Self-reported Racial Discrimination Research Articles

Racial Discrimination, Neural Connectivity, and Epigenetic Aging Among Black Women

Racial discrimination increases the risk of adverse brain health outcomes, potentially via neuroplastic changes in emotion processing networks. The involvement of deep brain regions (brainstem and midbrain) in these responses is unknown. Potential associations of racial discrimination with alterations in deep brain functional connectivity and accelerated epigenetic aging, a process that substantially increases vulnerability to health problems, are also unknown. To examine associations of racial discrimination with brainstem and midbrain resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and DNA methylation age acceleration (DMAA) among Black women in the US. This cohort study was conducted between January 1, 2012, and February 28, 2015, and included a community-based sample of Black women (aged ≥18 years) recruited as part of the Grady Trauma Project. Self-reported racial discrimination was examined in association with seed-to-voxel brain connectivity, including the locus coeruleus (LC), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and superior colliculus (SC); an index of DMAA (Horvath clock) was also evaluated. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma exposure, and age were used as covariates in statistical models to isolate racial discrimination-related variance. Data analysis was conducted between January 10 and October 30, 2023. Varying levels of racial discrimination exposure, other trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Racial discrimination frequency was assessed with the Experiences of Discrimination Scale, other trauma exposure was evaluated with the Traumatic Events Inventory, and current PTSD was evaluated with the PTSD Symptom Scale. Seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses were conducted with LC, PAG, and SC seeds. To assess DMAA, the Methylation EPIC BeadChip assay (Illumina) was conducted with whole-blood samples from a subset of 49 participants. This study included 90 Black women, with a mean (SD) age of 38.5 (11.3) years. Greater racial discrimination was associated with greater left LC RSFC to the bilateral precuneus (a region within the default mode network implicated in rumination and reliving of past events; cluster size k = 228; t85 = 4.78; P < .001, false discovery rate-corrected). Significant indirect effects were observed for the left LC-precuneus RSFC on the association between racial discrimination and DMAA (β [SE] = 0.45 [0.16]; 95% CI, 0.12-0.77). In this study, more frequent racial discrimination was associated with proportionately greater RSFC of the LC to the precuneus, and these connectivity alterations were associated with DMAA. These findings suggest that racial discrimination contributes to accelerated biological aging via altered connectivity between the LC and default mode network, increasing vulnerability for brain health problems.

Racial discrimination and mental health in the context of anti-Asian xenophobia: An intersecting approach of race, ethnicity, nativity, and socioeconomic status

The COVID-19 pandemic, polarized politics, and heightened stigma and discrimination are salient drivers for negative mental health outcomes, particularly among marginalized racial and ethnic minoritized groups. Intersectionality of race, ethnicity, foreign-born status, and educational attainment may distinctively shape an individual's experience of discrimination and mental health during such unprecedented time. The present study examines the differential associations of racial discrimination and mental health based on an individual's race, ethnicity, foreign-born status, and educational attainment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyses were based on a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults collected between October and November 2021 (n = 6276). We utilized multivariable linear regressions to identify the multiplicative effects of race, ethnic, foreign-born status and self-reported racial discrimination on mental health, stratified by educational attainment. Among individuals with lower educational attainment, associations between racial discrimination and poor mental health were stronger among Asians (US-born: β = −2.07, p = 0.03; foreign-born: β = −3.18, p = 0.02) and US-born multiracial individuals (β = −1.96, p = 0.02) than their White counterparts. Among individuals with higher educational attainment, foreign-born Hispanics (β = − 3.66, p < 0.001) and US-born Asians (β = −2.07, p = 0.01) reported worst mental health when exposed to racial discrimination out of all other racial, ethnic and foreign-born groups. Our results suggest that association of racial discrimination and mental health varies across racial, ethnic, foreign-born, and education subgroups. Using an intersectional approach to address the widening inequities in racial discrimination and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic contextualizes unique experience of discrimination and provides crucial insight on the patterns of mental health among marginalized groups.

Self-reported Racial Discrimination and Healthy Behaviors in Black Adults Residing in Rural Persistent Poverty Areas.

