Authors aim to 1) determine whether self-reported depression feelings from the previous 12 months among Arab immigrants living in the U.S. predict emotional distress experienced in the past 30 days and 2) evaluate the potential mediating effect of social cohesion and family life impairment on the association between depressive feelings and emotional distress. California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) from 2013-2022 were used for secondary data analyses for a total sample of 193,214 Arabs. Eligible respondents included those who self-identify as of Arab origin(s) living in the U.S., with no restriction on age or language spoken. A generalized structural equation model was used to test the mediating effect of both social cohesion and family life impairment on the association between Arab immigrant depression feelings and emotional distress.

Findings: Participants' ages ranged from 18 to 117 years, with a mean age of 56.090  years. The sample population consisted of 83,920 men (43.43%), and 109,301 (56.57%) women. Authors' findings imply that depression feelings in a previous year significantly predicted larger odds of emotional distress in the previous 30 days among our Arab cohort after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors. They also found that both social cohesion and family life impairment significantly partially mediate the connection between depression feelings in the past 12 months and prior 30 days of emotional distress. A significant positive association was found between self-reported depression feelings in the prior 12 months and recent emotional distress, partially mediated by social cohesion and family life impairment.