Ethnic Bias Research Articles

Racial and ethnic disparities post-hospitalization for COVID-19: barriers to access to care for survivors of COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome

Racial and ethnic health disparities in the incidence and severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been observed globally and in the United States. Research has focused on transmission, hospitalization, and mortality among racial and ethnic minorities, but Long COVID-19 health disparities research is limited. This study retrospectively evaluated 195 adults who survived COVID-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (C-ARDS) in New York City from March–April 2020. Among survivors, 54% met the criteria for Long COVID syndrome. Hispanic/Latinx patients, were more likely to be uninsured (p = 0.027) and were less frequently discharged to rehabilitation facilities (p < 0.001). A cross-sectional telephone survey and interview were conducted with a subset of survivors (n = 69). Among these, 11% reported a lack of follow-up primary care post-discharge and 38% had subsequent emergency room visits. Notably, 38% reported poor treatment within the health care system, with 67% attributing this to racial or ethnic bias. Thematic analysis of interviews identified four perceived challenges: decline in functional status, discrimination during hospitalization, healthcare system inequities, and non-healthcare-related structural barriers. Sources of resilience included survivorship, faith, and family support. This study highlights structural and healthcare-related barriers rooted in perceived racism and poverty as factors impacting post-COVID-19 care.

Ethnic‐racial socialization in Chinese American immigrant families: Associations with middle childhood ethnic identity

AbstractCompared to studies of ethnic identity development in adolescence, fewer investigations have examined the development of ethnic identity during middle childhood, a developmental period of dynamic social and cognitive changes that have direct implications for social identity and group membership. Moreover, research on the developmental processes of Asian American youth has also primarily utilized cross‐group comparisons, while neglecting consideration of variations in acculturation, socioeconomic status, and other sociodemographic characteristics within Asian American ethnic groups. Using a socioeconomically‐ and acculturatively‐diverse sample of Chinese immigrant families in the United States (N = 169; 49.1% girls; M = 9.16 years; SD = 1.05), the present study examined how parents’ ERS practices varied by parents’ socioeconomic status, education, and cultural orientations, then tested associations between parents’ ERS and children's self‐reported ethnic centrality and ethnic regard. More highly‐educated Chinese American immigrant parents reported more frequent cultural socialization and more acculturated parents reported more preparation of their children for racial and ethnic bias. Consistent with hypotheses, parents’ cultural socialization was positively associated with children's self‐reported ethnic centrality and positive regard. Results highlight the roles of social status and acculturation in Chinese immigrant parents’ ERS, and point to middle childhood as a key developmental window for ethnic identity socialization and development in immigrant families.

Evaluating precision medicine tools in cystic fibrosis for racial and ethnic fairness.

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience frequent episodes of acute decline in lung function called pulmonary exacerbations (PEx). An existing clinical and place-based precision medicine algorithm that accurately predicts PEx could include racial and ethnic biases in clinical and geospatial training data, leading to unintentional exacerbation of health inequities. We estimated receiver operating characteristic curves based on predictions from a nonstationary Gaussian stochastic process model for PEx within 3, 6, and 12 months among 26,392 individuals aged 6 years and above (2003-2017) from the US CF Foundation Patient Registry. We screened predictors to identify reasons for discriminatory model performance. The precision medicine algorithm performed worse predicting a PEx among Black patients when compared with White patients or to patients of another race for all three prediction horizons. There was little to no difference in prediction accuracies among Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients for the same prediction horizons. Differences in F508del, smoking households, secondhand smoke exposure, primary and secondary road densities, distance and drive time to the CF center, and average number of clinical evaluations were key factors associated with race. Racial differences in prediction accuracies from our PEx precision medicine algorithm exist. Misclassification of future PEx was attributable to several underlying factors that correspond to race: CF mutation, location where the patient lives, and clinical awareness. Associations of our proxies with race for CF-related health outcomes can lead to systemic racism in data collection and in prediction accuracies from precision medicine algorithms constructed from it.

Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions From the Perspective of Speech-Language Pathology Students.