Racism is a social determinant of health inequities and associated with poorer health and health behaviors. As a domain of racism, self-reported racial discrimination affects health through unhealthy behaviors (e.g., smoking) but the understudied impact of self-reported racial discrimination's relationship with healthy behaviors (e.g., cancer screening) precludes a comprehensive understanding of racism's impact on health inequities. Understanding how self-reported racial discrimination impacts healthy behaviors is even more important for those living in rural persistent poverty areas (poverty rates of 20% or more of a population since 1980), who have a higher disease burden due to poverty's interaction with racism. The distinct sociocultural context of rural persistent poverty areas may result in differential responses to self-reported racial discrimination compared to those in non-persistent poverty areas. A community-engaged process was used to administer a survey to a convenience sample of 251 Black adults residing in 11 rural persistent poverty counties in the state of Arkansas. Self-reported racial discrimination, fruit and vegetable intake, colorectal cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, and screening mammography were assessed. Stress and religion/spirituality were also assessed as potential mediators or moderators in the relationship between self-reported racial discrimination and healthy behaviors. In adjusted models, those reporting more self-reported racial discrimination had a higher probability of having had a test to check for cervical cancer (situation discrimination: OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04-1.5; frequency discrimination: OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12). Stress and religion/spirituality were not significant mediators/moderators. Greater self-reported racial discrimination was associated with a higher odds of cervical cancer screening. Black adults residing in rural persistent poverty areas may have greater self-reported racial discrimination-specific coping and racial identity attitudes.

Racial Discrimination, Social Disadvantage, and Racial–Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Racial-ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination are well documented. The extent to which racism, manifested at the individual and ZIP code levels, explains disparities in early vaccination uptake remains unclear. Data from a statewide poll of California registered voters (N=10,256), conducted between April 29 and May 5, 2021, linked to area-level resource data, were analyzed. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models examined racial disparities in COVID-19 vaccination. Decomposition analyses quantified how much of the observed racial disparities in vaccination were explained by racial discrimination and social disadvantage (i.e., educational attainment, 2019 household income, and ZIP code social vulnerability). Latinx (64.6%) and Black (66.7%) adults were less likely to have at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine dose by April or May 2021 than White adults (74.7%). In adjusted analyses, Latinx (AOR=0.69, 95% CI=0.57, 0.84) and Black (AOR=0.51, 95% CI=0.37, 0.70) adults had a lower likelihood of being vaccinated than Whites. Social disadvantage accounted for 77.4% (p<0.05) and 35.8% (p<0.05) of the explainable variation in Latinx-White and Black-White disparities, respectively. Self-reported racial discrimination was not associated with COVID-19 vaccination in adjusted analyses. Social disadvantage but not self-reported racial discrimination explained racial-ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination in California. Removing resource-related barriers may help to increase the relatively low COVID-19 vaccination rates among Black and Latinx populations.

Associations of racial and ethnic discrimination with adverse changes in exercise and screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a growing prevalence of racial and ethnic discrimination occurred when many Americans struggled to maintain healthy lifestyles. This study investigated the associations of racial and ethnic discrimination with changes in exercise and screen time during the pandemic in the United States. We included 2,613 adults who self-identified as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian, or Hispanic from the Health, Ethnicity, and Pandemic study, a cross-sectional survey conducted among a nationally representative sample of United States adults between October and November 2020. We assessed self-reported racial and ethnic discrimination by measuring COVID-19-related racial and ethnic bias and examined its associations with changes in exercise and screen time using multivariable logistic regression models. We analyzed data between September 2021 and March 2022. COVID-19-related racial and ethnic bias was associated with decreased exercise time among non-Hispanic Asian (odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13 to 1.89) and Hispanic people (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.77), and with increased screen time among non-Hispanic Black people (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.33 to 2.85), adjusting for age, sex, education, marital status, annual household income, insurance, and employment status. Racial and ethnic discrimination may have adversely influenced exercise and screen time changes among racial and ethnic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms through which racial and ethnic discrimination can impact lifestyles and to develop potential strategies to address racial and ethnic discrimination as a barrier to healthy lifestyles.

Racial discrimination and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionRacial discrimination has been consistently linked to various health outcomes and health disparities, including studies associating racial discrimination with patterns of racial disparities in adverse pregnancy outcomes. To expand our...

