Exploring the Middle Eastern American College Student Experience: Discrimination, Adjustment, and Coping

Middle Eastern American (MEA) college students in the United States navigate normative developmental changes related to peer relationships, academic achievement, and college adjustment, often while facing discrimination, stereotyping, and racial profiling. We interviewed 25 MEA first-year and second-year college students about their perceived discrimination experiences and the influence of those experiences on their college adjustment. We present a theoretical model on MEA students’ college adjustment in the context of discrimination across socioecological domains, including societal, campus community, and relational levels, both inside and outside of the university experience. Implications for future research and support services for MEA college students are discussed.