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

Impact of the sense of power on loneliness among international students in China: the chain mediating role of perceived discrimination and loneliness stigma

BACKGROUND

Loneliness is a common emotional experience among international students that can affect their mental health, cultural adaptation, and academic development. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between a sense of power and loneliness among international students, and to examine the mediating role of loneliness stigma and perceived discrimination.

METHODS

The study used the generalized sense of power scale, experiences with discrimination scale, stigma loneliness scale (SLS), and UCLA loneliness scale-6 (ULS -6) for 529 international students in China. The study conducted descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and chain mediation model test on the obtained data using SPSS 20.0 and PROCESS v4.0.

RESULTS

The sense of power was significantly negatively related to perceived discrimination, and loneliness stigma, with the result that loneliness, and perceived discrimination, loneliness stigma, and loneliness were significantly positively related. The sense of power can directly affect international students' loneliness (β = -0.167, t = -4.298, p < 0.01), or indirectly affect loneliness through three paths: the mediating role of perceived discrimination, the mediating role of loneliness stigma, and the chain mediating role of perceived discrimination and loneliness stigma. The total indirect effect value was -0.234, and the indirect effect values for each pathway were -0.153, -0.059, and -0.022, respectively.

CONCLUSION

A sense of power can directly affect loneliness in international students and indirectly by reducing perceived discrimination and loneliness stigma. The results of this study contributed to a better understanding of the relationship between a sense of power and loneliness and its mechanism, providing a reference for carrying on mental health education work for international students.

Risk and Protective Factors for Gambling Among Youth by origin: Findings from the three waves of cross-sectional Finnish School Health Promotion Study among 238,939 Students

Gambling is a public health problem that can cause many kinds of harm. The aim of this study was to examine youth gambling by origin, and the risk and protective factors associated with it. The data was drawn from the School Health Promotion Study (n = 238,939) conducted in Finland, representative of the 14 to 16-year-old Finnish schoolchildren. Cross-tabulations and multivariate logistic regression were used in assessing the association between origin and weekly gambling. Interaction terms of origin and background variables related to substance use, peer and family relations and leisure time were then calculated to assess inter-group differences. The study showed that foreign-born, migrant origin and youth from mixed families were more likely to gamble weekly compared to youth with Finnish-born parents. The likelihood of gambling was particularly high among foreign-born and migrant-origin youth. Weekly gambling was significantly more common among boys than girls in all studied youth groups, and it was particularly common among foreign-born boys compared to other groups. Substance use was associated with weekly gambling and even more so among foreign-born youth. There were also differences by origin in the strength of association between other background factors and weekly gambling. Foreign-born boys appear to be especially vulnerable to multiple health and social risks including gambling, making them a particularly important group for targeted preventive programs. Preventive efforts are needed to enhance public awareness, boost parental supervision, and limit gambling-related risks. Special attention is needed to prevent migrant-origin boys from developing problems with gambling.

Victimization experiences, internalizing problems and family bonds among adolescents from the UK: multi-group structural equation modeling using an intersectionality-informed approach

Adolescents from marginalized backgrounds are at increased risk for victimization experiences, which was shown for ethnic minorities and females. However, an intersectional approach has rarely been taken in research. Using the Understanding Society Youth Panel, multigroup structural equation models were conducted to identify cross-group variation among adolescents aged 10-15 years in the relation between victimization experiences (verbal, physical and cyberbullying, discrimination) and internalizing problems (loneliness, emotional problems, life satisfaction), along with a mediating effect of family bonds (family support, parental communication). The groups white male (n = 280), white female (n = 280), Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) male (n = 219) and BAME female (n = 279) were included in the analyses. Across all groups, victimization experiences were negatively associated with family bonds. Only among BAME male adolescents, experiences of victimization were related to more internalizing problems. No mediating effects of family bonds on the relation between victimization and internalizing problems were identified in any group. The results support an intersectionality-informed approach and the necessity of implementing preventative anti-bullying and family strengthening interventions among adolescents.