Asian American Self-Reported Discrimination in Healthcare and Having a Usual Source of Care.

Self-reported racial or ethnic discrimination in a healthcare setting has been linked to worse health outcomes and not having a usual source of care, but has been rarely examined among Asian ethnic subgroups. We examined the association between Asian ethnic subgroup and self-reported discrimination in a healthcare setting, and whether both factors were associated with not having a usual source of care. Using the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2015-2017, we used logistic regression models to assess associations among Asian ethnic subgroup, self-reported discrimination, and not having a usual source of care. Interactions between race and self-reported discrimination, foreign-born status, poverty level, and limited English proficiency were also analyzed. Respondents represented adults age 18 + residing in California who identified as White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian (including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Other Asian), and Other. We examined two main outcomes: self-reported discrimination in a healthcare setting and having a usual source of care. There were 62,965 respondents. After survey weighting, Asians (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.19-2.66) as an aggregate group were more likely to report discrimination than non-Hispanic Whites. When Asians were disaggregated, Japanese (3.12, 1.36-7.13) and Koreans (2.42, 1.11-5.29) were more likely to report discrimination than non-Hispanic Whites. Self-reported discrimination was marginally associated with not having a usual source of care (1.25, 0.99-1.57). Koreans were the only group associated with not having a usual source of care (2.10, 1.23-3.60). Foreign-born Chinese (ROR 7.42, 95% CI 1.7-32.32) and foreign-born Japanese (ROR 4.15, 95% CI 0.82-20.95) were more associated with self-reported discrimination than being independently foreign-born and Chinese or Japanese. Differences in self-reported discrimination in a healthcare setting and not having a usual source of care were observed among Asian ethnic subgroups. Better understanding of these differences in their sociocultural contexts will guide interventions to ensure equitable access to healthcare.

Who declines to respond to the reactions to race module?: findings from the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2016\u20132017

BackgroundThe inclusion of self-reported differential treatment by race/ethnicity in population-based public health surveillance and monitoring systems may provide an opportunity to address long-standing health inequalities. While there is a growing trend towards decreasing response rates and selective non-response in health surveys, research examining the magnitude of non-response related to self-reported discrimination warrants greater attention. This study examined the distribution of sociodemographic variables among respondents and non-respondents to the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (SC-BRFSS) Reactions to Race module (6-question optional module capturing reports of race-based treatment).MethodsUsing data from SC-BRFSS (2016, 2017), we examined patterns of non-response to the Reactions to Race module and individual items in the module. Logistic regression models were employed to examine sociodemographic factors associated with non-response and weighted to account for complex sampling design.ResultsAmong 21,847 respondents, 15.3% were non-responders. Significant differences in RTRM non-response were observed by key sociodemographic variables (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, labor market participation, and health insurance status). Individuals who were younger, Hispanic, homemakers/students, unreported income, and uninsured were over-represented among non-respondents. In adjusted analyses, Hispanics and individuals with unreported income were more likely to be non-responders in RTRM and across item, while retirees were less likely to be non-responders. Heterogeneity in levels of non-responses were observed across RTRM questions, with the highest level of non-response for questions assessing differential treatment in work (54.8%) and healthcare settings (26.9%).ConclusionsNon-responders differed from responders according to some key sociodemographic variables, which could contribute to the underestimation of self-reported discrimination and race-related differential treatment and health outcomes. While we advocate for the use of population-based measures of self-reported racial discrimination to monitor and track state-level progress towards health equity, future efforts to estimate, assess, and address non-response variations by sociodemographic factors are warranted to improve understanding of lived experiences impacted by race-based differential treatment.

