Racial Group Membership Research Articles

Racial and Ethnic Underserved Populations Prescription Analgesic Use Before and After Lower Extremity Amputation in US Medicare.

Racial disparities exist in access to health care and management of multiple health conditions including chronic pain; however, racial disparities in pre- and postoperative pain management in lower extremity amputation are not well-studied. Our objective was to examine the association between different racial and ethnic groups and prescription opioid and other analgesics use before and after lower extremity amputation. We hypothesize prescription opioid and other analgesic use among Black, Hispanic, and Native American US Medicare beneficiaries undergoing lower extremity amputations will be lower compared to White US Medicare beneficiaries. This retrospective cohort study included a 5% national sample of all Medicare beneficiaries from 2011 to 2015 and 15% national sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries from 2016 to 2018 undergoing nontraumatic, lower extremity amputations. The exposure of interest was racial and ethnic group membership (ie, Black, Hispanic, Native American, White, and others-with others being the combination of the categories Asian and other) as provided in Medicare claims data. Using multivariable generalized estimating equations with a logistic link to account for repeated measurements over time, we estimated the odds of prescription opioid use within 6 months before and after lower extremity amputation across different racial and ethnic groups separately, adjusting for sociodemographic and health status factors (eg, Elixhauser index). Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were reported. Among 16,068 eligible beneficiaries who underwent major and minor amputations (mean age = 65.1 ± 12.7 years; female = 36.1%), 10,107 (62.9%) were White, 3462 (21.5%) were Black, 1959 (12.2%) were Hispanic, 247 (1.5%) were Native American, and 151 (2.9%) were beneficiaries of other races. During the 6 months before lower extremity amputation, Hispanic beneficiaries (aOR, 0.71, 95% CI, 0.65-0.78) and beneficiaries of other races (aOR, 0.60, 95% CI, 0.47-0.76) had significantly lower odds of using prescription opioids compared to White beneficiaries. Similarly, Hispanic beneficiaries (aOR, 0.78, 95% CI, 0.71-0.84) and beneficiaries of other races (aOR, 0.63, 95% CI, 0.51-0.78) were associated with lower odds of opioid use in the 6 months after amputation compared to White beneficiaries. Among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries, Hispanic and other (eg, Asian) fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries had lower odds of prescription opioid use than their White counterparts before and after nontraumatic, lower extremity amputations. Efforts to determine the underlying reasons are needed to ensure equitable health care access.

Critical Consciousness and Sex Positivity: Opinions on Race Play within Alternate Sexuality Communities

ABSTRACT Race play, the act of making explicit overtures to race, racial differences, or political racial dynamics within the context of a kink or BDSM (bondage dominance/submission, sadism/masochism) can be a contentious topic among scholars and members of alternative sexuality communities. In the current study, we explored how individuals’ ideologies about race and sex are associated with their opinions of race play. Two-hundred thirty-four participants recruited through sex-positive and BDSM community spaces between January and June of 2021 completed measures of color-blind racial ideology and sexual comfort as assessments of critical consciousness and sex-positive values. Additionally, participants provided open-ended responses to a description of race play. Mixed-methods analyses using k-means clusters and crosstabs approaches indicated that the interaction of critical consciousness and sex positive attitudes influenced participants’ views on race play. Among those with strong sex-positive attitudes, those who denied institutional racism were more likely to provide unequivocal support for race play while those who acknowledged institutional racism were more likely to emphasize the nuance of balancing personal sexual freedom with the implications of race for practitioners as well as spectators. Additional research is needed to further determine whether racial group membership has an impact on opinions toward race play.

Ethnic–Racial Discrimination Exposure and Anxiety in Latina Girls: Amygdala Volume as an Indirect Neurobiological Pathway

