CHAPTER 3: Extent of Acculturation Experiences Among High School Muslim Students in the United States

Muslim high school students often face bicultural issues, unknown to American peers. Muslim students often deal with a “home culture” and a “school culture” and lead double lives, which can be a source of additional stress while making the transition from childhood to adulthood. This study explored the extent of acculturation issues experienced by Muslim students by using the Muslim Youth Acculturation Rating Questionnaire which is a questionnaire that was developed by the author for use in this study. A higher score on the MYARQ reflected greater extent to which the respondent experienced acculturation problems. Therefore, lower MYARQ scores are associated with higher acculturation (i.e., lesser extent of acculturation problems) while higher scores imply lower acculturation (i.e., greater extent of acculturation problems). This was a descriptive study based on a nationally representative geographic sample of high school students in the U.S. The students were systematically selected based on the criteria of being Muslim. Results from the 144 respondents indicated statistical significance in three areas. Boys had higher scores on the MYARQ than the girls, Urdu and Arabic speakers had higher scores than English and Other speakers, and the longer the length of residence for respondent’s father and mother, the higher the respondent’s scores. The results from this study support previous research findings. However, new information also was found which may have potential impact on the study of acculturation trends especially among Muslim youth living in America.