Transmitting Trauma: A systematic review of vicarious racism and child health

Taylor

SSM - Population Health

2018

Police maltreatment, whether experienced personally or indirectly through one’s family or friends, represents a potentially harmful stressor, particularly for minority populations. We address this issue by investigating: (1) how waist circumference (WC) varies by personal and vicarious exposure to unfair treatment by police (UTBP); and (2) to what extent exposure to UTBP explains the black-white disparity in WC. We employed data collected from a community-based sample of black (n = 601) and white (n = 608) adults living in Nashville-Davidson county Tennessee to address these questions. Results from our final linear regression model showed that those who reported vicarious UTBP had WCs that were approximately 2 in. greater than those who did not (b = 2.03; p = 0.003). While personal UTBP was not linked to higher WC, a post-hoc analysis suggested that our ability to detect an association was complicated by selection. Binary mediation analysis revealed that differential exposure to vicarious UTBP accounted for approximately 12% of the black-white WC disparity among women. We found no black-white differences in WC among men. The association between vicarious UTBP and WC did not vary by age, race, or gender. Overall, our findings point toward the role of discriminatory policing as a potential upstream contributor to racial disparities in health.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weighed down by discriminatory policing: Perceived unfair treatment and black-white disparities in waist circumference

Taylor

SSM - Population Health

2018

Health Services Research

“…For example, a study of 331 black adolescents from nine rural counties in Georgia found that youth with high and stable perceived racial discrimination at age 16, 17, and 18 had higher levels of multisystem biological dysregulation as measured by stress hormones (cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, inflammation, and weight by age 20 . A recent review of 30 longitudinal studies found that vicarious discrimination (ie, experiences of discrimination that occur in the life of adults in a child's social network or others with whom the child identify) can adversely affect the health of the target child both prenatally and postbirth …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding how discrimination can affect health

Williams

Lawrence

Davis

et al. 2019

435

362

Background To provide an overview of the empirical research linking self‐reports of racial discrimination to health status and health service utilization. Methods A review of literature reviews and meta‐analyses published from January 2013 to 2019 was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, and Web of Science. Articles were considered for inclusion using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Results Twenty‐nine studies met the criteria for review. Both domestic and international studies find that experiences of discrimination reported by adults are adversely related to mental health and indicators of physical health, including preclinical indicators of disease, health behaviors, utilization of care, and adherence to medical regimens. Emerging evidence also suggests that discrimination can affect the health of children and adolescents and that at least some of its adverse effects may be ameliorated by the presence of psychosocial resources. Conclusions Increasing evidence indicates that racial discrimination is an emerging risk factor for disease and a contributor to racial disparities in health. Attention is needed to strengthen research gaps and to advance our understanding of the optimal interventions that can reduce the negative effects of discrimination.

“…Longitudinal research indicates that discrimination adversely affects the development of healthy self-esteem in Latino youth and aggravates risk for depression (Zeiders, Umaña-Taylor, & Derlan, 2013). Additionally, children and youth's experiences with discrimination increase their consciousness of the threat to themselves and their families (Getrich, 2013;Heard-Garris, Cale, Camaj, Hamati, & Dominguez, 2018).…”

Section: Exposure To Psychological Violence Influences On the Ontogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying a Community Violence Framework to Understand the Impact of Immigration Enforcement Threat on Latino Children

Barajas-Gonzalez

Ayón

Torres

2018

Social Policy Report

Heeding the call put out by the New England Journal of Medicine (2017), we utilize an ecological–transactional model as a conceptual framework for understanding existing literature and for guiding future research on immigration enforcement threat and Latino child development. Using the World Health Organization's definition of violence, we draw on literature from psychology, medicine, social work, and developmental psychology to outline how the anti‐immigrant climate in the United States and the threat of immigration enforcement practices in everyday spaces are experienced by some Latino children as psychological violence. Researchers, teachers, and practitioners are encouraged to be aware of how uncertainty and threat regarding familial safety adversely impacts the lives of Latino children in immigrant households, especially in charged, anti‐immigrant climates.