Quick Facts and Statistics

According to the National Library of Medicine, Muslim American mental health is severely under researched. That being said, here are some quick statistics to help start the conversation:

•  Muslim Americans face unique risk factors that might affect the prevalence of certain mental health disorders and treatment utilization. These factors include marginalization and challenges with cultural assimilation, alongside discrimination such as racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia 

• In a research study, Muslim American adults were 2 times more likely to report a history of suicide attempts compared with respondents from any other faith.

• Although the Islamic religion teaches Muslims to maintain their mental health, Muslims tend to underutilize mental health services due to a multitude of factors, such as cultural beliefs, stigma, lack of knowledge about mental health services, etc.

This phenomenon is not unique to just Muslim Americans, but to a large proportion of minorities as well:

• American Indian or Alaska Native: 26.6%

• White: 23.9%

• Black or African American: 21.4%

• Hispanic or Latino: 20.7%

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 18.1%

• Asian: 16.4%