Interpersonal Racism Research Articles

Racism and Hypertension: A Review of the Empirical Evidence and Implications for Clinical Practice

Despite improved hypertension (HTN) awareness and treatment, racial disparities in HTN prevalence persist. An understanding of the biopsychosocial determinants of HTN is necessary to address racial disparities in the prevalence of HTN. This review examines the evidence directly and indirectly linking multiple levels of racism to HTN. Published empirical research in EBSCO databases investigating the relationships of three levels of racism (individual/interpersonal, internalized, and institutional racism) to HTN was reviewed. Direct evidence linking individual/interpersonal racism to HTN diagnosis is weak. However, the relationship of individual/interpersonal racism to ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) is more consistent, with all published studies reporting a positive relationship of interpersonal racism to ABP. There is no direct evidence linking internalized racism to BP. Population-based studies provide some evidence linking institutional racism, in the forms of residential racial segregation (RRS) and incarceration, to HTN incidence. Racism shows associations to stress exposure and reactivity as well as associations to established HTN-related risk factors including obesity, low levels of physical activity and alcohol use. The effects vary by level of racism. Overall the findings suggest that racism may increase risk for HTN; these effects emerge more clearly for institutional racism than for individual level racism. All levels of racism may influence the prevalence of HTN via stress exposure and reactivity and by fostering conditions that undermine health behaviors, raising the barriers to lifestyle change.

The DRUID study: exploring mediating pathways between racism and depressive symptoms among Indigenous Australians

Racism is an important determinant of mental and physical health for minority populations. However, to date little is known about the relationship between racism and ill-health outside of the U.S. or the causal pathways between racism and poor health. This paper focuses on the relationship between racism and depression in a non-U.S. indigenous population, including examination of novel mediators and moderators. One hundred and eighty-five adults in the Darwin Region Urban Indigenous Diabetes study responded to a validated instrument assessing multiple facets of racism. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Stress, optimism, lack of control, social connections, cultural identity and reactions/responses to interpersonal racism were considered as possible mediators and moderators in linear regression models. Interpersonal racism was significantly associated with depression after adjusting for socio-demographic factors (β = 0.08, p < 0.001). Lack of control, stress, negative social connections and feeling ashamed, amused or powerless as reactions to racism were each identified as significant mediators of the relationship between racism and depressive symptoms. All examined mediators together accounted for 66% of the association between interpersonal racism and depressive symptoms. This study demonstrates that racism is associated with depressive symptoms in an indigenous population. The mediating factors between racism and depressive symptoms identified in this study suggest new approaches to ameliorating the detrimental effects of racism on health.

Gendered measures, gendered models: toward an intersectional analysis of interpersonal racial discrimination

In this paper we draw from black and multiracial feminist theories to argue that interpersonal racial discrimination should be understood as a potentially gendered phenomenon. While there are some discriminatory practices that are directed at both black men and black women, some forms of racial discrimination affect men more than women, and some affect women more than men. Still other forms may be gender-specific. Our review of existing literature shows that most survey research has utilized measures and models of racial discrimination that fail to account for these gender differences. Drawing on the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life (NSAL) we demonstrate the importance of gender for understanding and analysing interpersonal racial discrimination. We offer concrete ways for social researchers to centralize gender in their analyses. By doing so, we hope to advance the development of an intersectional approach to racial discrimination.

Exploring the Etiology of Ethnic Self-Hatred: Internalized Racism in Chicana/o and Latina/o College Students

Internalized racism is rarely discussed in student affairs. Despite the negative effects of internalized racism on the mental health and identity development of college students of color, little is known about its etiology. Based on theoretical conceptions, the author explores if perceived racism and/or U.S. acculturation act as predictors of internalized racism in the Chicana/o and Latina/o community. Using multiple linear regression, U.S. cultural identity and perceived interpersonal racism acted as predictors of internalized racism for Chicana/o and Latina/o college students. The implications of these findings and the need for further research are discussed.