Associations between vicarious discrimination and mental health among young adult college students: Findings from the 2020-2021 Healthy Minds Study

BACKGROUND

Poor mental health among young adults in higher education is a growing concern. In recent years, the visibility of racism has sharply risen. Vicarious discrimination is defined as the secondhand witnessing of racism, and given society's increased accessibility to social media and the Internet, addressing indirect violence is urgently needed to inform anti-racism and mental health efforts. The current study examined associations between vicarious discrimination and mental health across a large sample of young college students in the United States.

METHODS

We analyzed data from the Healthy Minds Study (HMS; 2020-2021; N=130,566) and used multivariable logistic regression to examine whether past-year vicarious discrimination was associated with various mental health outcomes, adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and direct discrimination.

RESULTS

The sample was predominantly white (n=31,438, 63.66%) and female-identifying (n=34,313, 69.49%) with an average age of 21.1 years. Approximately 35.9% of the sample endorsed experiencing vicarious discrimination. Vicarious discrimination was associated with greater depression (OR:1.97; 95% CI: [1.86,2.09], p< 0.001), anxiety (OR:1.82; 95% CI: [1.72,1.92], p<0.001), languishing (OR:1.75; 95% CI: [1.65,1.87], p<0.001), perceived need for treatment (OR:2.24; 95% CI: [2.10,2.40], p<0.001), suicidal ideation (OR:1.86; 95% CI: [1.73,2.01], p<0.001), suicide plan (OR:1.91; 95% CI: [1.71,2.14], p<0.001), suicide attempt (OR:1.89; 95% CI: [1.51,2.36], p<0.001), self-injurious behavior (OR:2.0; 95% CI: [1.88,2.12], p<0.001), and loneliness (OR:1.67; 95% CI: [1.58,1.77], p<0.001).

DISCUSSION

Consistent with growing literature, vicarious discrimination was associated with poorer mental health among young college students. Additional research should investigate moderators, mediators, and interventions to support those who may be impacted indirectly by discrimination.

On social health: history, conceptualization, and population patterning

We propose a psychologically-informed concept of social health to join physical and mental components in a more comprehensive assessment of human health. Although there is an extensive literature on the importance of social relationships to health, a theoretical framework is needed to coalesce this work into a codified conceptualisation of social health, defined here as adequate quantity and quality of relationships in a particular context to meet an individual's need for meaningful human connection. Informing this novel conceptualisation, we outline eight key propositions to guide future research and theory on social health, including five propositions focused on the conceptualisation of social health and three focused on its population patterning. The former five propositions include that social health is an outcome in its own right, that health interventions can have divergent effects on social versus physical and mental aspects of health, that social health has independent effects on quality of life, that it is a dynamic and contextual construct, and that it is embedded and encoded in the human body (and mind). The utility of the social health concept is further revealed in its significance for understanding and addressing population health concerns, such as health inequalities experienced by marginalised groups.

Racism and Health Among Aotearoa New Zealand Young People Aged 15-24 years: Analysis of Multiple National Surveys

PURPOSE

This Aotearoa New Zealand-based study addresses a gap in literature focusing on individual experiences of racism among adolescents and young adults and its links to health.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study uses data from multiple instances of the New Zealand Health Survey (2002/03, 2006/07, 2011/12, 2016/17) and General Social Survey (2008-2016) restricted to participants aged 15-24 years. Prevalence of reported experiences of racism are estimated. Meta-analytic techniques to pool data and multiple regression analyses are used to examine associations between experiences of racism and outcomes measures (mental and physical health, general health and well-being, life satisfaction, inability to access health care, and identity). The study used an ethical co-design process between university researchers and a rangatahi Māori (Māori young people) partnership group.

RESULTS

Racism was higher among Māori, Pacific, and Asian young people compared to European young people. Racism was associated with all negative health and well-being measures examined for young people, including negative mental and physical health measures (12-Item Short Form Survey, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale), lower self-rated health, negative life satisfaction, higher unmet need for primary care, and identity measures (feelings of not belonging in New Zealand, less able to express their identity).

DISCUSSION

The results of this study are concerning. Non-European young people disproportionately bear the burden of racism in Aotearoa New Zealand with a potentially substantial impact on their health and well-being. This is a breach of Indigenous (for Māori) and other international human rights and should be motivation to act to eliminate racism in all its forms.