Implicit racial and ethnic biases have been documented across a variety of allied health professions; however, minimal research on this topic has been conducted within the field of speech-language pathology. The purpose of this study was to understand implicit racial and ethnic bias in speech-language pathology students by examining their perceptions and attitudes about the acceptability of racial and ethnic microaggressions. We also examined whether the student ratings varied by their racial and ethnic identity (White vs. people of color [POC]). Fifty-nine students (72% White, 28% POC) currently enrolled in a speech-language pathology program voluntarily completed the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions Scale via an online Qualtrics survey. Although 70% of the student ratings classified the microaggressive statements as unacceptable, 30% of their ratings classified the statements as either (a) acceptable or (b) neither acceptable nor unacceptable. Although both groups of students rated the majority of statements as unacceptable, students who self-identified as White rated more statements as acceptable than students who self-identified as POC. Findings indicating relatively high rejection of microaggressive statements by speech-language pathology students are promising. However, responses were not uniform, and a nontrivial proportion of responses provided by speech-language pathology students reflected passivity toward or active endorsement of microaggressive statements.

Influence of Gender Stereotypes in Hiring Decisions

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of gender stereotypes in hiring decisions. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the influence of gender stereotypes in hiring decisions. Preliminary empirical review revealed that gender bias significantly influenced hiring processes, favoring male candidates over equally qualified female candidates. Through an analysis of empirical evidence from various studies conducted by scholars, it was evident that gender stereotypes intersected with other forms of discrimination, such as racial or ethnic bias, exacerbating disparities in employment opportunities, particularly for women of color. Despite increasing awareness of the importance of diversity, gender bias persisted, hindering progress towards gender parity in the workplace. Recommendations included implementing blind recruitment processes and diversity training to address bias and promote transparency in hiring practices, facilitating the creation of more equitable and inclusive workplaces. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social Role Theory, Ambivalent Sexism theory and Intersectionality theory may be used to anchor future studies on influence of gender stereotypes in hiring decisions. The study provided several recommendations that contributed to theory, practice, and policy. It emphasized the need to raise awareness of gender bias, suggested implementing structural changes like blind recruitment, advocated for diversity and inclusion initiatives, highlighted the role of organizational culture, and called for the involvement of policymakers in addressing systemic barriers. These recommendations aimed to promote fairness, equity, and diversity in employment practices within STEM and beyond, contributing to theoretical understanding, informing practical strategies, and shaping policy interventions.

Racial inequities and rare CFTR variants: Impact on cystic fibrosis diagnosis and treatment

Cystic fibrosis (CF) has been traditionally viewed as a disease that affects White individuals. However, CF occurs among all races, ethnicities, and geographic ancestries. The disorder results from mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Varying incidence of CF is reported among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), who typically exhibit worse clinical outcomes. These populations are more likely to carry rare CFTR variants omitted from newborn screening panels, leading to disparities in care such as delayed diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we present a case-in-point describing an individual of Gambian descent identified with CF. Patient genotype includes a premature termination codon (PTC) (c.2353C>T) and previously undescribed single nucleotide deletion (c.1970delG), arguing against effectiveness of currently available CFTR modulator-based interventions. Strategies for overcoming these two variants will likely include combinations of PTC suppressors, nonsense mediated decay inhibitors, and/or alternative approaches (e.g. gene therapy). Investigations such as the present study establish a foundation from which therapeutic treatments may be developed. Importantly, c.2353C>T and c.1970delG were not detected in the patient by traditional CFTR screening panels, which include an implicit racial and ethnic diagnostic bias as these tests are comprised of mutations largely observed in people of European ancestry. We suggest that next-generation sequencing of CFTR should be utilized to confirm or exclude a CF diagnosis, in order to equitably serve BIPOC individuals. Additional epidemiologic data, basic science investigations, and translational work are imperative for improving understanding of disease prevalence and progression, CFTR variant frequency, genotype-phenotype correlation, pharmacologic responsiveness, and personalized medicine approaches for patients with African ancestry and other historically understudied geographic lineages.

The development of Tibetan children's racial bias in empathy: The mediating role of ethnic identity and wrongfulness of ethnic intergroup bias.