Racial Discrimination and Physical Activity Among Low-Income–Housing Residents

Although discrimination has been identified as a potential determinant of existing racial/ethnic health disparities, no studies have investigated whether racial discrimination contributes to disparities in physical activity. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the association between interpersonal racial discrimination and physical activity. Baseline data were collected during 2004-2005 among a predominately black and Hispanic sample of adult residents living in 12 low-income-housing sites in Boston MA (n=1055). Residents reported experiences of lifetime racial discrimination during interviewer-administered surveys and wore a pedometer for 5 days to measure physical activity. For analyses, performed in 2009, linear regression models with a cluster design were conducted to predict physical activity, measured as steps per day. Nearly 48% of participants reported ever experiencing racial discrimination, and discrimination was most commonly experienced on the street or in a public setting. No association was found between discrimination and physical activity, when examined in bivariate, multivariable, or race-stratified models. The current results indicate that self-reported racial discrimination is not a key determinant of physical activity among residents living in low-income housing. However, additional research is warranted to address current limitations of this study.

Racism, Parent Support, and Math-Based Career Interests, Efficacy, and Outcome Expectations Among African American Adolescents

Using an extended model of social cognitive career theory, this study investigated ways in which African American middle school adolescents perceive racism and the associations among various aspects of perceptions of racism, other background factors, and math-based career interests, efficacy, and outcome expectations. Results indicated that African American adolescents clearly delineated among various types of interpersonal and institutional racism. Results also showed that various types of perceived racism were negatively associated with math efficacy and outcome expectations but positively associated with math and science interests. Greater interests in math were negatively related to poor academic performance, which in turn was negatively related to lack of peer support. Math outcome expectations was positively related to math efficacy and parent support. Adolescents who had lower academic performance also received greater parental support. The authors suggest that perceptions of racism be included as a factor in studies that examine the development of math/science interests among African American middle school adolescents.

General and gay-related racism experienced by Latino gay men.

Latino gay men report experiences of racial discrimination within and outside the gay community. This study focused on correlates of racism within general and gay contexts. Racism was assessed in a probability sample of 911 Latino gay men recruited from 3 U.S. cities. Factor analysis of the 10-item scale produced 2 factors: (a) General Racism Experiences, and (b) Racism Experiences in Gay Contexts. The scale and each factor showed adequate reliability and validity. Latino gay men with darker skin, more Indian features, more time in the United States, and low self-esteem reported more racism in both general and gay contexts. The authors examine the psychometric properties of a measure that assesses interpersonal racism among Latinos, report correlates of racism within a gay context, and provide an assessment tool for understanding the role of racism in the lives of Latino gay men.

What causes racial disparities in very preterm birth? A biosocial perspective.

Very preterm birth (<32 weeks' gestation) occurs in approximately 2% of livebirths but is a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity in the United States. African-American women have a 2-fold to 3-fold elevated risk compared with non-Hispanic white women for reasons that are incompletely understood. This paper reviews the evidence for the biologic and social patterning of very preterm birth, with attention to leading hypotheses regarding the etiology of the racial disparity. A systematic review of the literature in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and EMBASE indices was conducted. The literature to date suggests a complex, multifactorial causal framework for understanding racial disparities in very preterm birth, with maternal inflammatory, vascular, or neuroendocrine dysfunction as proximal pathways and maternal exposure to stress, racial differences in preconceptional health, and genetic, epigenetic, and gene-environment interactions as more distal mediators. Interpersonal and institutionalized racism are mechanisms that may drive racially patterned differences. Current literature is limited in that research on social determinants and biologic processes of prematurity has been generally disconnected. Improved etiologic understanding and the potential for effective intervention may come with better integration of these research approaches.

Experiences of racism among urban Indigenous Australians: findings from the DRUID study

Although Indigenous people continue to experience racism in contemporary Australian society, we know little about the nature of such experiences. The Measure of Indigenous Racism Experiences [MIRE] assesses racism across several dimensions in an urban Indigenous context. This paper presents findings from 312 Indigenous volunteers who responded to the MIRE as part of the Darwin Region Urban Indigenous Diabetes study. Interpersonal racism was reported by 70 per cent of participants, most commonly from service providers and in employment and public settings. A third of respondents had high levels of internalized racism while two-thirds acknowledged the existence of systemic racism. Interpersonal and systemic racism were most commonly reported among older respondents, those of higher socioeconomic position and among those who identified strongly with their culture. Further research is needed to understand the impact of racism on Indigenous people and to determine how to combat racism in Australian society.

