Reports Of Racial Discrimination Research Articles

Asian-Americans in COVID-19: A Literature Review of Mental Health Status and Service Use

Objectives: Reports of racial discrimination against Asian Americans has surged during the Covid-19 pandemic. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of Asian Americans' mental health status during Covid-19 and an assessment of the barriers and disparities within Asian Americans mental health service delivery. Methods: Four databases and the publisher The Lancet were chosen to search journal articles regarding Asian Americans' mental health status and service use. The increasing racial discrimination was examined as a critical parameter to assess Asian Americans' mental health status. The accessibility of mental health services and the responsiveness of Asian Americans appropriate needs were studied by gender, subgroups and other moderating factors. Results: A total of 49 studies met the review criteria. Asian Americans encountered increasing coronavirus-related discrimination and presented a deteriorated mental health state during Covid-19. A high rate of informal/non-professional mental health service use and an overall low rate of professional service use were found in Asian Americans. Inaccurate self-reporting and diagnosis, language barriers, financial difficulty, and the lack of health insurance and education are contributing factors of the unmet needs of Asian Americans when seeking mental health services. Conclusions: Possible reasons that explain Asian Americans mental health issues reside in socio-economic factors such as cultural differences, limited English proficiency, and low prevalence rates of health insurance and education. Evidence-based policies against racism, inter-ethnic connections, and cultural identity understanding are needed on national and community levels to address Asian hate crimes and discrimination. Virtual mental health services, culture-specific forms of intervention and treatment responses and appropriate education about Asian American mental health issues can help improve Asian Americans' mental health conditions.

Everyday discrimination for American Indian tribal college students enrolled in the Internet All Nations Breath of Life program

Objective Identify factors associated with perceived discrimination, including depression, body image satisfaction, body mass index (BMI), social support, stress, and self-reported social status. Participants A total of 249 American Indian tribal college students Methods Students were recruited for an Internet-based smoking cessation program. A total of 249 students answered the Everyday Discrimination Scale questions to assess perceived discrimination. We conducted bivariate analyses to determine potential significant associations between perceived discrimination and health outcomes at baseline. Results We found 63% of the sample reported racial discrimination. Among those who reported moderate/severe depression, 87% reported discrimination. Among those who were not satisfied with their body image, 70% reported racial discrimination. Conclusion Reports of racial discrimination are highly prevalent among our participants. We found reports of discrimination are significantly associated with depression and dissatisfaction with body image. Our study highlights a high priority population that perceives racial discrimination, potentially increasing their risk for adverse health outcomes.

Severity of household food insecurity and lifetime racial discrimination among African-American households in South Carolina

ABSTRACTObjectives: In 2014, 30% of African-American households with children had low or very low food security, a rate double that of white households with children. A household has low food security if its members experience food shortages and reductions in food quality attributable to a lack of household resources or access and very low food security if its members also experience reductions in food intake and disrupted eating patterns. Households that are either low or very low food secure are known collectively as food insecure. We examined the association between the severity of household food insecurity and reports of lifetime racial discrimination among a sample of food-insecure African-American households in South Carolina.Design: Data were collected from 154 African-American respondents. Food insecurity was measured using the US Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Survey Module. Lifetime racial discrimination was measured using the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version (PEDQ-CV). We used logistic regression to test the association between severity of food insecurity (low vs. very low food secure), PEDQ-CV score and PEDQ-CV subscales. All models were adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic variables.Results: A one-unit increase in the frequency of lifetime racial discrimination was associated with a 5% increase in the odds of being very low food secure (odds ratio (OR) 1.05, P < .05). More reports of discrimination that were stigmatizing or devaluing (OR 1.16, P < .05), took place at a workplace or school (OR 1.15, P < .05) or were threatening or aggressive (OR 1.39, P < .05) increased the odds of being very low food secure. More reports of racial discrimination that were excluding or rejecting did not significantly increase the odds of being very low food secure (OR 1.07, P > .05).Conclusions: Severity of household food insecurity is associated with lifetime racial discrimination among African-American households in South Carolina.

Ethnic density and area deprivation: Neighbourhood effects on Māori health and racial discrimination in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Some studies suggest that ethnic minority people are healthier when they live in areas with a higher concentration of people from their own ethnic group, a so-called ethnic density effect. To date, no studies have examined the ethnic density effect among indigenous peoples, for whom connections to land, patterns of settlement, and drivers of residential location may differ from ethnic minority populations.The present study analysed the Māori sample from the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey to examine the association between increased Māori ethnic density, area deprivation, health, and experiences of racial discrimination. Results of multilevel regressions showed that an increase in Māori ethnic density was associated with decreased odds of reporting poor self-rated health, doctor-diagnosed common mental disorders, and experienced racial discrimination. These associations were strengthened after adjusting for area deprivation, which was consistently associated with increased odds of reporting poor health and reports of racial discrimination. Our findings show that whereas ethnic density is protective of the health and exposure to racial discrimination of Māori, this effect is concealed by the detrimental effect of area deprivation, signalling that the benefits of ethnic density must be interpreted within the current socio-political context. This includes the institutional structures and racist practices that have created existing health and socioeconomic inequities in the first place, and maintain the unequal distribution of concentrated poverty in areas of high Māori density. Addressing poverty and the inequitable distribution of socioeconomic resources by ethnicity and place in New Zealand is vital to improving health and reducing inequalities. Given the racialised nature of access to goods, services, and opportunities within New Zealand society, this also requires a strong commitment to eliminating racism. Such commitment and action will allow the benefits potentially flowing from strong communities to be fully realised.

Disentangling the Effects of Racial and Weight Discrimination on Body Mass Index and Obesity Among Asian Americans

We examined whether racial discrimination is associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity among Asian Americans. Further, we explored whether this association strengthens with increasing time in the United States. We analyzed data from the 2002 to 2003 National Latino and Asian American Study (n=1956). Regression models tested whether reports of racial discrimination were associated with BMI and obesity, after accounting for weight discrimination, age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, generation, employment, health status, and social desirability bias (the tendency to seek approval by providing the most socially desirable response to a question). We found that (1) racial discrimination was associated with increased BMI and obesity after we controlled for weight discrimination, social desirability bias, and other factors and (2) the association between racial discrimination and BMI strengthened with increasing time in the United States. Racial discrimination may be an important factor related to weight gain among ethnic minorities.

Managing Urban Parks for a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Clientele

A major planning effort for Chicago's largest park provided an opportunity to examine outdoor recreation use patterns and preferences among a racially and ethnically diverse clientele. Results from on-site surveys of 898 park users (217 Black, 210 Latino, 182 Asian, and 289 White) showed that park users shared a core set of interests, preferences, and concerns about the park and its management. But there were also some important differences among and within racial and ethnic groups with respect to park use patterns, participation, and reports of racial discrimination. Implications for management and future research are discussed.

“Being black and feeling blue”: the mental health consequences of racial discrimination

The association between racial discrimination and mental health was examined using Wave 2 (1987–1988) and Wave 3 (1988–1989) panel data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). Mental health status was assessed by psychological distress and depression. In cross-sectional analyses, the perception of racial discrimination was related to high levels of psychological distress at Waves 2 and 3. Experiencing racial discrimination was marginally related to a high likelihood of depression at Wave 2. In longitudinal analyses, reports of racial discrimination at Wave 2 were associated with high levels of psychological distress at Wave 3. High psychological distress or depression at Wave 2 was not associated with reports of racial discrimination at Wave 3—indicating that poor mental health did not predict subjective reports (perceptions) of discrimination. The Discussion focused on possible directions for a more comprehensive program of research on mental health, stress, and experiences of racially based discrimination.