In Experiment 1 (N = 108, aged 7-12), ethnic identity was primed using Tibetan and Han names. Then negative and neutral events were applied to measure the RBEs of Tibetan children. In Experiment 2 (N = 148, aged 7-12), negative events were replaced by pain events. In Experiment 3 (N = 60, aged 7-12), Tibetan children's ethnic identity and the awareness of the wrongfulness of ethnic intergroup bias were added to examine the underlying mechanism. Results found that RBEs increased among Tibetan children aged 7-10 and decreased among those aged 11-12, Moreover, we analyzed age as a continuous variable and found that 10 years old was the inflection point in the development of RBEs in Tibetan children. Importantly, children aged 11-12 years old realized more wrongfulness of ethnic intergroup bias than children aged 7-10. The ethnic identity of Tibetan children aged 7-10 mediated the relation between age group and RBEs. And the wrongfulness of ethnic intergroup bias mediated the link between age group and RBEs in Tibetan children aged 9-12. Our study sheds light on the development of RBEs in Tibetan school-aged children and highlights the importance of identifying the appropriate timing for intervening in prejudice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“Failure-to-warn” when giving advice to students? No evidence for an ethnic bias among teacher students in Germany

Receiving appropriate, unbiased advice from their teachers is important for students’ smaller- and larger-scale educational decisions. However, teachers’ concerns about being or appearing to be prejudiced may interfere and lead them to provide encouraging advice to students belonging to negatively stereotyped groups even when it is not warranted (failure-to-warn phenomenon). In this experimental study, we aimed to replicate findings from the US and tested whether teacher students in Germany provided overly encouraging advice regarding the academic plans of a student with a Turkish (vs. German) name. Teacher students (n = 174) saw the overly ambitious timetable of a (supposed) student with a Turkish or German name and gave advice online on rating scales and in an open-response format. In their advice, they indicated, among others, the perceived demands of the timetable, possible affective and social consequences for the student, and the need to reconsider the timetable. Contrary to expectations and findings from the US, our analyses did not indicate differences in the advice that students with Turkish vs. German names received. Instead, teacher students warned students with a Turkish and German name equally of the difficulties associated with their potential timetable. We discuss both methodology- and theory-related potential explanations for these unexpected findings.

Supplemental Material for The Development of Tibetan Children’s Racial Bias in Empathy: The Mediating Role of Ethnic Identity and Wrongfulness of Ethnic Intergroup Bias

Supplemental Material for The Development of Tibetan Children’s Racial Bias in Empathy: The Mediating Role of Ethnic Identity and Wrongfulness of Ethnic Intergroup Bias

Diversity without Adversity? Ethnic Bias toward Refugees in a Co-Religious Society

Abstract What shapes the host population’s willingness to accept refugees into social, economic, and political life in their country? We argue that refugees’ ethnicity plays a key role—both directly and indirectly—in shaping support for having refugees as neighbors and for granting them a work permit or citizenship. Fielding a conjoint experiment in Turkey (N = 2,362), we find that locals discriminate against Syrian Arab and Kurdish refugees compared to Turkomans. Although a university degree, social ties with locals, and knowledge of language boost prorefugee attitudes, ethnic bias may attenuate their effect. For example, local language knowledge increases support for Arab refugee profiles, but only when it comes to granting them a work permit, but not having them as neighbors or granting citizenship. In contrast, it increases support for profiles of Turkomans and Kurds in all the three domains. Thus, strategies such as learning the local language may not advance all refugees in all domains.

Estimating implicit and explicit racial and ethnic bias among community pharmacists in Canada

BackgroundBias, whether implicit (unconscious) or explicit (conscious), can lead to preferential treatment of specific social groups and antipathy towards others. When healthcare professionals (HCPs), including pharmacists, act on these biases, patient care and health outcomes can be adversely affected. This study aims to estimate implicit and explicit racial/ethnic bias towards Black and Arab people among community pharmacists in Ontario, Canada. MethodsCommunity pharmacists participated in a secure, web-based survey using a cross-sectional design that included Harvard’s Race and Arab Implicit Association Tests (IATs) to examine bias towards Black and Arab people. Explicit (stated) preferences were measured by self-report. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. ResultsThe study surveyed 407 community pharmacists, 56.1 % of whom were women with an average age of 46.9. Implicit Association Test (IAT) results showed a statistically significant moderate preference for white people over both Black (mean IAT = 0.41) and Arab people (mean IAT = 0.35). However, most pharmacists explicitly stated that they had no racial/ethnic preference, with 75.7 % expressing a neutral preference between Black and white and 66.6 % neutral between Arab and white. However, a slight preference for white individuals was observed. Demographic factors such as age, place of birth, race/ethnicity, and experience significantly impacted IAT scores. For example, older, Canadian-born, white pharmacists with more experience displayed higher implicit bias scores. A mild correlation was found between implicit and explicit bias, indicating as implicit bias increases, explicit bias tends to become more negative. ConclusionsThis study is the first to explore the issue of pharmacist bias in Canada and concentrate on anti-Arab bias. Our findings reveal that Ontario community pharmacists tend to have an unconscious inclination towards white people, which calls for further understanding of this matter. Additionally, we discovered a moderate degree of anti-Arab bias, indicating that studies on other HCPs should consider bias against this social group. Educational interventions are needed to address the implicit biases among community pharmacists in Ontario, Canada. These findings should aim to raise self-awareness of biases, educate about the potential implications of these biases on patient care, and provide strategies to reduce bias.