Ethnic–racial discrimination, the differential treatment of individuals based on ethnic or racial group membership, predicts poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety. This is supported by long-standing theories on the social determinants of health and minority stress. However, these theories are rarely expanded to neurobiological sciences, limiting our understanding of mechanisms underlying observed associations. One potential neurobiological pathway between ethnic–racial discrimination exposure and anxiety is that ongoing exposure to racially charged encounters presents imminent threats that may modify stress-sensitive neurocircuitry, like the amygdala.The current study evaluated whether amygdala volume mediated associations between ethnic–racial discrimination exposure and anxiety symptoms in Latina girls, a group exhibiting heightened levels of untreated anxiety and disproportionately subjected to ethnic–racial discrimination.Thirty predominantly Mexican-identifying Latina girls residing in Southern California (MAge = 9.76, SD = 1.11 years) completed a T1-weighted structural MRI scan. Using the Perceptions of Racism in Children and Youth, participants self-reported the prevalence and severity of various discriminatory experiences. Participants also self-reported their anxiety symptoms via the Screen for Child Anxiety and Related Emotional Disorders. Controlling for total intracranial volume and annual household income, an indirect effect of ethnic–racial discrimination on anxiety symptoms via left amygdala volume was observed, β = −0.28, SE = 0.17, BC 95% CI [−0.690, −0.017]. The current findings suggest that the left amygdala is sensitive to racialized threats in childhood and that stress-related alterations may, in part, contribute to elevated anxiety in Latina girls. Our data elucidate a potential mechanism by which this form of sociocultural stress can adversely impact mental health, particularly in the transition from middle childhood to early adolescence, a period marked by a host of interlinked neurophysiological and social changes.

“My mother did not have civil rights under the law”: Family derived race categories in negotiating positions on Critical Race Theory

AbstractHow do persons negotiate the relevance of historic racial injustice for contemporary concerns? In this paper, I show that persons could develop and use racial categorizations in association with family relations to make salient (or not) the relevance of past racial injustice for contemporary concerns. I examined how people construct and orient to racial group membership as implying historical oppression, and its relevance for contemporary interracial relations in the form of supporting or opposing Critical Race Theory (CRT) teaching in the United States public school system. I examined debates and discussions on CRT televised in the American news media using discursive psychological approaches. Findings show that race categories were developed and used in relation to one's ancestors: parents, aunts and uncles, and distant generations. This was done to raise the salience of past racial injustice, which otherwise would involve offering historic or other social structural arguments. The use of family derived race categories at once personalized and enhanced the credibility of the speaker, and countered possible implications for taking responsibility for past actions. These family‐derived race categories were then a resource speakers could use to negotiate their position on CRT. These findings are discussed in relation to the relevance of time for negotiating racism. Further arguments are developed in relation to how an ethnomethodological approach can illuminate critical arguments on race and racism.

Geospatial Distribution of Racial Disparities in Influenza Vaccination in Nursing Homes

ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the distribution of racial disparities in influenza vaccination between White and Black short-stay and long-stay nursing home residents among states and hospital referral regions (HRRs). DesignRetrospective cohort study. Setting and ParticipantsWe included short-stay and long-stay older adults residing in US nursing homes during influenza seasons between 2011 and 2018. Included residents were aged ≥65 years and enrolled in Traditional Medicare. Analyses were conducted using resident-seasons, whereby residents could contribute to one or more influenza seasons if they resided in a nursing home across multiple seasons. MethodsOur comparison of interest was marginalized vs privileged racial group membership measured as Black vs White race. We obtained influenza vaccination documentation from resident Minimum Data Set assessments from October 1 through June 30 of a particular influenza season. Nonparametric g-formula was used to estimate age- and sex-standardized disparities in vaccination, measured as the percentage point (pp) difference in the proportions of individuals vaccinated between Black and White nursing home residents within states and HRRs. ResultsThe study included 7,807,187 short-stay resident-seasons (89.7% White and 10.3% Black) in 14,889 nursing homes and 7,308,111 long-stay resident-seasons (86.7% White and 13.3% Black) in 14,885 nursing homes. Among states, the median age- and sex-standardized disparity between Black and White residents was 10.1 percentage points (pps) among short-stay residents and 5.3 pps among long-stay residents across seasons. Among HRRs, the median disparity was 8.6 pps among short-stay residents and 5.0 pps among long-stay residents across seasons. Conclusions and ImplicationsOur analysis revealed that the magnitudes of vaccination disparities varied substantially across states and HRRs, from no disparity in vaccination to disparities in excess of 25 pps. Local interventions and policies should be targeted to high-disparity geographic areas to increase vaccine uptake and promote health equity.

Hypodescent or ingroup overexclusion?: Children's and adults' racial categorization of ambiguous black/white biracial faces.