COVID-19 Anti-Chinese Discrimination, Current Pandemic Stress, And Adolescents' Mental Health

The current study investigated adolescents' experiences of COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination (i.e., vicariously witnessed, directly experienced), the consequences for mental health, and the moderating role of general pandemic stress. During Summer 2020, 106 adolescents (43% Latino/a/x, 19% Asian American, 13% Black/African American, 26% biracial/multiracial/other; 58% female) participated in a 14-day daily diary study. Path analyses revealed that more experiences of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination were associated with greater anxious mood, depressed mood, and mental health stress, while direct COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination was unrelated to mental health outcomes. The interaction between vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination and general COVID-19 stress was significant for depressed mood; simple slope analyses showed that for adolescents reporting high levels of COVID-19 stress, more frequent experiences of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination were associated with greater severity in depressed mood, but this link was nonsignificant for those reporting low levels of general pandemic stress. Findings from the current study underscore the pernicious effects of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination on the mental health of minoritized youth beyond solely Asian Americans. Additionally, the results evince the need for future pandemic-response efforts to craft public health messaging that avoids the racialization of disease and subsequent stigmatization of ethnic-minority communities.

Anti-Black violence, discrimination, and sleep difficulties amongst racially diverse Americans: The aftermath of the murder of George Floyd

RATIONALE

Following the murders of George Floyd and other Black Americans during the summer of 2020, there was unprecedented exposure to media-disseminated depictions of anti-Black violence. Little is known about the impact of this widespread form of vicarious racism that was pervasive during that historic time.

OBJECTIVE

The present study applies the concept of vicarious racism to study this secondary exposure to anti-Black violence. We investigated negative impacts of anti-Black violence (NIAV) and personal experiences with discrimination in association with sleep difficulties, a critical intermediary health process.

METHODS

Racially diverse Americans (N = 487) were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional study using an online survey given between December 11, 2020 and February 11, 2021.

RESULTS

Black participants endorsed greater NIAV than Asian, Latinx, and White participants. Moreover, Black, Asian, and Latinx participants reported greater direct discrimination than White participants. NIAV and direct discrimination were each associated with more sleep difficulties. Although associations between NIAV and sleep difficulties did not vary by race, race moderated the association between direct discrimination and sleep difficulties. In addition, direct discrimination moderated the association between NIAV and sleep difficulties in an unanticipated direction: the link between NIAV and sleep difficulties was weaker for those experiencing more direct discrimination.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that anti-Black violence and police brutality not only impact direct victims but have widespread vicarious impacts on racially diverse Americans, and highlight that vicarious anti-Black racism and discrimination are important issues of public health.

Perceived and Experienced Anti-Chinese Discrimination and Its Associated Psychological Impacts Among Chinese Canadians During the Wave 2 of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current study examined the sociodemographic factors associated with perceived and experienced anti-Chinese discrimination and discrimination as a predictor of psychological distress and loneliness among Chinese Canadians. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in early 2021 with a sample of 899 Chinese Canadians (i.e., immigrants, citizens, visitors, and international students) during the Wave 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, anti-Chinese discrimination was generally associated with younger age and poor financial or health status. Christianity/Catholicism believers were less likely to report perceived discrimination, whereas being married/partnered and living with family reduced the incidences of experienced discrimination. Most importantly, hierarchical linear regression models showed that both perceived and experienced discrimination predicted higher psychological distress (βs = 4.90-7.57, ps ≤ .001) and loneliness (βs = .89-1.73, ps ≤ .003), before and after controlling for all related sociodemographic covariates. Additionally, older age, higher education, better financial or health status could all buffer psychological distress, whereas living with family or in a house and better financial or health status could mitigate feeling of loneliness. The results suggested that discrimination has a robust detrimental impact on mental health conditions among Chinese Canadians.

Experiences of Loneliness Across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

PURPOSE

Loneliness is a fundamentally subjective experience that is common at various life stages. Studies have qualitatively explored loneliness, but a comprehensive overview is lacking. This research therefore provides a fine-grained review of studies on loneliness experiences across the lifespan.

