Wahiba Abu-Ras
Biographic Data
| ID | 372451 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Wahiba Abu-Ras |
| GIVEN NAMES | Wahiba |
| FAMILY NAME | Abu-Ras |
| SIGNATURE | ABU-RAS W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Adelphi University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3648-556X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 26 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 25 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Invisible wounds
< .01). Coping and victimization together accounted for 28.1% of distress and 22.7% of depressive symptom variance. Social victimization was consistently associated with higher PTSD symptoms in both countries and strongly linked to distress and depressive symptoms in Türkiye. These findings underscore pathways through which social victimization and coping contribute to mental health and inequalities while highlighting the need for antidiscriminat…
Exploring the intersection of social identities, environmental justice, and advocacy among social work students
This study, guided by an intersectional environmental justice theoretical framework, examines how social identities affect social work students’ involvement in and preferences for environmental justice (EJ) advocacy. Pre- and post-program surveys were used to collect data from 146 BSW and MSW students from Adelphi University. Results show Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students tended to prioritize EJ topics that address systemic …
A scoping review of gender-based violence interventions conducted in Afghanistan
Despite sparse evidence, existing interventions suggest that context-sensitive, community-driven, and multi-sectoral approaches can promote gender equity and resilience. Expanding locally led GBV-prevention programs integrated into health and social systems can assist in reducing violence and achieving equitable health outcomes for Afghan women and families
Effectiveness of Cartoons, Comics, and Animation-Based Sexual Health Promotion and Education Interventions
Objective: Sexual health education is crucial for promoting healthy sexual behaviors among people of all ages. Interventions involving cartoons, comics, and animations have emerged as effective tools due to their engaging and accessible nature. This scoping review explores the effectiveness of these interventions across different time frames and age groups. Methods: Using the PICOS framework and PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, a review was…
Mosques and Public Health Promotion
BACKGROUND: Religious institutions play a crucial role in health promotion and hold significant influence in the public health field. AIM: The aim of this review is to examine outcomes of health-promoting interventions involving the use of mosques as the intervention venue, its role in promoting health behavior change, and the role of theory in each intervention. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted across 17 databases for relevant publication…
Interventions to promote mental health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Palestinian refugees
BACKGROUND: The long history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has resulted in a public and mental health crisis. Despite the significant mental health burdens facing the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and refugee camps, this issue remains comprehensively unexplored. AIMS: This scoping review identified mental health interventions and assessed their effectiveness among populations in the OPT and Palestinian…
Mental health issues is common, resiliency is rare
Many people feel vulnerable and uncertain about their future during a political crisis or political instability. Nonetheless, people may choose different coping strategies, making some more resilient and others more vulnerable to mental health issues. Added to the stress caused by these political factors is that social media has become the only source of information, including intolerance, hate speech, and bigotry. Therefore, reactive strategies …
Palestinian Muslim College Students’ Attitudes to Mental Health Treatment
This study examined the association between the degree of religiosity, combined with cultural beliefs, social stigmas, and attitudes towards mental-health treatment in two groups, who, despite having similar cultural and religious affiliation, have experienced different socio-political contexts: Palestinian Muslim college students living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel. The study was guided by Tanhan and Young's (2021) conc…
Gendered Citizenship, Inequality, and Well-Being
This study explores the impact of gendered citizenship on the well-being of cross-national families following the political blockade imposed on Qatar in 2017. More specifically, it examines how these families, women, and children face challenges related to their lives, well-being, and rights. Twenty-three face-to-face interviews were conducted with Qatari and non-Qatari women and men married to non-Qatari spouses residing in Qatar. The study's fi…
The Influence of Religious Identity, Culture, and Values on the Practice of American Muslim Physicians
Many believe religion has no place in modern medical and professional fields. Nevertheless, recent studies show that religion remains integral to many people’s lives and professional practices, such as physicians. This study addresses the significance that American Muslim physicians (AMPs) attribute to their religious values in shaping their identity; and examines how the values held by self-identified Muslim physicians affect their medical pract…
The invisible frontiers
Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers is limited, especially from low-income countries. Hence, this study examined the effect of this international health crisis on the mental health of 261 social workers in health care settings in Egypt. Generalized anxiety and stress generated by fear of COVID-19 directly influenced social workers’ intention to leave their current job. The findings show the vulnerability of social wo…
Beyond the axes of inequality
This study examined the mental health outcomes of a diverse group of 549 individuals experiencing discrimination based on their multiple subordinate identities: ethnicity/race, religion, nativity, and sexual orientation. Applying an intersectionality framework, the findings provide an understanding of the impact of discrimination and racism on minority groups' mental health within the heterosexual and Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, Transgender, and Quee…
Muslim Americans’ safety and well-being in the wake of Trump
