Recovery Experiences Amongst Arab American Clubhouse Members: Examining The Effects Of Acculturation, Perceived Family Support, Stigma And Gender On Mental Health Recovery.

ABSTRACT RECOVERY EXPERIENCES AMONGST ARAB AMERICAN CLUBHOUSE MEMBERS: EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF ACCULTURATION, PERCEIVED FAMILY SUPPORT, STIGMA AND GENDER ON MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY by LAYLA HABHAB August 2016 Advisor: Dr. Francesca Pernice –Duca Major: Educational Psychology Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Recovery from serious mental illness has been conceptualized throughout much of the recent literature as being a multidimensional continuum that is influenced by multiple factors. This notion of recovery has mostly been defined by the personal narratives of survivors, ex –patients and mental health consumers with serious mental illness, who have identified specific factors that have either enhanced or hindered their own personal recovery. While these narratives have provided valuable information about the recovery process, there currently exists a paucity in research examining the recovery experiences of individuals from various ethnic groups, such as Arab Americans. The current qualitative study aimed to identify and examine key themes and recovery experiences among Arab American consumers within an ecological framework. Specifically, this study examined the influence(s) of acculturation, family support, stigma of mental illness and gender differences on Arab Americans’ mental health recovery. Participants for this study included 15 Arab American consumers (seven males and eight females) from a local clubhouse, who were diagnosed with various psychiatric conditions and were between the ages of 26 to 72 years old. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with each individual participant and all interviews were audio -recorded and transcribed verbatim. Findings from this study suggested that participants identified recovery –oriented experiences that were specific to both their native Arab culture, and the mainstream culture, regardless of their acculturation strategy. Moreover, the majority of clubhouse members characterized family support as being instrumental to their recovery experiences and stigma of mental illness was not identified to have direct, adverse effects on members’ recovery. Gender differences were also revealed in the recovery experiences of male and female participants in this study