Contested Citizenship and Social Exclusion: Adolescent Arab American Immigrants' Views of the Social Contract

Abstract

Abstract Drawing from social contract theory, we explore how some adolescent Arab immigrants' (n = 99) sensitivity to the image of their ethnic group as enemies of America colors their interpretation of the social contract. Analyses of data collected in 1997 reveal that those youth who reported that the American media portray Arab people and nations as enemies of the United States are more attuned to personal experiences of prejudice based on their ethnic identity and are more dubious that the tenets of the social contract apply equally across groups. Negative images of Arab Americans were well in place prior to September 11, 2001, a pivotal moment that altered the lives of Arab Americans as well as the discourse on immigration and citizenship. Notes 1This data constraint will appear throughout the article. Any sample differences reported for analyses are due to participants not being able to complete that portion of the survey or, in some cases, leaving it blank for reasons unknown. Note: The “other” category includes two youth with both Syrian and Lebanese heritage, and one who reported half Lebanese and half Yemenite heritage. 2There were 12 Arab Americans excluded from analyses either due to their failure to report immigrant status or because their family had lived in the United States for more than 3 generations. 3Thirteen of the missing responses were missing due to not finishing the survey and were excluded from these analyses. Note: The category “everyone is an enemy” was not coded for the rest of the sample. 4There were 18 cases missing at least one of these variables, which precluded their inclusion in this analysis. Eliminating cases without responses for both questions, this proportion is 43 of 59, or 72.9%. Note: Only those who answered both questions are included in the table. 5For comparison, 33.6% of European American youth, 27% of African American youth, and 20% of Latino youth reported always feeling American. Twenty-five Arab American youth did not answer this question; 6 of those were unable to finish the survey. 6We collapsed the never and negative codes because both reflect a contentious identification with the United States.