METHODS

A systematic review and thematic synthesis were performed on studies that qualitatively investigated experiences of loneliness in people of any age from non-clinical populations. Sensitivity analysis assessed the impact of lower-quality studies and specific age groups on the findings.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine studies of 1,321 participants aged between 7 and 103 were included. Fifteen descriptive themes and three overarching analytical themes were developed: (1) Loneliness is both psychological and contextual, (2) Loneliness centres on feelings of meaningful connection and painful disconnection, and (3) Loneliness can exist in a general, pervasive sense or can relate to specific other people or relationship types. Some features were particularly pertinent to children, younger adults, and older adults, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Loneliness involves a primarily aversive psychological experience of perceived disconnection which is linked to physical, personal, and socio-political contexts and can be pervasive or relate to specific relationships or relationship types. An awareness of context, life stage, and personal experiences is essential to understand loneliness.

Physical activity amongst culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Australia's overseas-born population continues to grow. This population is disproportionately affected by chronic, non-communicable diseases. Physical activity is the cornerstone of all chronic disease management. Engaging people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in physical activity is an important public health objective. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine the factors that shape physical activity participation among people from CALD backgrounds in Australia.

METHODS

This scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework. Medline, Embase and CINAHL were searched with key words relating to 'physical activity', 'CALD' and 'Australia' in July 2021 and again in February 2022 for qualitative studies published in English since 2000. Exclusion criteria were: participants < 18 years old, studies specifically focusing on populations with health issues, pregnant or postpartum states. Methodological quality of included studies was evaluated using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme with the purpose of informing future research. Data extracted from each study were analysed thematically and results were interpreted using Acculturation theory.

RESULTS

Of the 1130 studies, 17 met the inclusion criteria. Findings from each study were captured in three themes: Perceptions of physical activity; Acceptability and Appropriateness; and Access. Following migration, a decrease in physical activity, especially leisure-time activity, was reported. Common factors influencing physical activity engagement included perceptions of physical activity and wellbeing; language, financial and environmental barriers; as well as social, cultural, and religious considerations.

CONCLUSION

This review identified several factors which may interact and contribute to the decline in self-reported physical activity upon migration. Findings from this review may be used to inform future health promotion initiatives targeting people from CALD backgrounds. Future research may benefit from devising a shared definition of physical activity and studying different CALD communities over time.

Perceived racial discrimination and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents in the United States

OBJECTIVE

Polysubstance use among adolescents is a significant public health concern, yet most studies on adolescent substance use focus on a singular substance. This study is one of the first to investigate the association between perceived racial discrimination (PRD) in school and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents using a nationally representative sample.

METHODS

Data was from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey. The sample included 4145 racial/ethnic minority adolescents (52.8% female). Hierarchical binary logistic regression was used to examine the association between PRD in school and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents.

RESULTS

About 12% of racial/ethnic minority adolescents engaged in polysubstance use and 23.4% reported experiencing PRD in school sometimes/most of the time/always. Controlling for other factors, experiencing PRD in school sometimes/most of the time/always was associated with 1.52 times higher odds of polysubstance use when compared to adolescents who never experienced PRD in school (OR=1.52, p=.044, 95% CI=1.01-2.30). Cyberbullying victimization, symptoms of depression, and being emotionally abused by a parent during COVID-19 were also associated with polysubstance use.

CONCLUSION

Controlling for demographic characteristics and psychosocial stressors, PRD in school was significantly associated with higher odds of polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. The findings of this study could inform clinicians and policymakers of the association between PRD in school and polysubstance use, which could contribute to early identification of polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents.