Two processes describe racially ambiguous Black/White Biracial categorization-the one-drop rule, or hypodescent, whereby racially ambiguous people are categorized as members of their socially subordinated racial group (i.e., Black/White Biracial faces categorized as Black) and the ingroup overexclusion effect, whereby racially ambiguous people are categorized as members of a salient outgroup, regardless of the group's status. Without developmental research with racially diverse samples, it is unclear when these categorization patterns emerge. Study 1 included White, Black, and racially diverse Biracial children (aged 3- to 7-years) and their parents to test how racial group membership and social context influence face categorization biases. To provide the clearest test of hypodescent and ingroup overexclusion, White participants came from majority White neighborhoods and Black participants from majority Black neighborhoods (with Biracial participants from more racially diverse neighborhoods)-two samples with prominent racial ingroups. Study 2 aimed to replicate the parent findings with a separate sample of White, Black, Black/White Biracial, and Asian adults. Results suggest the ingroup overexclusion effect is present across populations early in development and persists into adulthood. Additionally, categorization was meaningfully related to parental context, pinpointing a pathway that potentially contributes to ingroup overexclusion. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: White, Black, and racially diverse Biracial children and adults tended to categorize racially ambiguous Black/White Biracial faces as racial outgroup members, even if the outgroup was White. This contradicts most work arguing Black/White Biracial racially ambiguous people are more often seen as Black. Children and parents' categorizations were related, though children's categorizations were not related to socialization above and beyond parents' categorizations. Children showed similar categorization patterns across dichotomous and continuous measures.

Racial microaggressions: Identifying factors affecting perceived severity and exploring strategies to reduce harm

AbstractMicroaggressions are speech or actions constituting indirect, subtle, or unintentional acts of discrimination, and awareness of their harmful effects has grown in recent years. Increased awareness could improve inter‐group interactions, but also poses challenges. Fear of misspeaking, or fear of being subject to microaggressions can stifle interactions. We investigated how people from different racial and ethnic groups and political orientations judge the severity of various forms of racial microaggressions, and we tested a specific strategy to mitigate the harm of racial microaggressions. Specifically, in Experiment 1, White participants (WP) and participants of colour (POC) rated the severity of various microaggressions (depicted in vignettes). Participants also reported their political orientation and strength of racial/ethnic identity. Regardless of racial/ethnic group, left‐leaning political orientation was associated with higher perceived severity of racial microaggressions. Furthermore, severity ratings from POC were higher for those who identified more strongly with their ethnic/racial group. In Experiment 2, we again obtained severity ratings, but we used microaggression vignettes that were manipulated to reveal the source s mindset as either reparatory and open‐minded (ROM), or not. Critically, severity ratings were significantly lower for vignettes in which ROM was messaged. The importance of these results is twofold. First, they reveal that political orientation can override other factors like racial group membership when judging the severity of racial microaggressions, and second, they show that augmenting problematic speech with information about mindset, can mitigate perceived harm. Overall, this work contributes to a richer understanding of microaggressions, and has implications for theory and practice.

The moderating role of centrality of racial identity in the relationships between discrimination and depression and blood pressure

African Americans (AA) are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which may be exacerbated by discriminatory experiences. Centrality of racial identity, or the importance of one’s racial group membership for a person’s sense of self, has been shown to buffer individuals from the negative effects of discrimination on psychological health. This study extends the existing literature by investigating whether centrality moderates the relationship between discrimination and biological health via blood pressure. The sample was drawn from The Heart of Detroit Study (THDS), an ongoing longitudinal study on the psychosocial determinants of CVD risk among urban AA adults. Measures included the Everyday Discrimination Scale, the Centrality Scale, and the short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were also collected. Preliminary data were available for 113 participants (M = 67.5 yrs., SD = 5.75). Centrality was positively associated with discrimination; however, was not a significant moderator of the relationship between discrimination and depression, or the relationship between discrimination and blood pressure. Centrality of racial identity did not moderate the relationship between discrimination and health in our sample of middle-aged and older adults. These findings should be interpreted with caution given their preliminary nature. Other surrogate markers of CVD risk, such as heart rate variability, should be considered in the future.

Investigating a Paradox: Toward a Better Understanding of the Relationships Between Racial Group Membership, Stress, and Major Depressive Disorder.

