Exploring the Effects Of Microaggressions and Religiosity on Well-Being: The Second-Generation Muslim-Canadian Immigrant Experience

Perceived discrimination has repeatedly been found in the literature to have a negative impact on the well-being and sense of belonging among immigrants. However, studies have reported that the negative effect of discrimination may be buffered by having a strong sense of ethnic identity or religiosity. More recently, researchers have begun to investigate the effect of more subtle forms of ethnic discrimination, namely microaggressions, on well-being. Despite the literature remains scant, there is empirical evidence supporting that ethnic identity serves as a protective factor in face of microaggressions. Yet, little is known on the protective role of religiosity. The purpose of the study was to better understand the moderating role of religiosity on the relationship between microaggressions and well-being in a sample of second-generation Muslim-Canadian immigrant university students. The focus on the Muslim-Canadian experience is particularly timely given the rise of Islamophobia found in Canada and other immigrant-receiving societies. Two hundred and eighty-five participants completed measures on their experiences with microaggressions, religiosity, university campus connectedness, sense of belonging to the community, and life satisfaction. The regression results indicated that experiences with microaggressions negatively predicted participants’ campus connectedness, sense of belonging, and life satisfaction. In addition, religiosity was found to moderate the above main effects, indicating that a high level of religiosity buffered the negative impact of microaggressions. Participants who experienced a high level of microaggressions and had a low level of religiosity reported the lowest level of subjective well-being. The implications of these findings will be discussed.