Negative Impact Of Discrimination Research Articles

Lessons Learned About Trauma Related to Racial Discrimination During COVID-19 in the United States.

Race scholars have discussed how the pandemic has disproportionately burdened marginalized communities and exacerbated pre-existing inequities, particularly for Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States (U.S.). One glaring social determinant during the time of the COVID-19 is racial discrimination. This chapter will discuss lessons learned regarding the negative impact of discrimination on BIPOC, especially as it pertains to their experiences of trauma. Some of these lessons include (1) the need for clinical psychologist to improve access to treatment through increased research on culturally adaptive interventions, (2) increased research on the effects of race-based trauma on mental health symptomatology, (3) policy and institutional changes that reduce disparities in access to care, and (4) increased education for psychologists around billing procedures for individuals with race-based stress.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF OLDER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN IN THE CHINESE POPULATION

Abstract Older men who have sex with men (OMSM) experience discrimination based on their age and sexual orientation, which presents major challenges to their health. Existing studies have examined discrimination experienced by younger MSM. This study aims to examine the discrimination experienced by OMSM in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The eligible participants for this research comprised OMSM aged over 60 years. The demographic information of the participants was collected. Particularly, the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Personal Social Capital Scale (PSCS), Perceived Acceptance Scale (PAS), and Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation (GIRLHO) scales were used to assess psychological well-being, discrimination, social capital, perceived acceptance, and legal inclusion. Discrimination differs across PRC, Hong Kong, and Taiwan (F(2, 450) = 112.07, p < .001), and it also has a negative impact on psychological well-being (B = -1.16, p <.001). Social capital was found to have a negative impact on psychological well-being (B = -3.38, p < 0.001), and a positive impact on legal inclusion (B = 1.55, p< 0.001). Lastly, social acceptance has a positive impact on psychological well-being (B = 0.52, p = .035). This study provides new insights into the negative impact of discrimination on the psychological health of OMSM and mitigating factors representing the positive effects. However, future studies are necessary to bridge the literature gap regarding the associations between the different factors described in this study.

Legal regulation of anti-discrimination and mobing in the field of labor

The absence of discrimination in the workplace is an important condition for productive work, mental and physical health of employees, preservation of a sense of human dignity and personality development, a healthy moral climate in the team, effective communication in production in vertical and horizontal planes and other necessary processes in the field of work, since any labor team is not only a production, but also a social environment. The negative impact of discrimination is felt far beyond the boundaries of a specific workplace, as negative emotions affect a person's family, friendships, and other social relationships. Anti-discrimination problems are the subject of research by specialists in legal, social and economic sciences, in particular, the legal protection of employees is being studied according to individual characteristics: gender, disability, HIV-positive status, migration, gender identity, ethnic or linguistic minorities, etc. There are a number of international and national regulations that prohibit unequal treatment of employees on grounds unrelated to a person's qualifications, productivity, and business qualities. Prohibition of mobbing (harassment) and establishment of responsibility for such actions became a relatively new phenomenon for national legislation. Adherence to the principle of equal treatment of employees and non-discrimination is one of the main areas of activity of the International Labor Organization, which is reflected in the norms of a number of conventions and recommendations. One of the latest is Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment, adopted by the ILO in 2019, which once again emphasizes the importance of creating decent working conditions for individuals on the basis of equality in the absence of any violence or harassment. In Ukrainian legislation, there are norms regarding the support of certain vulnerable groups of employees - minors, persons of pre-retirement age, internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities and others. This phenomenon is sometimes called "positive discrimination", which is socially determined. Discrimination and mobbing must be excluded from labor relations as those that reduce the quality of life, hinder decent work and human development, therefore the presence of clearly defined norms that establish responsibility for such actions is very important. Anti-discrimination legislation provides for disciplinary, material, financial, administrative and criminal liability for relevant offenses. Changes were made to the administrative legislation regarding the establishment of liability for mobbing (harassment) at the workplace, but there are no clearly defined norms regarding liability for violation of the prohibition of discrimination, as well as no definition of the act itself.

MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT OF DISCRIMINATION: THE PROTECTIVE FUNCTION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN DIVERSE GROUPS OF OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Discrimination occurs in complex social contexts leading to various levels and types of outcomes. Although the negative health impact of discrimination is well-documented, there is a need to investigate patterns among discrimination, social factors, and health outcomes in diverse racial/ethnic groups of older adults to inform interventions. For example, social capital, such as social cohesion, social ties, and safety, is anticipated to be directly associated with mental health and also to modify the impact of discrimination. In the present study, we examined (1) racial/ethnic differences in perceived discrimination, social capital, and depressive symptoms and (2) the direct effect of perceived discrimination and social capital, as well as their interactions, on depressive symptoms among different racial/ethnic groups. Data were drawn from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Round 3 (2,988 non-Hispanic Whites, 719 non-Hispanic Blacks, and 499 Hispanics; 68 mean age). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks had a significantly higher level of perceived discrimination, lower social capital, and more depressive symptoms. Findings from multivariate linear regression models demonstrated that, in all racial/ethnic groups, frequent experiences of discrimination and low levels of social capital were associated with increased symptoms of depression. A significant interaction between discrimination and social cohesion was observed in non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics. In both groups, the negative impact of discrimination was lower among those with higher levels of social cohesion. Our findings support efforts such as improving well-being for older adults by promoting age-friendly communities to build greater social cohesion.

6.2 ETHNIC/RACIAL IDENTITY AND DISCRIMINATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR ADOLESCENT AND YOUNG ADULT DEVELOPMENT

Objectives: Ethnic/racial identity (ERI) development can be a central aspect of self-concept for youth of color. This presentation reviews research on how ERI moderates associations between discrimination and mental health, academics, risky health behaviors, and physical health. Research on whether ERI buffers or exacerbates the detrimental impact of discrimination differs by ERI, age, ethnic/racial group, and outcome. Methods: This presentation includes results from 2 studies. The first is a meta-analysis of over 50 studies and 18,000 participants. The second is a study focused on vicarious racism—witnessing or hearing about other individuals of one’s ethnic/racial group being the target of racism—experienced among Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 600;ages 18-88 years). Results: Meta-analytic data found that having a strong overall sense of ERI conferred protection against discrimination stress, mitigating the impact of racism on health outcomes. However, results also differ by various subdimensions of ERI. Individuals who reported high levels of identity search and exploration were more negatively impacted by discrimination, and this association was most evident at age 24 years. On the other hand, individuals who reported high levels of comfort and commitment to their ethnic/racial identity were more protected from the negative impact of discrimination. Compared to Asian- and African-heritage individuals, Latinx respondents benefited from a strong ethnic/racial identity especially for risky health behaviors. Data from the second study of Asian Americans (April to June 2020) suggest that experiences of vicarious racism were associated with poorer sleep quality;this effect was attenuated for individuals reporting high levels of centrality. Conclusions: The development of an ERI offers social bonds and a sense of belonging and common fate between similar others. Existing research finds that a strong sense of ERI confers overall positive health benefits, suggesting that 1 mechanism for promoting health may be through mitigating the impact of racism among individuals who have a clear and committed sense of their ERI group membership. However, individuals who are still unclear or exploring their ERI may be particularly susceptible to the negative health impact of racism. DEV, R

Culturally informed shift-&-persist: A higher-order factor model and prospective associations with discrimination and depressive symptoms.

Based on the conceptual overlap between shift-&-persist (S&P) and culturally based strategies (critical civic engagement [CCE] and spiritually based coping), this study tests whether associations between these three previously disparate strategies are attributable to the existence of a higher-order coping construct: culturally informed S&P. Among 364 diverse minoritized youth (Mage = 18.79, 85.2% female), we tested for the existence of this higher-order factor through confirmatory factor analysis. We found theoretical and empirical support for the existence of a higher-order factor structure and for our higher-order factor-culturally informed S&P. Culturally informed S&P promotes fewer depressive symptoms as a main effect in addition to completely protecting against the negative impact of discrimination on depressive symptoms when culturally informed S&P is high. The current study illustrates relations between three previously distinct coping strategies through their association with culturally informed S&P. Results highlight culturally informed S&P's promotive and protective effects in the face of ethnic-racial discrimination. Implications for subsequent study of culturally based coping are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Shift-&-Persist and discrimination predicting depression across the life course: An accelerated longitudinal design using MIDUSI-III.