Epidemiologic studies in the United States routinely report a lower or equal prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) for Black people relative to White people. Within racial groups, individuals with greater life stressor exposure experience greater prevalence of MDD; however, between racial groups this pattern does not hold. Informed by theoretical and empirical literature seeking to explain this "Black-White depression paradox," we outline 2 proposed models for the relationships between racial group membership, life stressor exposure, and MDD: an effect modification model and an inconsistent mediator model. Either model could explain the paradoxical within- and between-racial group patterns of life stressor exposure and MDD. We empirically estimated associations under each of the proposed models using data from 26,960 self-identified Black and White participants in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III (United States, 2012-2013). Under the effect modification model, we estimated relative risk effect modification using parametric regression with a cross-product term, and under the inconsistent mediation model, we estimated interventional direct and indirect effects using targeted minimum loss-based estimation. We found evidence of inconsistent mediation (i.e., direct and indirect effects operating in opposite directions), suggesting a need for greater consideration of explanations for racial patterns in MDD that operate independent of life stressor exposure. This article is part of a Special Collection on Mental Health.

Children's social wariness toward a different-race stranger relates to individual differences in temperament.

When children first meet a stranger, there is great variation in how much they will approach and engage with the stranger. While individual differences in this type of behavior-called social wariness-are well-documented in temperament research, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the social groups (such as race) of the stranger and how these characteristics might influence children's social wariness. In contrast, research on children's social bias and interracial friendships rarely examines individual differences in temperament and how temperament might influence cross-group interactions. The current study bridges the gap across these different fields of research by examining whether the racial group of an unfamiliar peer or adult moderates the association between temperament and the social wariness that children display. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset that collected multiple measurements of children's temperament and behaviors (including parent-reported shyness and social wariness toward unfamiliar adults and peers) across early childhood, we found that 2- to 7-year-old children with high parent-reported shyness showed greater social wariness toward a different-race stranger compared to a same-race stranger, whereas children with low parent-reported shyness did not. These results point to the importance of considering racial group membership in temperament research and the potential role that temperament might play in children's cross-race interactions. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Previous research on temperament has not considered how the race of strangers could influence children's social wariness. We find evidence that 2- to 7-year-old children with high parent-reported shyness show greater social wariness toward a different-race stranger compared to a same-race stranger. These results point to the importance of considering racial group membership in temperament research. Our findings also suggest temperament may play a role in children's cross-race interactions.

Re-examining the utility and validity of benign ethnic neutropenia: A narrative literature review.

To conduct a narrative literature review of published evidence documenting racial differences in white blood cells (WBCs) resulting in the legitimization of benign ethnic neutropenia (BEN) as a diagnosis. A search of English-language U.S.-based articles was undertaken using the following electronic databases: Medline (1860 to 1990); PsycINFO (1860 to 1990); and EMBASE (1860 to 1990), which resulted in a total of eight studies. A narrative literature review of the eight studies was conducted to assess how race was utilized in the study methods. Of the eight studies, several themes emerged within the scientific literature that demonstrate imprecise, problematic use of race in research practice. 1) Researchers embedded flawed notions of biological differences between racial groups (mostly focused on Black people compared to white people) within the research hypotheses, methods, and conclusions, 2) studies were unclear on how racial group membership was defined and identified within the study samples, 3) studies did not adequately account for structural or historical determinants of health that may drive racial differences in immune status (i.e., neutropenia). Given the limitations in this U.S.-based scientific literature, BEN is a diagnosis of limited construct validity that reinforces false notions of biological race, warrants renaming to remove "ethnic" language (to include "familial" or "hereditary"), and suggests a need for global expansion of the existing absolute neutrophil count reference ranges in the clozapine monitoring guidelines.

Distributive justice criteria and social categorization processes predict healthcare allocation bias.

Drawing on theories of distributive justice and intergroup discrimination, we examined how much distributive justice criterion and racial group membership contribute to bias in healthcare allocation decisions, by testing a theoretical model that specifies perceived stereotypicality and individual responsibility as a serial mediation process in the relationship between disease's contraction controllability (controllable vs. non-controllable) and bias in medical decision-making. White Portuguese medical students (N=213) participated in an online experimental study conducted in two phases. In phase 1, we manipulated the cause of disease contagion and the salience of patient's racial categorization, and measured the stereotypicality of behaviour. In phase 2, we assessed perceived responsibility and likelihood of recommending medical treatment. Controllable (vs. non-controllable) contraction behaviours in phase 1 were perceived as more stereotypic. As a spillover effect, more stereotypical behaviours in phase 1 predicted more patient's responsibility for their disease in phase 2. Importantly, controllable behaviours of disease contraction in phase 1 negatively affected recommendations for medical treatment in phase 2; and this negative effect was serially mediated by the stereotypicality of behaviour and patient responsibility. Furthermore, patients' skin colour moderated this process, meaning that perceptions of controllable behaviour as more stereotypic were stronger for Black than for White patients. This research shows how stereotyping and social categorization bias allocation decisions through the patient's level of responsibility in decision-making processes. The findings are discussed in light of principles of distributive justice and the literature on intergroup relations with respect to racial disparities in health care.