This study examined the perceived impact of religious discrimination and Islamophobia on Muslim Americans' well-being during the 2016 United States presidential election campaign. Data were collected from a national sample of 1,130 Muslim Americans. Perceived religious discrimination (PRD) was measured using the Perceived Religious Discrimination Scale. Results of canonical correlation analysis showed that perceived Islamophobia was associated wi…
Child Poverty and Youth Unemployment in Palestine
Poverty has been defined as a set of risk factors that damage an individual's mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual development. However, the debate about the effects of poverty on the growth, development, and health of Palestinian youth and children specifically is as much involved with the culture and the economics of poverty as it is with the political context of poverty. This article examines the overall levels, trends, and negative effe…
Challenges and Determination
This article explores, describes, and compares how Palestinian parents of children with disabilities articulate their major challenges and coping strategies and ways in which they adapt to daily routines to care for, support, and address the needs of their children. We held six focus groups, three in the West Bank, Palestine, and three inside Israel with a total sample of 43 participants. The major themes emerged from this study revealed that Pal…
Understanding resiliency through vulnerability
Pilot Study of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking Among US Muslim College Students
Cultural Citizenship and Belonging
This paper explores how a predominantly immigrant interview sample of 62 Muslim physicians articulate their cultural citizenship and sense of “belonging” in the USA. Many Muslim physicians who have come as international medical graduates (IMGs) share the challenges, obstacles, and assets of their IMG peers. Yet within the context of rising Islamophobia after the September 11 (9/11) attacks in the USA, immigrant Muslim physicians encounter “racial…
American Muslim Physicians' Public Role Post-9/11 and Minority Community Empowerment
This study assesses American Muslim physicians’ public role and levels of civic, community, and political involvement; examines the relationship between religiosity and civic/community involvement; and identifies community empowerment and social change. The results show that civic/community action is associated primarily with one's level of religiosity, t = 2.74 (df = 301.3), p < .03; age 2.69 (df = 317.7), p = .007; country of origin, t = 11.5 (…
How Muslim and Non-Muslim Chaplains Serve Muslim Patients? Does the Interfaith Chaplaincy Model have Room for Muslims’ Experiences
Alcohol Use Among U.S. Muslim College Students
Drinking behavior among Muslim college students in the United States is unknown. To obtain estimates and examine risk factors, the authors conducted secondary data analysis of the public access database from the 2001 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Two variables were associated with drinking-religious activities, which were protective against drinking, and parental approval of drinking, which was a risk factor for drinking.…
Risk Factors for Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This study examines the association between individual, demographic, and sociocultural variables as predictor factors for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 350 Arab and Muslim Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A multiple regression statistical analysis was utilized to examine the factors contributing to depression and PTSD among the study sample. Results indicate that age, education, mar…
The Impact of the September 11, 2001, Attacks on the Well-Being of Arab Americans in New York City
In this exploratory study, eight focus groups were conducted, utilizing 83 participants. A structured, but flexible, interview guided by trauma theory was designed to solicit perspectives on the impact of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Arab American community in New York City. Participants identified several common areas of concern, including fear of hate crimes, anxiety about the future, threats to their safety, loss of community, isolat…
The Imam's Role in Mental Health Promotion
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, New York's Muslim communities turned to their mosques for help, but were noticeably hesitant to avail themselves of services offered by the broader community. Research has shown that few mental health professionals are familiar with the Arabic language and Islamic values. Moreover, little is known about Islamic counseling and psychotherapy, or the techniques applied by providers in the mosque…
Cultural Beliefs and Service Utilization by Battered Arab Immigrant Women
This study examines the relationship between cultural beliefs and the utilization of services among Arab immigrant women. All participants (N = 67) reported at least one act of partner abuse resulting in a consultation with various formal services. Significant correlations were found between the holding of traditional attitudes toward gender in general and wife battering in particular by the women and the utilization of formal mental (r = .32, p …
Cultural Beliefs and Service Utilization by Battered Arab Immigrant Women
This study examines the relationship between cultural beliefs and the utilization of services among Arab immigrant women. All participants (N = 67) reported at least one act of partner abuse resulting in a consultation with various formal services. Significant correlations were found between the holding of traditional attitudes toward gender in general and wife battering in particular by the women and the utilization of formal mental (r = .32, p …
Risk Factors for Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This study examines the association between individual, demographic, and sociocultural variables as predictor factors for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 350 Arab and Muslim Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A multiple regression statistical analysis was utilized to examine the factors contributing to depression and PTSD among the study sample. Results indicate that age, education, mar…
Cultural Citizenship and Belonging
This paper explores how a predominantly immigrant interview sample of 62 Muslim physicians articulate their cultural citizenship and sense of “belonging” in the USA. Many Muslim physicians who have come as international medical graduates (IMGs) share the challenges, obstacles, and assets of their IMG peers. Yet within the context of rising Islamophobia after the September 11 (9/11) attacks in the USA, immigrant Muslim physicians encounter “racial…