Coping with racism: a selective review of the literature and a theoretical and methodological critique

Racism is a stressor that contributes to racial/ethnic disparities in mental and physical health and to variations in these outcomes within racial and ethnic minority groups. The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss key issues in the study of individual-level strategies for coping with interpersonal racism. We begin with a discussion of the ways in which racism acts as a stressor and requires the mobilization of coping resources. Next, we examine available models for describing and conceptualizing strategies for coping with racism. Third, we discuss three major forms of coping: racial identity development, social support seeking and anger suppression and expression. We examine empirical support for the role of these coping strategies in buffering the impact of racism on specific health-related outcomes, including mental health (i.e., specifically, self-reported psychological distress and depressive symptoms), self-reported physical health, resting blood pressure levels, and cardiovascular reactivity to stressors. Careful examination of the effectiveness of individual-level coping strategies can guide future interventions on both the individual and community levels.

Are institutional and individual interpersonal racism the same?

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It's enough to make you sick: the impact of racism on the health of Aboriginal Australians

Experience of interpersonal racism has been neglected as a mechanism by which inequalities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people are created and maintained. Cross-sectional survey of randomly selected residents of a rural Australian town (n=639). Interpersonal racism was measured by two questions on experiences in the past four weeks of negative racially based treatment that evoked an emotional or physical response. Health was measured with the mental and physical health component scores of the Short-Form 12 and self-reported fair or poor general health. Linear and logistic regressions modelled the effects of interpersonal racism on health, controlling for age, sex, socio-economic status and Aboriginality. The 183 Aboriginal respondents had lower health component scores, were more than twice as likely to report fair-to-poor general health (34% compared with 17%, p<0.001), and 2.6 to 5.0 times more likely to report negative racially based treatment. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics were not associated with reporting negative racially based treatment. After controlling for other variables, Aboriginal respondents who reported negative treatment were more likely to have poor health on all three measures. Non-Aboriginal respondents who reported experiencing negative treatment had lower mental health component scores. Experiencing racist treatment should be recognised as a social determinant of health. Improved health care and other initiatives may not eliminate health inequalities in the absence of fundamental changes in how non-Aboriginal people behave towards Aboriginal people.

Integration into the Australian Labour Market: The Experience of Three “Visibly Different” Groups of Recently Arrived Refugees1

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the effects of “visible difference” on employment outcomes of three recently arrived refugee2 groups: ex‐Yugoslavs, black Africans, and people from the Middle East. The paper draws on data collected through a survey (150 questionnaire‐based face‐to‐face interviews conducted by bilingual interviewers) of refugees who settled in Western Australia over the past decade. Results indicate different outcomes for respondents from the three backgrounds despite similar levels of human capital and similar length of residence. Our evidence supports a “political economy of labour migration” interpretation for the differential outcomes, based on both structural and interpersonal racism, rather than a neo‐classical explanation which holds that the job market is “blind to ethnicity”. Despite high unemployment and loss of occupational status, predominantly highly educated refugees were relatively satisfied with their lives in Australia.

Racism, psychosis and common mental disorder among ethnic minority groups in England

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between risk of psychosis, common mental disorder (CMD) and indicators of racism among ethnic minority groups in England and how this relationship may vary by particular ethnic groups. A multivariate analysis was carried out of quantitative, cross-sectional data from a nationally representative community sample of people aged between 16 and 74 years from the largest ethnic minority groups in England: those of Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Irish origin. Experience of interpersonal racism and perceiving racism in the wider society each have independent effects on the risk of CMD and psychosis, after controlling for the effects of gender, age and socio-economic status. There was some variation in the findings when they were conducted for separate ethnic and gender groups. An understanding of the relationship between racism and mental health may go some way towards explaining the ethnic variations found in both CMD and, particularly, psychosis.

