Under Surveillance and Overwrought: American Muslims’ Emotional and Behavioral Responses to Government Surveillance

Abstract

After the 9/11 attacks, various United States law enforcement and intelligence agencies increased their monitoring and surveillance of American Muslims. We assessed the prevalence of such experiences with a sample of American Muslims. Onefifth of participants reported personal experiences with government surveillance. Relative to those not monitored, American Muslims who reported being monitored also reported being more anxious— but not more angry— about the prospect of government surveillance. Additionally, those monitored reported being more likely to modify their behaviors, avoiding contexts that might lead to government suspicion and future surveillance. Anxieties over the prospect of surveillance mediated the relationship between being previously monitored and modifying their behaviors. Parallels between these findings and literature on social identity threat and emotion regulation are discussed.