Racial discrimination as a mediator of racial disparities in insomnia disorder

Study ObjectivesRacial and ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer from insomnia that is more severe; however, few studies have examined mechanisms by which racial disparities in severity of insomnia disorder may arise. One potential mechanism for disparities in insomnia severity is perceived discrimination. This study tested discrimination as a mediator in the relationship between race and insomnia. MethodsParticipants were recruited from communities in the Detroit metropolitan area and were diagnosed with insomnia disorder using the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition). The final sample included 1,458 individuals. Insomnia symptom severity was assessed via the Insomnia Severity Index and self-reported racial discrimination was evaluated using a single item. Racial discrimination was tested as a mediator in the relationship between race and insomnia symptom severity. Individuals were categroized as either White or a racial minority (i.e., non White individuals), with sensitivity analyses examining Black individuals and non-Black racial minority groups. ResultsConsistent with our hypothesis, racial discrimination was a significant mediator accounting for 57.3% of the relationship between race and insomnia symptom severity. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the indirect effect of racial discrimination was stronger in the non-Black racial minority group compared to Black individuals. ConclusionsThese results provide support that racial discrimination is likely an important mechanism by which racial and ethnic sleep disparities exist. Implications for prevention, intervention, and treatment of insomnia in racial minorities to reduce health disparities are discussed.

Beyond Trauma Exposure: Discrimination and Posttraumatic Stress, Internalizing, and Externalizing Problems Among Detained Youth.

According to the race-based traumatic stress model, racial discrimination is proposed to comprise a traumatic experience that results in posttraumatic stress symptoms, as well as internalizing and externalizing problems among youth. Accordingly, a significant body of research has emerged that supports the associations among these constructs. However, the majority of these empirical studies have not accounted for the potential role of traditionally defined traumatic events in these associations. This study investigated whether self-reported racial discrimination was related to posttraumatic stress symptoms, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms above and beyond the impact of other trauma exposures in a sample of 266 detained youth (79% boys, 60% identified as an ethnic minority). Results of hierarchical linear regressions demonstrated that, after accounting for youths' other trauma exposures, racial discrimination accounted for significant variance in the models predicting delinquency and risk-taking but no other externalizing and internalizing problems, or posttraumatic stress symptoms. These findings indicate that racial discrimination may be particularly important for understanding offending behavior among detained youth.

Association between racial discrimination and health-related quality of life and the impact of social relationships.

PurposeInterpersonal racial discrimination is associated with poor health. Social relationships may moderate the impact of discrimination and represent modifiable behaviors that can be targeted by public health interventions. We described citywide associations between self-reported racial discrimination and health-related quality of life among the overall New York City (NYC) adult residential population and by four main race/ethnicity groups and explored whether social relationships moderated health effects of discrimination.MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional survey data from 2335 adults weighted to be representative of the NYC population. We measured exposures to lifetime interpersonal racial discrimination in nine domains using a modified version of the Experiences of Discrimination scale. We performed unadjusted and adjusted regression analyses on four self-rated health-related quality of life outcomes including general health, physical health, mental health, and limitations from physical or mental health.ResultsOverall, 47% [95% CI 44.5, 50.3] of respondents reported having experienced racial discrimination in at least one domain. In the overall population, significant associations with racial discrimination were noted in adjusted models for poor physical health, poor mental health, and limitations by poor physical and mental health. Among those exposed to racial discrimination, the risk of experiencing poor mental health was lower among those who had contact with family or friends outside their household at least once a week, compared with those who had less frequent social contact.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that social relationships may moderate the impact of racial discrimination on mental health and should be integrated into health promotion efforts.

A Structural Model of Social Determinants of the Metabolic Syndrome.

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to a cluster of interrelated physiological characteristics that are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. While the clinical usefulness of the MetS has been the subject of controversy for years, increasingly sophisticated methods are being used to measure the concept. Study of community health center patients who were not diabetic; study group was evenly divided between Black and White adults. Latent MetS score and MetS status based on the five-point scale developed by the National Cholesterol Education Panel (NCEP). Structural equation modeling of MetS incorporating the effects of race/ethnicity, racial discrimination, socioeconomic position (SEP), and selected mediating variables. The largest influences on latent MetS scores were SEP (negative relationship) and male gender (higher scores for men). Two mediating variables, physical activity and stress-related eating, had smaller impacts. Self-reported racial discrimination was associated with cynical hostility but did not influence the MetS level among nondiabetics. Despite higher NCEP scores and MetS prevalence rates for Blacks compared with Whites, race did not have direct effect on MetS levels when adjusted for the other characteristics in our model. Neither race nor self-reported racial discrimination had direct effects on MetS level in our structural model. The large effects of socioeconomic position and male gender were not mediated by the other variables in the model.

