Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health: Findings From Community Studies

Abstract

The authors review the available empirical evidence from population-based studies of the association between perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination and health. This research indicates that discrimination is associated with multiple indicators of poorer physical and, especially, mental health status. However, the extant research does not adequately address whether and how exposure to discrimination leads to increased risk of disease. Gaps in the literature include limitations linked to measurement of discrimination, research designs, and inattention to the way in which the association between discrimination and health unfolds over the life course. Research on stress points to important directions for the future assessment of discrimination and the testing of the underlying processes and mechanisms by which discrimination can lead to changes in health.

Too Much of a Good Thing?: Positive Religious Coping Predicts Worse Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Patterns for Overwhelmed African American Female Dementia Family Caregivers

“…Additionally, AAs experience higher psychosocial stress than Whites (37). Daily stressors such as perceived discrimination and economic insecurity have excessively negative health effects for AA versus White caregivers (4).…”

“…Daily stressors such as perceived discrimination and economic insecurity have excessively negative health effects for AA versus White caregivers (4). Since AA adults show worse health status at each stage of adulthood than their White counterparts (37-39) the former group may be especially vulnerable to the perils of caregiver stress. For instance, young AA adults show flatter daily cortisol slopes than their White counterparts (35).…”

Sociodemographic and social contextual predictors of multiple health behavior change: data from the Healthy Directions–Small Business study

“…The literature shows that self-reported, perceived discrimination has been associated with a broad range of physical and mental health outcomes including distress, self-rated health, and hypertension, among others [51][52][53]. In our study, we found that having experienced discrimination "never" or "sometimes/often" was associated with a higher likelihood of changing two or more behaviors compared to having experienced discrimination "a few times."…”

The Relationship Between Discrimination and High-Risk Social Ties by Race/Ethnicity: Examining Social Pathways of HIV Risk

“…It is also possible that network factors lead to an increased chance of discrimination. However, since discrimination has been shown to influence health outcomes and behaviors, 13 we believe the reverse association is also important for ultimately understanding disparities in disease transmission.…”

“…11 But, whether differences exist by race/ethnicity is unclear. 12 While minorities in the general population report more experiences of racial discrimination than whites, 13 less is known about discrimination among drug users and non-race-related experiences of discrimination such as drug use discrimination. [14][15][16] Furthermore, as perceptions of discrimination vary by race/ ethnicity, it is possible that distinct differences in social relationships are present by racial group among those who report discrimination compared to those who do not.…”