Racial and Ethnic Bias in Letters of Recommendation in Academic Medicine: A Systematic Review.

Letters of recommendations (LORs) are key components of academic medicine applications. Given that bias against students and trainees underrepresented in medicine (UIM) has been demonstrated across assessment, achievement, and advancement domains, the authors reviewed studies on LORs to assess racial, ethnic, and UIM differences in LORs. Standardized LORs (SLORs), an increasingly common form of LORs, were also assessed for racial and ethnic differences. A systematic review was conducted for English-language studies that assessed racial or ethnic differences in LORs in academic medicine published from database inception to July 16, 2023. Studies evaluating SLORs underwent data abstraction to evaluate their impact on the given race or ethnicity comparison and outcome variables. Twenty-three studies describing 19,012 applicants and 41,925 LORs were included. Nineteen studies (82.6%) assessed LORs for residency, 4 (17.4%) assessed LORs for fellowship, and none evaluated employment or promotion. Fifteen of 17 studies (88.2%) assessing linguistic differences reported a significant difference in a particular race or ethnicity comparison. Of the 7 studies assessing agentic language (e.g., "strong," "confident"), 1 study found fewer agentic terms used for Black and Latinx applicants, and 1 study reported higher agency scores for Asian applicants and applicants of races other than White. There were mixed results for the use of communal and grindstone language in UIM and non-UIM comparisons. Among 6 studies, 4 (66.7%) reported that standout language (e.g., "exceptional," "outstanding") was less likely to be ascribed to UIM applicants. Doubt-raising language was more frequently used for UIM trainees. When SLORs and unstructured LORs were compared, fewer linguistic differences were found in SLORs. There is a moderate bias against UIM candidates in the domains of linguistic differences, doubt-raising language, and topics discussed in LORs, which has implications for perceptions of competence and ability in the high-stakes residency and fellowship application process.

The Political Economy of Ethnic Politics in Nigeria

Ethnicity is not evil; neither is ethnic politics generally bad, but it possesses elements that can hinder development in states with low national integration and political bias. This paper examined the impact of ethnic politics on the Nigerian political economy, considering the practices of ethnic interest that have tended to relegate the national interest to sub-ethnic interest, thus hindering the Nigerian state's growth and development. The Marxian political economy theory was adopted to understand the political economy of the ethnic political game playing out as a class of the politicians and the masses. The qualitative research method was used, and data were analysed using the content analysis method based on secondary data. The finding showed that what gave rise to and fueled ethnic bias politics in Nigeria are imbalanced structure and absence of good governance. This further created polarisation and problems of trust among ethnic groups. The paper recommended inclusiveness and fairness in formulating policies and allocating political cum economic values/resources among ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Unravelling gender and ethnic bias in higher education: students’ experiences in access to ocean science education and career opportunities in Kenya

Unravelling gender and ethnic bias in higher education: students’ experiences in access to ocean science education and career opportunities in Kenya

Performance and race: teaching Shakespeare to Saudi students using current events and popular culture

ABSTRACT This article considers the relevance of Shakespeare’s works to foreign students when taught in a non-native context, specifically, in Saudi Arabia. It argues that a student-centred approach could shed light on what is relevant to young people today, even if the texts themselves may seem anachronistic. Adopting a comparative approach that explores common factors between early modern England and contemporary Saudi Arabia, I examine the theatrical practices of both periods in relation to gender, religion, and race. I offer an historical overview of Saudi theatre, highlighting factors that played a role in delaying its development, such as women’s absence from the stage and the antitheatrical sentiments influenced by the reformist Sahwa movement. Aiming to make Shakespeare accessible through connections to current events and popular culture, I consider Saudi Arabia’s fast-changing socio-political landscape, including cultural reforms and recognition of women’s role in theatre. In particular, I focus on blackface, a theatrical trope that has traces in the early modern period and still persists in the western world. I have found that this approach has helped develop students’ ethical sensitivities to ethnic bias and religious intolerance, as well as directing them towards making appropriate choices as future playwrights, performers, and directors.