Stress model for research into preterm delivery among black women

The disparity between black and white infant mortality rates increased over the last decade, despite overall improvement in infant survival. Because most black infant deaths are related to preterm delivery, the discovery of the cause of premature birth in general and excess premature birth for black infants in particular is of paramount importance for reproductive health research. Substantial theoretic support exists for maternal stress as a risk factor for preterm birth. Traumatic events early in life may sensitize the adult to contemporary stresses and increase her vulnerability to stress-induced neuroendocrine or infection/inflammatory pathways to early parturition. In addition, an individual may prematurely age as a result of cumulative stress or a major traumatic event. This "stress age," which is synonymous with the concept of weathering and similar to the concept of allostatic load, may affect parturition through chronic conditions (such as hypertension) and in poorly understood pathophysiologic mechanisms that are related to increased chronologic age. One potential measure of stress age is maternal serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. Maternal stress is a potential explanatory factor for excess preterm delivery among black women because of their exposure to racism-associated stress. However, few studies have addressed this question, and results are mixed. Future etiologic research must take into account the complexities of the measurement of stress age and past and current exposures to stress, which includes internalized racism and interpersonal racism.

Experiencing Racism Increases Risk for Poor Pregnancy Outcome

Experiencing Racism Increases Risk for Poor Pregnancy Outcome

Very Low Birthweight in African American Infants: The Role of Maternal Exposure to Interpersonal Racial Discrimination

We determined whether African American women's lifetime exposure to interpersonal racial discrimination is associated with pregnancy outcomes. We performed a case-control study among 104 African American women who delivered very low birthweight (<1500 g) preterm (<37 weeks) infants and 208 African American women who delivered non-low-birthweight (>2500 g) term infants in Chicago, Ill. The unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio of very low birthweight infants for maternal lifetime exposure to interpersonal racism in 3 or more domains equaled 3.2 (95% confidence intervals=1.5, 6.6) and 2.6 (1.2, 5.3), respectively. This association tended to persist across maternal sociodemographic, biomedical, and behavioral characteristics. The lifelong accumulated experiences of racial discrimination by African American women constitute an independent risk factor for preterm delivery.

Refugees and Racism in Canada

The terms race and racism are defined, and the history of their use in Canada since Confederation is examined. A distinction is made between “macro” and “micro” racism. Examples of interpersonal and systemic racism in Canada are considered in the context of multicultural policies and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Changes in Canadian immigration law and regulations are examined and their implications for refugee movements reviewed. It is concluded that there are unintended consequences of stricter control over borders and the “faster, fairer, firmer” treatment of asylum-seekers, that constitute institutional racism.

Using Racial Identity Theory to Explore Racial Mistrust and Interracial Contact Among Asian Americans

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of racial identity attitudes as predictors of racial mistrust (perceived interpersonal racism) of African Americans and other racial contact variables among Asian Americans. A packet consisting of the Visible Racial/Ethnic Group Members (VREG) Identity Attitudes Scale, Cultural Mistrust Inventory, Marlow‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Racial Contact Scale, and a demographic data sheet was administered to 160 participants. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that racial identity attitudes significantly predicted racial mistrust, overall group impression, 4 racial stereotypes, and 2 quality of racial contact variables in ways consistent with racial identity theory. Implications of the findings for Asian American psychology, counseling, and race relations research are discussed.

The Social psychology of interpersonal discrimination

Foreword, Stuart Oskamp 1. Introduction: Framing the Questions, Bernice Lott and Diane Maluso 2. Distancing from Women: Interpersonal Sexist Discrimination, Bernice Lott 3. Shaking Hands with a Clenched Fist: Interpersonal Racism, Diane Maluso 4. Interpersonal Heterosexism, J.L. Fernald 5. Class Acts: Middle-Class Responses to the Poor, Heather E. Bullock 6. The Social Construction of the Disempowered Elder: Ageism in Interpersonal Contexts, Monisha Pasupathi, Laura L. Carstensen, and Jeanne L. Tsai 7. Multiple Variables in Discrimination, Hope Landrine, Elizabeth A. Klonoff, Roxanna Alcaraz, Judyth Scott, and Phyllis Wilkins