Prayers and Mindfulness in Relation to Mental Health among First-Generation Immigrant and Refugee Muslim Women in the USA: An Exploratory Study

Authors

Karisse A. Callender, Marquette UniversityFollow
Lee Za Ong, Marquette UniversityFollow
Enaya Othman, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-24-2022

Publisher

Springer

Source Publication

Journal of Religion and Health

Source ISSN

0022-4197

Abstract

The goal of our study was to explore how first-generation immigrant/refugee Muslim women experience prayer and mindfulness in relation to their mental health. Participants were nine women from an urban city in the Midwestern USA. The women completed a structured demographic survey and a virtual semi-structured interview in a focus group. Using qualitative thematic analysis, we obtained four overarching themes from the data: (a) Prayer helps to build community, (b) Prayer promotes wellbeing, (c) Prayer increases faith, and (d) Prayer encourages intentional awareness. The findings demonstrate that prayer involves awareness and has a strong influence on the mental health of the women participants.

Comments

Accepted version. Journal of Religion and Health, (2022). DOI. © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Callender, Karisse A.; Ong, Lee Za; and Othman, Enaya, "Prayers and Mindfulness in Relation to Mental Health among First-Generation Immigrant and Refugee Muslim Women in the USA: An Exploratory Study" (2022). College of Education Faculty Research and Publications. 575.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/edu_fac/575