Experiences of racial discrimination and cardiometabolic risk among Australian children

Cardiometabolic disease is a leading cause of adult morbidity and mortality globally. There is considerable evidence that childhood adversity is associated with markers of cardiometabolic disease risk in childhood, including obesity, blood pressure trajectories, and chronic inflammation. Experiences of racial discrimination may be an important, yet under explored, form of childhood adversity influencing childhood cardiometabolic risk. This study aimed to examine associations between self-reported racial discrimination and cardiometabolic risk markers among children. A total of 124 children (73 female) aged 11.4 years (SD 0.71) participated in the study. Most children (n = 79) identified as being from an Indigenous or an ethnic minority background. Markers of cardiometabolic risk were BMI, waist circumference, weight height ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and five inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α). Results showed that two or more reported experiences of racial discrimination were associated with increased BMI z-score (Beta 0.58, 95% CI 0.18, 0.99), waist circumference (Beta 4.91 cm, 95% CI 0.71, 9.1), systolic blood pressure (Beta 2.07 mmHg, 95% CI 0.43, 3.71) and IL-6 (Beta 0.13, 95% CI 0.00, 0.27) and marginally associated with TNF-α (Beta 0.22, 95% CI −0.09, 0.54) after adjusting for socio-demographic covariates. Findings from this study suggest the need to address racism and racial discrimination as important social determinants of cardiometabolic risk and of the inequitable burden of cardiometabolic disease experienced by those from Indigenous and minoritized ethnic backgrounds.

Racial discrimination, educational attainment, and biological dysregulation among midlife African American women

ObjectiveTo examine the association between self-reported racial discrimination and allostatic load, and whether the association differs by socioeconomic position. MethodsWe recruited a purposive cross-section of midlife (ages 30–50) African American women residing in four San Francisco Bay area counties (n = 208). Racial discrimination was measured using the Experience of Discrimination scale. Allostatic load was measured as a composite of 15 biomarkers assessing cardiometabolic, neuroendocrine, and inflammatory activity. We calculated four composite measures of allostatic load and three system-specific measures of biological dysregulation. Multivariable regression was used to examine associations, while adjusting for relevant confounders. ResultsIn the high education group, reporting low (b = −1.09, P = .02, 95% CI = −1.99, −0.18) and very high (b = −1.88, P = .003, 95% CI = −3.11, −0.65) discrimination was associated with lower allostatic load (reference=moderate). Among those with lower education, reporting low (b = 2.05, P = .008, 95% CI = 0.55,3.56) discrimination was associated with higher allostatic load. Similar but less consistent associations were found for poverty status. Associations were similar for cardiometabolic functioning, but not for neuroendocrine or inflammatory activity. ConclusionsRacial discrimination may be an important predictor of cumulative physiologic dysregulation. Factors associated with educational attainment may mitigate this association for African American women and other groups experiencing chronic social stress.

Racial discrimination and relationship functioning among African American couples.

Racial discrimination is a common stressor for African Americans, with negative consequences for mental and physical well-being. It is likely that these effects extend into the family, but little research has examined the association between racial discrimination and couple functioning. This study used dyadic data from 344 rural, predominantly low-income heterosexual African American couples with an early adolescent child to examine associations between self-reported racial discrimination, psychological and physical aggression, and relationship satisfaction and instability. Experiences of discrimination were common among men and women and were negatively associated with relationship functioning. Specifically, men reported higher levels of psychological aggression and relationship instability if they experienced higher levels of racial discrimination, and women reported higher levels of physical aggression if they experienced higher levels of racial discrimination. All results replicated when controlling for financial hardship, indicating unique effects for discrimination. Findings suggest that racial discrimination may be negatively associated with relationship functioning among African Americans and call for further research on the processes underlying these associations and their long-term consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Role of Racial Identity and Implicit Racial Bias in Self-Reported Racial Discrimination: Implications for Depression Among African American Men.