Life course theorists posit that sensitive periods exist during life span development where risk and protective factors may be particularly predictive of psychological outcomes relative to other periods in life. While there have been between-cohort studies trying to examine differences in discrimination and depressive symptoms, these studies have not been designed to identify these sensitive periods, which are best modeled by examining intra-individual change across time. To identify sensitive periods where discrimination and shift-&-persist (S&P) - a coping strategy that may protect against the negative impact of discrimination - are most strongly predictive of depressive symptoms, we employed latent growth curve modeling using an accelerated longitudinal design to track intra-individual change in depressive symptoms from ages 20-69. Participants were 3,685 adults measured at three time points ~10 years apart from the Midlife in the United States study (Mage = 37.93, SD = 6.948 at Wave I). Results identified two sensitive periods in development where high levels of S&P interacted with discrimination to protect against depressive symptoms; during the 30s and a lagged effect where 40's S&P protected against depressive symptoms when participants were in their 50s. Implications for the life course study of discrimination, coping, and depression are discussed.

Ethnic Identity as a Mediator of the Relationship between Discrimination and Psychological Well-Being in South-South Migrant Populations.

There is abundant evidence about the negative impact of discrimination on well-being, but less research on factors that can reduce this negative effect, mainly focused on North American samples and with incipient development on South–South migration. The objective of this research was to analyze the effect of ethnic identity on the relationship between the experience of racial and ethnic discrimination and psychological well-being in Colombian immigrants living in Chile. A total of 962 immigrants over the age of 18 from three cities in Chile participated. Of these, 50.7% were women. The average age was 35 years (SD = 10.23). Participants were evaluated using Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scales, Phinney’s adapted version of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Scale, and Krieger’s Discrimination Experience Scale. After the analysis of the measurement models, a mediation model was analyzed using structural equations. The results provide evidence that ethnic and racial discrimination have negative effects on psychological well-being, with the effect of racial discrimination being greater. Likewise, ethnic identity has positive effects on psychological well-being and partially and completely mediates the effects of ethnic and racial discrimination on psychological well-being. The full effect of discrimination on psychological well-being, mediated by ethnic identity, is exercised only by racial discrimination and not by ethnic discrimination.

Hopelessness Among Middle-Aged and Older Blacks: The Negative Impact of Discrimination and Protecting Power of Social and Religious Resources.

Background and ObjectivesHopelessness—a state of despair characterized by a negative outlook towards the future and a belief in insurmountable challenges—is a risk factor for major depression, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality among older adults. It is also an understudied consequence of discrimination. Older blacks disproportionately report experiencing discrimination and, as a result, may be at greater risk of feeling hopeless. However, social and religious resources may protect against the adverse effects of discrimination. The current study examines whether social support, social engagement, religious attendance, and religiosity buffer the effects of self-reported everyday discrimination on hopelessness among a nationally representative sample of blacks.Research Design and MethodsUsing data from the 2010/2012 psychosocial assessment of the Health and Retirement Study, we regressed hopelessness on everyday discrimination, stratifying by 2 age groups, ages 51–64, representing middle-age (n = 1,302), and age 65 and older, representing old age (n = 887). Interaction terms tested whether each resource moderated the discrimination–hopelessness relationship controlling for depressive symptoms, socioeconomic status, and demographic characteristics.ResultsGreater reports of everyday discrimination were associated with higher levels of hopelessness for middle-aged and older blacks. For middle-aged blacks, the resources did not moderate the discrimination–hopelessness relationship; rather, higher levels of support (b = −0.294, p < .01), religiosity (b = −0.297, p < .001), religious attendance (b = −0.218, p < .05) were independently and inversely associated with hopelessness. For older blacks, higher levels of religiosity moderated the discrimination–hopelessness relationship (b = −0.208, p < .05) and higher levels of support (b = −0.304, p < .05) and social engagement (b = −0.236, p < .05) were independently and inversely associated with hopelessness.Discussion and ImplicationsFindings suggest that self-reported everyday discrimination increases hopelessness among middle-aged and older blacks but social and religious resources may counterbalance its effects, in age-specific ways, to protect against hopelessness. Religiosity may be especially important for older blacks as a buffer against the negative consequences of discrimination on hopelessness.

