Editorial Perspective: Mental health needs of children and young people of Black ethnicity.¹ Is it time to reconceptualise racism as a traumatic experience?

Abstract

We acknowledge that other racialised minority CYP experience racism, however we are referring to the impact of anti-Black racism in the context of Black CYP witnessing frequent media images of Black people experiencing fatal racially motivated violence.

Resilience: Within-Group Variations in the Impact of Racial Discrimination on Black Youth's Mental Health

“…Discussions about finding comprehensive solutions were primarily held in academic and social service circles. The repeated airing of footage of the murder of Mr. George Floyd and subsequent demonstrations in support of Black lives opened national and international conversations about the prevalence of anti-Black racist ideology, systemic racial discrimination, and their negative impact on those who experience them (Ayodeji et al, 2021; Bernard et al, 2020). As a result, a spotlight has been placed on the health and well-being of Black Americans, with Black youth's mental health occupying an important place in these discussions.…”

Exploring adolescents’ experiences of talking about race, ethnicity and culture during dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT): a qualitative study using thematic analysis

“…In the UK, clear disparities in access to mental health services exist when comparing adolescents from diverse ERC backgrounds with their White British peers (Edbrooke-Childs et al, 2016;Kapadia et al, 2022). Adolescents from diverse ERC backgrounds are more likely to grow up with repeated encounters of racial discrimination and environmental invalidation, which negatively impact self-esteem and identity development (Akhtar, 1995;Durham, 2018;Jones et al, 2020), and increase their vulnerability to emotion dysregulation and mental health difficulties (Ayodeji et al, 2021;Gajaria et al, 2021;Pachter and Coll, 2009;Priest et al, 2013). Despite a number of studies evidencing these relationships, none explored how racial discrimination influenced adolescents' perception of and satisfaction with the quality of care they received (for a review, see Pachter and Coll, 2009).…”

The Lived Experience of Racism in the Sikh Community

“…A substantial body of research has documented the prevalence and negative impact of racism (e.g., Astell-Burt et al, 2012 ; Harris et al, 2018 ). For example, racism impacts on both physical and mental health ( Harris et al, 2006 ) to the extent that it has been conceptualized as both a traumatic experience ( Ayodeji et al, 2021 ) and a public health crisis ( Devakumar et al, 2020 ). It is of course important to understand the context in which racism takes place.…”