Work-place diversity climate: Its association with racial microaggressions and employee work-place well-being

The study examined the role of work-place diversity climate in relation to employees’ experiences of racial microaggressions (RMAs), their organisational commitment, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in selected South African organisations. The employees (n = 262; male = 52.9%; white = 47.1%) completed the Diversity Perception Scale (DPS), the Daily Life Experience Scale (DLE), and measures for organisational commitment, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and OCB. Following standardised regression analysis, the results indicated that an inclusive diversity climate was associated with lower employee perceptions of RMAs, reduced turnover intentions, improved job satisfaction, and improved OCB. Experiences of RMA’s was directly associated with lower diversity climate, higher turnover intentions, lower job satisfaction, and decreased OCBs. Diversity climate indirectly influenced the relationships between RMA’s and employee organisational commitment, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and OCBs. Female gender and black racial group membership was associated with a lower sense of diversity climate and increased experiences of RMAs. The current findings suggest a need for diversity climate management for enhancing employee work-place well-being.

Redistricting Out Descriptive Representation: The Harmful Effect of Splitting ZIP Codes on the Constituent–Representative Link

AbstractRedistricting poses a potential harm to American voters in limiting choice and accountability at the polls. Although voters still retain their right to contact their representatives, research shows that the confusion created when redistricting divides ZIP codes confounds the constituent–representative link. We build on existing research that shows splitting ZIP codes across multiple congressional districts leads to harms in representation. Specifically, we examine the role of splitting ZIP codes on the recognition of the racial group membership of one’s Congressional representative, a foundational component of the descriptive representation of racial minority voters via minority–majority districts in the United States. We find that citizens living in split ZIP codes are significantly less likely to know the race of their member of Congress. This occurs even when controlling for a host of factors including the race and partisanship of the constituent, the tenure of the member, and the amount of time a constituent has lived in their congressional district. Our work provides further evidence of the democratic harms experienced by American citizens living in ZIP codes that are split between multiple congressional districts. This work also points to the representational harms produced by poor district design on the representation of American voters.

Gender Backlash and the Moderating Role of Shared Racial Group Membership.

Research suggests that White women often experience more gender backlash than women of color in response to expressions of agency. We consider whether this differential in backlash is driven by the match or mismatch of the race of both perceivers and targets. Much of the existing work in this space examines the perspective of White perceivers, which might underestimate racial minority women's susceptibility to backlash if backlash occurs primarily in same-race interactions. We examine how the racial group memberships of targets and perceivers jointly affect backlash against gender-norm violating women. In analyses of Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford's accusations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh and Anita Hill's accusations against Clarence Thomas during their respective U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, an archival analysis of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and two experiments, we find that perceivers of different races tend to express more backlash toward racial in-group than out-group women.

Racial stories as learning moments: An ecological exploration of Black adolescents’ racial learning experiences

AbstractYouth in the United States receive countless messages about the meanings and consequences of racial group membership. The processes through which these racialized messages are transmitted, known collectively as ethnic‐racial socialization, are known to influence youths’ psychosocial and academic development—especially their ethnic‐racial identity. However, most studies have focused exclusively on parents’ roles in the ethnic‐racial socialization process. In the present study, drawing on semi‐structured interviews with 64 Black adolescents, we examined youths’ descriptions of their experiences with (and understandings of) race to provide an “up‐close” view of the sources and processes involved in ethnic‐racial socialization. In addition to providing further evidence of the roles of parents and school curricula in shaping youths’ racial beliefs, results suggested that ethnic‐racial socialization messages frequently emerged from youths’ direct and vicarious exposure to racial discrimination and inequality in the schools they attended, the public places they visited, and in the media they consumed.

Racial Identity Clusters and Their Relation to Postpartum Maternal Functioning in Black Women.