Teacher Relationships and Adolescents Experiencing Identity-Based Victimization: What Matters for Whom Among Stigmatized Adolescents

The negative impact of discrimination on adolescent mental health is well established, but less is known about the effects of identity-based bullying (i.e., verbal or physical assaults targeting identity(ies)). The current study examined the impact of identity-based victimization (i.e., everyday discrimination and identity-based bullying) on mental health, and the protective role of teacher–student relationships, in a diverse sample of adolescents. Data from a diverse sample of 9th–12th graders (N = 986, 51% youth of Color, 52% cisgender girls, 22% sexual minorities, 41% free/reduced-price lunch status) in a semi-urban high school were analyzed using structural equation modeling analyses, including moderation and multi-group comparisons. Findings indicated that identity-based victimization is pervasive and negatively associated with mental health. Adolescents with stigmatized identities across sexual orientation, race, and gender faced a higher risk of experiencing identity-based victimization, and mental health challenges. Teacher–student relationships that were positive and autonomy-enhancing had a moderating effect on the association between identity-based victimization and mental health for many adolescents, such that they were not protective for those experiencing more severe victimization (i.e., high discrimination or identity-based bullying). Multigroup analyses indicated significant model fit differences across race and gender. Results suggest that extant school-based supports are not enough to combat the pervasive effects of identity-based victimization. Findings support the examination and implementation of changes in clinical and school-based practice and policy to better support stigmatized and victimized adolescents.

The Mediating Roles of Rejection Sensitivity and Proximal Stress in the Association Between Discrimination and Internalizing Symptoms Among Sexual Minority Women.

The negative impact of discrimination on mental health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations has been well documented. However, the possible mediating roles of sexual orientation rejection sensitivity and rejection-based proximal stress in the association between discrimination and internalizing symptoms remain unclear. Rejection-based proximal stress is a subset of proximal stressors that are theorized to arise from concerns about and expectations of sexual orientation-based rejection and discrimination. Drawing on minority stress theory, we tested potential mediating effects using indirect effects structural equation modeling in a sample of 300 sexual minority women. Results indicated that the indirect effect of discrimination on internalizing symptoms (a latent variable indicated by depression and anxiety symptoms) through sexual orientation rejection sensitivity and rejection-based proximal stress (a latent variable indicated by preoccupation with stigma, concealment motivation, and difficulty developing a positive sexual identity) was significant. Additionally, the indirect effects of discrimination on rejection-based proximal stress through sexual orientation rejection sensitivity and of sexual orientation rejection sensitivity on internalizing symptoms through rejection-based proximal stress were also significant. These findings indicate that sexual orientation rejection sensitivity plays an important role in contributing to rejection-based proximal stress and internalizing symptoms among sexual minority women.

How to combat the negative impact of discrimination in a collectivist context? The safeguarding function of peer-oriented hope

The objective of the study was to assess the moderating role of locus-of-hope on the relations between everyday discrimination and well-being outcomes in a collectivist setting. There were 444 Filipino undergraduate students who participated in the research. Findings showed that discrimination was negatively linked to subjective well-being and flourishing while loci-of-hope (internal, external-spiritual, external-family, and external-peers) were positively associated with well-being indices. Further, external-peer locus-of-hope moderated the relations between everyday discrimination and well-being outcomes such that for those who had higher external-peer locus-of-hope, everyday discrimination may still be linked to greater well-being. The theoretical and practical implications are elucidated.