Racial discrimination is conceptualized as a psychosocial stressor that has negative implications for mental health. However, factors related to racial identity may influence whether negative experiences are interpreted as instances of racial discrimination and subsequently reported as such in survey instruments, particularly given the ambiguous nature of contemporary racism. Along these lines, dimensions of racial identity may moderate associations between racial discrimination and mental health outcomes. This study examined relationships between racial discrimination, racial identity, implicit racial bias, and depressive symptoms among African American men between 30 and 50 years of age (n = 95). Higher racial centrality was associated with greater reports of racial discrimination, while greater implicit anti-Black bias was associated with lower reports of racial discrimination. In models predicting elevated depressive symptoms, holding greater implicit anti-Black bias in tandem with reporting lower racial discrimination was associated with the highest risk. Results suggest that unconscious as well as conscious processes related to racial identity are important to consider in measuring racial discrimination, and should be integrated in studies of racial discrimination and mental health.

Effects over time of self-reported direct and vicarious racial discrimination on depressive symptoms and loneliness among Australian school students

BackgroundRacism and racial discrimination are increasingly acknowledged as a critical determinant of health and health inequalities. However, patterns and impacts of racial discrimination among children and adolescents remain under-investigated, including how different experiences of racial discrimination co-occur and influence health and development over time. This study examines associations between self-reported direct and vicarious racial discrimination experiences and loneliness and depressive symptoms over time among Australian school students.MethodsAcross seven schools, 142 students (54.2% female), age at T1 from 8 to 15 years old (M = 11.14, SD = 2.2), and from diverse racial/ethnic and migration backgrounds (37.3% born in English-speaking countries as were one or both parents) self-reported racial discrimination experiences (direct and vicarious) and mental health (depressive symptoms and loneliness) at baseline and 9 months later at follow up. A full cross-lagged panel design was modelled using MPLUS v.7 with all variables included at both time points.ResultsA cross-lagged effect of perceived direct racial discrimination on later depressive symptoms and on later loneliness was found. As expected, the effect of direct discrimination on both health outcomes was unidirectional as mental health did not reciprocally influence reported racism. There was no evidence that vicarious racial discrimination influenced either depressive symptoms or loneliness beyond the effect of direct racial discrimination.ConclusionsFindings suggest direct racial discrimination has a persistent effect on depressive symptoms and loneliness among school students over time. Future work to explore associations between direct and vicarious discrimination is required.

Cortisol Awakening Response and Acute Stress Reactivity in First Nations People

First Nations people globally have a higher incidence of mental disorders and non-communicable diseases. These health inequalities are partially attributed to a complex network of social and environmental factors which likely converge on chronic psychosocial stress. We hypothesized that alterations in stress processing and the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis might underlie health disparities in First Nations people. We assessed the cortisol awakening response and the dynamic response to a laboratory induced psychosocial stress of young Indigenous tertiary students (n = 11, mean age 23.82 years) and non-Indigenous students (n = 11) matched for age and gender. Indigenous participants had a blunted cortisol awakening response (27.40 (SD 35.00) vs. 95.24 (SD 55.23), p = 0.002), which was differentially associated with chronic experience of stress in Indigenous (r = −0.641, p = 0.046) and non-Indigenous (r = 0.652, p = 0.03) participants. The cortisol response to the laboratory induced psychosocial stress did not differ between groups. Self-reported racial discrimination was strongly associated with flattened cortisol response to stress (r = −0676, p = 0.022) and with heart rate variability (r = 0.654, p = 0.040). Our findings provide insight into potential biological factors underlying health discrepancies in ethnic minority groups.

The Role of Racial Identity and Implicit Racial Bias in Self-Reported Racial Discrimination: Implications for Depression Among African American Men

The Role of Racial Identity and Implicit Racial Bias in Self-Reported Racial Discrimination: Implications for Depression Among African American Men

Historical Factors, Discrimination and Oral Health among Aboriginal Australians.

Discrimination is a very real facet of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) life. Paradies has detailed the strong links between racism and chronic stress and the influence this may have on general health, confounding the pre-supposed notion that ATSI populations are more genetically predisposed to chronic diseases. For example a genetic predisposition promoting central adipose storage in populations with recent (in evolutionary terms) changes to hunter-gatherer dietary patterns is thought to contribute to the higher rates of diabetes seen in ATSI and other Native populations. This relationship, however, is far from causal in any straight-forward way. In support of the work by Paradies, research from the U.S. also shows that racism, both explicit and subtle, contributes to chronic disease and suffering among ethnic minorities. While the exploration of the perceived or self-reported racial discrimination is recent, this concept has increasing evidence to support its relationship to poor health outcomes.