ObjectivesRacial identity, which is the degree that individuals define themselves regarding their racial group membership, may influence the mental well-being of Black adults. To gain an understanding of the role Black racial identity may have on postpartum mental health, the researchers performed a secondary data analysis to examine the relationship between six Black racial identity clusters (Low Race Salience, Assimilated and Miseducated, Self-Hating, Anti-white, Multiculturalist, and Conflicted) and postpartum maternal functioning in Black women living in Georgia.MethodsBlack women completed Cross’s Racial Identity Scale, the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning, and demographic questionnaires online via Qualtrics®.ParticipantsA total sample of 116 self-identified Black postpartum women were included in the analysis. Women ranged in age from 18 to 41 years (M = 29.5 ± 5.3) and their infants were 1 to 12 months old (M = 5.6 ± 3.5). The majority of women were married/cohabitating with their partner (71%), had a college degree (53%), and employed (69%).ResultsIt was determined through Kruskal Wallis test, χ2(5) = 20.108, p < 0.05, that the women belonging to the Assimilated and Miseducated cluster had higher levels of maternal functioning when compared to the women in the Self-Hating and Anti-white clusters.ConclusionThis study is novel in its exploration of the relationship between Black racial identities and postpartum maternal functioning. Findings support the need for further research with larger sample and cluster sizes to determine the relationship between racial identity and maternal functioning.

Racial regularities: Setting-level dynamics as a source of ethnic-racial socialization.

A substantial literature has focused on how ethnic-racial socialization from parents shapes youths' racial identities and the meanings they attach to their own and others' racial group membership. We argue that a critically important source of information to youth about the meaning and significance of race, and therefore a key source of ethnic-racial socialization, resides in youths' exposure to repeated patterns in the relative social experiences, opportunities, roles, and outcomes experienced by two or more racial groups across levels of the ecological environment. Drawing on Seidman's concept of a "social regularity" we propose the concept of a "racial regularity" to name, describe and define pervasive and repeated intergroup patterns that youth observe through their daily transactions across settings. Additionally, drawing from the socio-cognitive developmental literature, we consider why and how racial regularities may inform youths' racial knowledge. Finally, we illustrate our perspective using existing ethnographies of racial dynamics in schools and neighborhoods vis-à-vis youths' racial knowledge.

Electoral incentives and elite racial identification: Why Brazilian politicians change their race

Scholars recognize that individuals change how they racially identify themselves over time and even from situation to situation. Politicians, however, are typically presumed to have stable, innate racial identities. In this article, I contend that politicians strategically change their self-professed race in response to electoral incentives. Using original data from Brazilian elections, I show that more than a quarter of the political candidates that competed in Brazil’s 2014 and 2016 elections changed their publicly declared race from one election to the next. My analysis indicates the racial composition of the electorate and the electoral rules that govern competition affect patterns of racial change. These results suggest that candidates “racially position” themselves as members of the racial group that provides the greatest electoral rewards. This strategic behavior calls into question extant theories which assume elite racial group membership is fixed and exogenous to electoral outcomes.

Epidemiology of disturbing dreams in a diverse US sample

Study objectivesDisturbing dreams are a common complaint among trauma survivors, but little epidemiological research exists to document the frequency in the general population. In addition, information about their occurrence in diverse adults is lacking. MethodsUsing the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys we had the unique opportunity to examine disturbing dreams in a diverse sample of adults in the US. Disturbing dreams were measured in three different variables including trauma dreams, dreams of the worst event, and dreams of separation. A fourth variable was created to assess for any disturbing dream reported across the three categories. ResultsDisturbing dream prevalence varied in the overall sample (N = 20,013) based on the assessment question. Dreams of trauma was 2.01% in the overall sample, dreams of the worst event was 7.21% and dreams of separation was 1.73%. Prevalence rates of all dream variables varied by racial and ethnic group membership, gender, and age. Odds ratios were also calculated for the three variables of interest by racial and ethnic group with significant differences emerging. Women had significantly higher rates of disturbing dreams in all variables assessed (p < 0.01). Older adults reported significantly lower rates of disturbing dreams compared to younger and middle-aged adults (p < 0.001). ConclusionsThis study establishes prevalence rates for disturbing dreams in a diverse sample of US adults. Understanding the prevalence can aid in reducing barriers to care for evidence-based treatments currently underutilized.