The invisible frontiers
Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers is limited, especially from low-income countries. Hence, this study examined the effect of this international health crisis on the mental health of 261 social workers in health care settings in Egypt. Generalized anxiety and stress generated by fear of COVID-19 directly influenced social workers’ intention to leave their current job. The findings show the vulnerability of social wo…
Challenges and Determination
This article explores, describes, and compares how Palestinian parents of children with disabilities articulate their major challenges and coping strategies and ways in which they adapt to daily routines to care for, support, and address the needs of their children. We held six focus groups, three in the West Bank, Palestine, and three inside Israel with a total sample of 43 participants. The major themes emerged from this study revealed that Pal…
American Muslim Physicians' Public Role Post-9/11 and Minority Community Empowerment
This study assesses American Muslim physicians’ public role and levels of civic, community, and political involvement; examines the relationship between religiosity and civic/community involvement; and identifies community empowerment and social change. The results show that civic/community action is associated primarily with one's level of religiosity, t = 2.74 (df = 301.3), p < .03; age 2.69 (df = 317.7), p = .007; country of origin, t = 11.5 (…
Cultural Beliefs and Service Utilization by Battered Arab Immigrant Women
This study examines the relationship between cultural beliefs and the utilization of services among Arab immigrant women. All participants (N = 67) reported at least one act of partner abuse resulting in a consultation with various formal services. Significant correlations were found between the holding of traditional attitudes toward gender in general and wife battering in particular by the women and the utilization of formal mental (r = .32, p …
The Impact of the September 11, 2001, Attacks on the Well-Being of Arab Americans in New York City
In this exploratory study, eight focus groups were conducted, utilizing 83 participants. A structured, but flexible, interview guided by trauma theory was designed to solicit perspectives on the impact of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Arab American community in New York City. Participants identified several common areas of concern, including fear of hate crimes, anxiety about the future, threats to their safety, loss of community, isolat…
The Imam's Role in Mental Health Promotion
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, New York's Muslim communities turned to their mosques for help, but were noticeably hesitant to avail themselves of services offered by the broader community. Research has shown that few mental health professionals are familiar with the Arabic language and Islamic values. Moreover, little is known about Islamic counseling and psychotherapy, or the techniques applied by providers in the mosque…
Risk Factors for Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This study examines the association between individual, demographic, and sociocultural variables as predictor factors for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 350 Arab and Muslim Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A multiple regression statistical analysis was utilized to examine the factors contributing to depression and PTSD among the study sample. Results indicate that age, education, mar…
Alcohol Use Among U.S. Muslim College Students
Drinking behavior among Muslim college students in the United States is unknown. To obtain estimates and examine risk factors, the authors conducted secondary data analysis of the public access database from the 2001 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Two variables were associated with drinking-religious activities, which were protective against drinking, and parental approval of drinking, which was a risk factor for drinking.…
How Muslim and Non-Muslim Chaplains Serve Muslim Patients? Does the Interfaith Chaplaincy Model have Room for Muslims’ Experiences
Cultural Citizenship and Belonging
This paper explores how a predominantly immigrant interview sample of 62 Muslim physicians articulate their cultural citizenship and sense of “belonging” in the USA. Many Muslim physicians who have come as international medical graduates (IMGs) share the challenges, obstacles, and assets of their IMG peers. Yet within the context of rising Islamophobia after the September 11 (9/11) attacks in the USA, immigrant Muslim physicians encounter “racial…
American Muslim Physicians' Public Role Post-9/11 and Minority Community Empowerment
This study assesses American Muslim physicians’ public role and levels of civic, community, and political involvement; examines the relationship between religiosity and civic/community involvement; and identifies community empowerment and social change. The results show that civic/community action is associated primarily with one's level of religiosity, t = 2.74 (df = 301.3), p < .03; age 2.69 (df = 317.7), p = .007; country of origin, t = 11.5 (…
Understanding resiliency through vulnerability
Pilot Study of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking Among US Muslim College Students
Muslim Americans’ safety and well-being in the wake of Trump
This study examined the perceived impact of religious discrimination and Islamophobia on Muslim Americans' well-being during the 2016 United States presidential election campaign. Data were collected from a national sample of 1,130 Muslim Americans. Perceived religious discrimination (PRD) was measured using the Perceived Religious Discrimination Scale. Results of canonical correlation analysis showed that perceived Islamophobia was associated wi…
Child Poverty and Youth Unemployment in Palestine
Poverty has been defined as a set of risk factors that damage an individual's mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual development. However, the debate about the effects of poverty on the growth, development, and health of Palestinian youth and children specifically is as much involved with the culture and the economics of poverty as it is with the political context of poverty. This article examines the overall levels, trends, and negative effe…
Challenges and Determination
