Racism as a determinant of social and emotional wellbeing for Aboriginal Australian youth

Abstract

Objective: To explore the associations between self‐reported racism and health and wellbeing outcomes for young Aboriginal Australian people. Design, setting and participants: A cross‐sectional study of 345 Aboriginal Australians aged 16–20 years who, as participants in the prospective Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study, were recruited at birth between 1987 and 1990 and followed up between 2006 and 2008. Main outcome measures: Self‐reported social and emotional wellbeing using a questionnaire validated as culturally appropriate for the study's participants; recorded body mass index and waist‐to‐hip ratio. Results: Self‐reported racism was reported by 32% of study participants. Racism was significantly associated with anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 2.18 [95% CI, 1.37–3.46]); depression (OR, 2.16 [95% CI, 1.33–3.53]); suicide risk (OR, 2.32 [95% CI, 1.25–4.00]); and poor overall mental health (OR, 3.35 [95% CI, 2.04–5.51]). No significant associations were found between self‐reported racism and resilience or any anthropometric measures. Conclusions: Self‐reported racism was associated with poor social and emotional wellbeing outcomes, including anxiety, depression, suicide risk and poor overall mental health.

The impact of racial discrimination on the health of Australian Indigenous children aged 5–10 years: analysis of national longitudinal data

“…The magnitude of elevated risk for mental health found in our study is consistent with existing studies in Australian Indigenous settings, and suggests that the direct experience of racial discrimination (assessed using single-item measures) is associated with a doubling of the risk of an Indigenous child or youth developing a mental health problem [36–38]. This includes a diverse set of mental health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, suicide risk, low self-esteem, as well as overall mental health status.…”

“…While the current scientific literature implicates racism and its ill effects in the complex pathways to physical and mental health problems [5], there has been little scrutiny of the saliency of these factors in Indigenous children. This study adds to the sparse studies on Indigenous children, and further confirms that Indigenous children exposed to racism tend to be at a considerably greater risk of poor health [35–38]. In addition, the prevalence of racism among participants in this study is broadly consistent with the existing estimates in comparable studies of Indigenous child populations.…”

“…This includes a diverse set of mental health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, suicide risk, low self-esteem, as well as overall mental health status. Priest et al (2011) showed a higher risk among Indigenous youths (odds ratio of 3.35) which may reflect the older ages of study participants in the study (16–20 year-olds) or the fact that participants reported their own experiences of racism and mental health [38]. Similar studies among other minority groups also predominantly focus on adolescents and youth; one study of fifth-grade students (usually aged 10–11 years) in US metropolitan areas highlighted that children from non-White racial/ethnic groups who perceived discrimination were up to 3.9 times more likely to suffer depression and up to 2.4 times more likely to have specific externalizing disorders, with differences in relative risk between Black, Hispanic and other ethnic groups [60].…”

“…The quantitative empirical evidence for Indigenous populations is particularly sparse, despite the fact that racism is commonly cited as underpinning Indigenous people’s experiences of exclusion from aspects of social, political, and economic life [8, 34]. In Australia, for example, there have only been a handful of studies on populations of Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) children and these have focused on a restricted set of mental health, health risk behaviour and physical health indicators using primarily cross-sectional data for discrete population groups [35–38]. While the results in Australian Indigenous settings are broadly consistent with the US literature [22], much more research is needed in order to understand the role of racism as a determinant of Indigenous child health and the underpinning pathways.…”

Navigating the journey of Aboriginal childhood disability: a qualitative study of carers’ interface with services

“…In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples suffer worse health and more disadvantage than other Australians, the effects of which are exacerbated by dispossession, disempowerment and racism [2, 3]. The disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and other Australian children are also highlighted in experiences of disability [4–6].…”