Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that can develop after exposure to traumatic events. Symptoms commonly include intrusive memories, hyperarousal, sleep disturbances, avoidance behaviors, emotional detachment, and impaired functioning. Arab Americans represent a population that is often overlooked in national mental health research because they are frequently classified as “White” in demographic data, limiting visibility in studies of mental health outcomes. Many Arab immigrants and refugees have experienced war, displacement, and persecution prior to migration, which may increase vulnerability to PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Cultural stigma surrounding mental health within some Arab communities can also discourage help-seeking and delay diagnosis and treatment. Examining PTSD within this population requires a culturally sensitive perspective that considers how trauma exposure, discrimination, and structural barriers may shape mental health outcomes.

Methodology: Scholarly articles were extracted for our literature review using the PubMed database. Relevant scholarly articles were screened and analyzed based on inclusion criteria. Scholarly articles were only included if they were published between 2000–2025, were published in English, were full texts, examined a topic that is relevant to our research paper, and if they took place in the United States. Utilizing these search terms generated 43 scholarly articles. Through our inclusion criteria, only 9 scholarly articles were included from the initial 43 articles that were generated using our search terms.

Results: Arab refugees and immigrants suffer from and are subjected to severe and prolonged trauma prior to migration to the United States: this includes war, political violence, displacement, and detention. This was a predictor for greater symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression upon resettlement and showed that the psychological aftereffects were still being felt from this trauma as opposed to merely being exacerbated by the migration process. It was observed that women showed greater symptoms than men across several studies. Arab refugees and immigrants were subjected to discrimination, language difficulties, poverty, and loneliness after being resettled within the United States and were either facing all these simultaneously and suffering from co-occurring symptoms such as depression and PTSD. Refugee children showed symptoms that are increasingly intensified with time, reinforcing that stress is not merely reduced with age and adjustment. Trauma among parents, and mothers specifically, had a direct effect on the mental health of their children and proved that stress and fear can be transferred from one generation to another. While treatment was desired and sought by participants, they found it difficult to find a psychiatrist with whom they could communicate proficiently or find colleagues with a similar cultural background.

Conclusion: PTSD among Arab Americans and Arab refugees in the United States is shaped by both trauma that happens before migration and stress that continues after arrival. War, displacement, discrimination, money problems, language barriers, and social isolation can all add to ongoing distress. Future research should use studies that follow people over time and should test digital tools and community programs in both Arabic and English to lower stigma and encourage people to seek help earlier. Overall, making Arab Americans more visible in health data and building services that match their language and culture is essential for improving PTSD care in this population.

Keywords: PTSD, Middle East, Arab Americans, MENA refugees, War trauma

How to Cite:

Tawakkol, A., Abbker, Z., Al Janabi, S. & Elsayed, O., (2026) “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Arab Americans and Its Implications for Their Health”, Arizona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 12(1), 31-42.