Common/wealth: Contested commons and proleptic critique

In May 1917, two South African feminist friends and critics of empire then in London sent a telegram to Field Marshal Jan Smuts, the Union of South Africa’s Defence Minister and delegate to the Imperial War Cabinet, in response to his early proposal for a Commonwealth of Nations. It read simply: “Your speech was fine”. Whether intended sincerely (as in “very fine”) or as faint praise (“fine as far as it goes, but”) is not known, but the ambiguity is fitting for an association and description with such contested associations – and one that, by some accounts, originated in the colonies (from an idea proposed by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and South Africa’s then-Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog). It is fitting, too, that one of the cable’s authors was Olive Schreiner (1855-1920), leading novelist of the “New Woman”, advocate of sex equality, and clear-sighted critic of empire’s presumptions, rapacious designs, and gendered and ethnic biases, as well as of the race politics taking shape in South Africa at the start of the twentieth century. Even as we read Schreiner’s work today with an eye to its own prejudices and contradictions, this essay contends that it is worth considering the value of the proleptic critique it embodies for an understanding of the ongoing limitations — but also use-value — of the term “Commonwealth”, as well as of any term that might replace it. The outlines of Schreiner’s critique suggest that the term might yet encode a counter-ideal that points to an ongoing latent potential for the common to be reactivated as promise of a more equal and just division of empire’s spoils.

Kinship, heritage, and ethnic choice: ethnolinguistic registration across four generations in contemporary Finland

Abstract We studied how individuals’ ethnolinguistic affiliation relates to the ethnolinguistic structure of kinship in contemporary Finland, a society in which Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking ethnolinguistic groups have coexisted for centuries and mixed marital unions are common. Using multigenerational data from the population register, we determined how the ethnolinguistic registration of children born in 1990–2015 relates to three generations of ancestors. We created a family tree that links children to their parents, four grandparents and eight great grandparents. Our intention was to both map the ethnolinguistic background of young people and predict a child’s affiliation based on their ancestry. The data revealed that ethnolinguistic affiliation is a more fluid and complex feature than expected when assessed only through child and parental characteristics. We found substantial diversity in ethnolinguistic background within the Swedish-speaking minority group, while most individuals in the Finnish-speaking majority group had a uniform background. We identified three types of bias in the ethnolinguistic affiliation of mixed-origin children: a matrilineal bias, a kinship majority bias and a Swedish ethnic minority bias. The analyses advanced our understanding of how the size of minority groups can shrink even when most couples in mixed unions favour minority group affiliation for their children.

Ethnic representation analysis of commercial movie posters

In the last decades, global awareness toward the importance of diverse representation has been increasing. The lack of diversity and discrimination toward minorities did not skip the film industry. Here, we examine ethnic bias in the film industry through commercial posters, the industry’s primary advertisement medium for decades. Movie posters are designed to establish the viewer’s initial impression. We developed a novel approach for evaluating ethnic bias in the film industry by analyzing nearly 125,000 posters using state-of-the-art deep learning models. Our analysis shows that while ethnic biases still exist, there is a trend of reduction of bias, as seen by several parameters. Particularly in English-speaking movies, the ethnic distribution of characters on posters from the last couple of years is reaching numbers that are approaching the actual ethnic composition of the US population. An automatic approach to monitoring ethnic diversity in the film industry, potentially integrated with financial value, may be of significant use for producers and policymakers.

Racial and Ethnic Bias in Scholastic Achievement Awards: A Collective Dual Language Case Study

ABSTRACT This mixed-methods case study examines data for over 1,500 student awards at two dual language elementary schools collected over the course of two years. Using descriptive statistics, this paper examines student representation by demographics in quarterly scholastic awards. Through document analysis of award descriptions, we analyze how students were selected by their teachers. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework, findings show that across both schools, Latinx students were underrepresented in scholastic awards while White students were overrepresented. After examining and discussing student award data, this paper contextualizes the data within the literature on unconscious bias, inequity in DLBE programs, data-based SWPBIS systems, and explores implications for further research and school-based leadership.

I have a dream: Altering medical students’ ethnic bias towards Indigenous population (NZ Māori) using a digital training called cognitive bias modification.

I have a dream: Altering medical students’ ethnic bias towards Indigenous population (NZ Māori) using a digital training called cognitive bias modification.