An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Mental Health Issues Among Muslim Immigrant Women in Canada

ABSTRACT

Although addressing cultural and religious practices is important in providing mental health care, little research exists on understanding mental health issues of minority groups such as Muslim immigrant women. We employed an intersectional approach to examine beliefs and attitudes toward mental health issues among Muslim immigrant women in Canada. Four focus groups (21 participants) were conducted, and 101 surveys were collected in Ottawa, Canada. Three core themes emerged from thematic content analysis of focus group data that relate to participants’ communication about: 1) stressors, 2) mental health care seeking, and 3) utilizing coping strategies. The survey data were analyzed using independent samples t-test and One-Way ANOVA, the results of which supported the qualitative findings that social stigma was an important obstacle preventing those women from seeking professional mental health services. Muslim women with South and Southeast Asian cultural/ethnic backgrounds were more likely to get help from professionals than those with African cultural/ethnic backgrounds. No group differences were found in age, family income, and employment status. Broadly, the findings underscore the importance of developing knowledge about the intersections among gender, religion, cultural identity, immigration status, and social stigma that influence beliefs and attitudes toward mental health issues. Specifically, the findings point to the need for an intersectional approach that offers a more nuanced understanding for tailoring mental health care to Muslim immigrant women’s needs.

Acknowledgements

Rukhsana Ahmed would like to thank the Religion and Diversity Project at the University of Ottawa, an MCRI of SSHRC, Canada. She would also like to thank the research assistants, and, most importantly, the focus group and survey participants for their time and sharing their experiences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Rukhsana Ahmed has been the recipient of Grants to Co-Investigators Research Program under the Religion and Diversity Project, a Major Collaborative Research Initiatives (MCRI) of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada.