Background:
This paper examines whether reported experience of racism by Aboriginal people living in Adelaide is negatively associated with mental health, and whether social resources ameliorate the mental health effects of racism.
Methods:
Face‐to‐face structured and semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 153 Aboriginal people. Data on self‐reported experiences of racism (average regularity of racism across a number of settings, regular racism in at least one setting), social resources (socialising, group membership, social support, talking/expressing self about racism), health behaviours (smoking, alcohol), socio‐demographic (age, gender, education, financial situation) and mental health (SF‐12 measure) are reported. Separate staged linear regression models assessed the association between the two measures of racism and mental health, after accounting for socio‐demographic characteristics and health behaviours. Social resource variables were added to these models to see if they attenuated any relationship between racism and mental health.
Results:
The two measures of racism were negatively associated with mental health after controlling for socioeconomic factors and health behaviours. These relationships remained after adding social resource measures. Non‐smokers had better mental health, and mental health increased with positive assessments of financial situation.
Conclusion and Implications:
Reducing racism should be a central strategy in improving mental health for Aboriginal people.
This paper draws on survey data from 143 Aboriginal participants living in Adelaide, South Australia, to examine factors associated with Australian Aboriginal urban residents' satisfaction with living in their neighbourhoods. Associations were examined between neighbourhood satisfaction, individual socio-demographic measures and perceptions of the neighbourhood socio-cultural environment (including experiences of racism in the neighbourhood, perceived tolerance in the neighbourhood, perceived neighbourhood cohesion, trust in other neighbourhood residents and perceived neighbourhood safety). Staged multivariate logistic regression models led to a final model where trust in people in the neighbourhood and perceived safety in the neighbourhood were significant predictors of neighbourhood satisfaction. Experience of racism in the neighbourhood was a significant predictor in earlier steps in the model, but did not remain significant. Understanding factors contributing towards Aboriginal residents' satisfaction with living in neighbourhoods is important in informing neighbourhood-based policies and programmes to enhance the well-being of Aboriginal residents in Australian cities.
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