Racial/ethnic variations in the main and buffering effects of ethnic and nonethnic supports on depressive symptoms among five ethnic immigrant groups in Toronto

ABSTRACTObjectives. This study examined variations in the main and buffering effects of ethnic and nonethnic social support on depressive symptoms associated with discrimination among five immigrant groups in Toronto.Design. Data were taken from the Toronto Study of Settlement and Health, a cross-sectional survey of adult immigrants from five ethnic communities (Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Iranian, Korean, and Irish) in Toronto. A total of 900 surveys were collected through face-to-face interviews conducted between April and September 2001.Results. Significant ethnic variations were observed in the effects of both ethnic and nonethnic social supports on discrimination-related depressive symptoms. Regarding the main effect, ethnic social support was significantly stronger for Iranian, Ethiopian, and Korean immigrants than for Irish immigrants. The benefits of nonethnic support were stronger for Iranian immigrants compared to the effect found in the Irish sample. With respect to stress-buffering or stress-moderating effects of social support, ethnic support was significant in all ethnic groups, except the Vietnamese group. Nonethnic support aggravated the negative impact of discrimination on depressive symptoms in the Irish group, but exerted a stress-buffering effect in the Iranian group.Conclusions. Overall, social supports received from fellow ethnic group members had significant main effects (suppressing depressive symptoms) and stress-buffering effects and were most pronounced in the minority ethnic immigrant groups of Ethiopians, Koreans, and Iranians. The effects were least evident among the Vietnamese and Irish. Evidence for the stress-suppressing and stress-buffering role of cross-ethnic group supports was unclear, and even inverted among Irish immigrants. Empirical evidence from the current study seems to support the sociocultural similarity hypothesis of social support.

Reverberations of Racism and Sexism Through the Subjective Sexualities of Undergraduate Women of Color

Young women of color (among others) face both subtle and overt discrimination on a regular basis, but few studies have examined relations between discrimination and sexual outcomes using quantitative tools. We surveyed 154 self-identified undergraduate women of color to examine connections between race- and sex-based discrimination and subjective sexual well-being (i.e., condom use self-efficacy and sexual life satisfaction) and also tested whether sexual autonomy mediated these relations. When examined individually, each form of discrimination was related negatively to condom use self-efficacy and sexual life satisfaction, such that as women reported more discrimination, they reported poorer sexual well-being. However, when examining both racism and sexism as joint predictors, only racism remained significant and there were no racism × sexism interaction effects. In a path model, sexual autonomy mediated the relation between racism and each measure of subjective sexual well-being; racism was negatively related to sexual autonomy, which in turn was positively related to both condom use self-efficacy and sexual life satisfaction. These findings are consistent with the broader literature on the negative impact of discrimination on various aspects of mental and physical health. They also reinforce the position that redressing social inequality is a vital component of promoting individual health.

When Reality Bites: Hopeful Thinking Mediates the Discrimination-Life Satisfaction Relationship

We examine the role of hopeful thinking in enhancing life satisfaction among a minority group facing pervasive group-based discrimination: country migrant workers’ children in China. Positive psychology reasoning suggests that hopeful thinking can attenuate the negative impact of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. This moderation model is compared to a mediation model, which predicts that reduced hopeful thinking explains the negative impact of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. Study 1 showed that hopeful thinking did not moderate the relationship between discrimination and life satisfaction. Rather, the negative impact of discrimination on life satisfaction was mediated through diminished hopeful thinking. Study 2 manipulated perceived discrimination and replicated Study 1 findings. The results reveal that hopeful thinking can indeed have positive consequences, but that hopeful thinking is also constrained by perceiving discrimination. This suggests that there are limits to the extent to which hopeful thinking can be developed when facing group-based discrimination.

Discrimination and Well-Being in Organizations: Testing the Differential Power and Organizational Justice Theories of Workplace Aggression

People may be subjected to discrimination from a variety of sources in the workplace. In this study of mental health workers, we contrast four potential perpetrators of discrimination (managers, co-workers, patients, and visitors) to investigate whether the negative impact of discrimination on victims’ well-being will vary in strength depending on the relative power of the perpetrator. We further explore whether the negative impact of discrimination is at least partly explained by its effects on people’s sense of organizational justice, and whether the strength of mediation varies according to the source of discrimination. Using survey data from 1,733 UK mental health workers, a structural equation model was designed to test these hypotheses following a bootstrap approach. Discrimination from all sources was related to well-being, with that from managers having the strongest effects. The results support an explanation of the effect of discrimination on well-being in terms of organizational justice perceptions for discrimination from managers and from visitors, but less so for discrimination from co-workers or from patients. The study highlights the importance of differentiating amongst sources of discrimination at work and the salience of organizational justice perceptions in explaining the effects of discrimination from some sources.