This article explores, describes, and compares how Palestinian parents of children with disabilities articulate their major challenges and coping strategies and ways in which they adapt to daily routines to care for, support, and address the needs of their children. We held six focus groups, three in the West Bank, Palestine, and three inside Israel with a total sample of 43 participants. The major themes emerged from this study revealed that Pal…
Beyond the axes of inequality
This study examined the mental health outcomes of a diverse group of 549 individuals experiencing discrimination based on their multiple subordinate identities: ethnicity/race, religion, nativity, and sexual orientation. Applying an intersectionality framework, the findings provide an understanding of the impact of discrimination and racism on minority groups' mental health within the heterosexual and Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, Transgender, and Quee…
Palestinian Muslim College Students’ Attitudes to Mental Health Treatment
This study examined the association between the degree of religiosity, combined with cultural beliefs, social stigmas, and attitudes towards mental-health treatment in two groups, who, despite having similar cultural and religious affiliation, have experienced different socio-political contexts: Palestinian Muslim college students living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel. The study was guided by Tanhan and Young's (2021) conc…
Gendered Citizenship, Inequality, and Well-Being
This study explores the impact of gendered citizenship on the well-being of cross-national families following the political blockade imposed on Qatar in 2017. More specifically, it examines how these families, women, and children face challenges related to their lives, well-being, and rights. Twenty-three face-to-face interviews were conducted with Qatari and non-Qatari women and men married to non-Qatari spouses residing in Qatar. The study's fi…
The Influence of Religious Identity, Culture, and Values on the Practice of American Muslim Physicians
Many believe religion has no place in modern medical and professional fields. Nevertheless, recent studies show that religion remains integral to many people’s lives and professional practices, such as physicians. This study addresses the significance that American Muslim physicians (AMPs) attribute to their religious values in shaping their identity; and examines how the values held by self-identified Muslim physicians affect their medical pract…
The invisible frontiers
Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers is limited, especially from low-income countries. Hence, this study examined the effect of this international health crisis on the mental health of 261 social workers in health care settings in Egypt. Generalized anxiety and stress generated by fear of COVID-19 directly influenced social workers’ intention to leave their current job. The findings show the vulnerability of social wo…
Mental health issues is common, resiliency is rare
Many people feel vulnerable and uncertain about their future during a political crisis or political instability. Nonetheless, people may choose different coping strategies, making some more resilient and others more vulnerable to mental health issues. Added to the stress caused by these political factors is that social media has become the only source of information, including intolerance, hate speech, and bigotry. Therefore, reactive strategies …
Mosques and Public Health Promotion
BACKGROUND: Religious institutions play a crucial role in health promotion and hold significant influence in the public health field. AIM: The aim of this review is to examine outcomes of health-promoting interventions involving the use of mosques as the intervention venue, its role in promoting health behavior change, and the role of theory in each intervention. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted across 17 databases for relevant publication…
Interventions to promote mental health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Palestinian refugees
BACKGROUND: The long history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has resulted in a public and mental health crisis. Despite the significant mental health burdens facing the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and refugee camps, this issue remains comprehensively unexplored. AIMS: This scoping review identified mental health interventions and assessed their effectiveness among populations in the OPT and Palestinian…
Effectiveness of Cartoons, Comics, and Animation-Based Sexual Health Promotion and Education Interventions
Objective: Sexual health education is crucial for promoting healthy sexual behaviors among people of all ages. Interventions involving cartoons, comics, and animations have emerged as effective tools due to their engaging and accessible nature. This scoping review explores the effectiveness of these interventions across different time frames and age groups. Methods: Using the PICOS framework and PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, a review was…
Invisible wounds
< .01). Coping and victimization together accounted for 28.1% of distress and 22.7% of depressive symptom variance. Social victimization was consistently associated with higher PTSD symptoms in both countries and strongly linked to distress and depressive symptoms in Türkiye. These findings underscore pathways through which social victimization and coping contribute to mental health and inequalities while highlighting the need for antidiscriminat…
Exploring the intersection of social identities, environmental justice, and advocacy among social work students
This study, guided by an intersectional environmental justice theoretical framework, examines how social identities affect social work students’ involvement in and preferences for environmental justice (EJ) advocacy. Pre- and post-program surveys were used to collect data from 146 BSW and MSW students from Adelphi University. Results show Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students tended to prioritize EJ topics that address systemic …
A scoping review of gender-based violence interventions conducted in Afghanistan
Despite sparse evidence, existing interventions suggest that context-sensitive, community-driven, and multi-sectoral approaches can promote gender equity and resilience. Expanding locally led GBV-prevention programs integrated into health and social systems can assist in reducing violence and achieving equitable health outcomes for Afghan women and families
Psychology (18 works) · Political science (15 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Social Psychology (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Mental health (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (8 works) · Psychiatry (8 works) · Public health (7 works)