings were obtained after the effects of gender, age, marital status, education and income were controlled statistically. bFindings were obtained after the effects of gender, age, marital status, education, income, and previous cumulative trauma dose were controlled statistically. cFindings were obtained after the effects of gender, age, marital status, education, income, and previous cumulative trauma types (collective identity, family, personal identity, interdependence, survival and attachment traumas) were controlled statistically. dFindings were obtained after the effects of gender, age, marital status, education, income, and previous cumulative trauma types excluding collective identity trauma were controlled statistically. a n = 501. ∗p < .05. ∗∗p < .01.