Changes in Loneliness, BDNF, and Biological Aging Predict Trajectories in a Blood-Based Epigenetic Measure of Cortical Aging: A Study of Older Black Americans

A recent epigenetic measure of aging has developed based on human cortex tissue. This cortical clock (CC) dramatically outperformed extant blood-based epigenetic clocks in predicting brain age and neurological degeneration. Unfortunately, measures that require brain tissue are of limited utility to investigators striving to identify everyday risk factors for dementia. The present study investigated the utility of using the CpG sites included in the CC to formulate a peripheral blood-based cortical measure of brain age (CC-Bd). To establish the utility of CC-Bd, we used growth curves with individually varying time points and longitudinal data from a sample of 694 aging African Americans. We examined whether three risk factors that have been linked to cognitive decline-loneliness, depression, and BDNFm-predicted CC-Bd after controlling for several factors, including three new-generation epigenetic clocks. Our findings showed that two clocks-DunedinPACE and PoAm-predicted CC-BD, but that increases in loneliness and BDNFm continued to be robust predictors of accelerated CC-Bd even after taking these effects into account. This suggests that CC-Bd is assessing something more than the pan-tissue epigenetic clocks but that, at least in part, brain health is also associated with the general aging of the organism.

Optimism and Intolerance to Uncertainty May Mediate the Negative Effect of Discrimination on Mental Health in Migrant Population

(1) Background: Migration causes effects on the people who migrate and on the societies that receive them, which can be positive or negative, depending on the characteristics of the interaction. One negative effect is the emergence of mental health disorders associated with the presence of discrimination, a relationship for which there is abundant evidence, although there is less research on factors that may alter this effect. (2) Objective: To evaluate the possible mediating role of optimism and intolerance to uncertainty in the relationship between discrimination and mental health. (3) Method: Nine hundred and nineteen adult Colombian migrants residing in Chile, 49.5% were men and 50.5% women, ages from 18 to 65 years, were evaluated. The Discrimination Experience Scale, BDI-IA Inventory, BAI, LOT-R and the Intolerance to Uncertainty Scale were applied. The effects were estimated using structural equation modeling. (4) Results: A mediating effect of both dispositional optimism and intolerance to uncertainty on the relationship between discrimination and mental symptomatology was observed. (5) Conclusions: The impact on individual suffering and the social cost of mental health problems require investigating variables on the relationship between discrimination and mental health, including mediators of this relationship, which turn out to be central elements in the development of future strategies for the reduction of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Young Adult Development Indicators for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People: A Cross-National Longitudinal Study

Worldwide, Indigenous youth face ongoing challenges and inequalities. Increasing our understanding of life course patterns in Indigenous youth will assist the design of strategies and interventions that encourage positive development. This study aimed to increase understanding of resilience and positive development in Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth across Australia and the United States of America. The Australian sample comprised 9680 non-Indigenous and 176 Pacific Islander and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The USA sample comprised 2258 non-Indigenous and 220 Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian and Native American/American Indian peoples. Data were used to examine how Indigenous background, volunteering, and community involvement at average age 15 years (Grade 9) predicted five young adult positive development indicators: Year 12 (Grade 12) school completion, tertiary education participation, independent income, paid employment, and intimate relationship formation from age 18 to 28 years. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that while Indigenous youth showed slower increases in positive young adult development over time, when adjusting for socioeconomic disadvantage, there was a reduction in this difference. Moreover, we found that Grade 9 community involvement and volunteering were positively associated with young adult development for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. Findings indicate the importance of addressing structural inequalities and increasing adolescent opportunities as feasible strategies to improve positive outcomes for young Indigenous adults.

Online Racism, Rumination, and Vigilance: Impact on Distress, Loneliness, and Alcohol Use

We examined the potential anticipatory response (rumination, vigilance) associated with online racism and its impact on psychological distress, loneliness, and alcohol use severity. With a sample of 407 racial minority adults, we conducted a path analysis to examine the indirect relation of online racism on our outcome variables via online racism-related rumination and offline racism-related vigilance. Online racism was significantly linked to psychological distress, alcohol use severity, and loneliness. Rumination and vigilance explained significant indirect relations between online racism and psychological distress and loneliness. Only rumination explained the significant indirect relation between online racism and alcohol use severity. Posthoc multigroup analysis suggested that the path model estimates for the full sample applied equivalently to the African American/Black, Asian/Asian American, and Latinx/Hispanic American groups. Online racism is likely an unjust burden for racial minority individuals that may give rise to prolonged rumination and anticipation about facing racial discrimination in their offline world.

A Network Approach to Assessing the Relationship between Discrimination and Daily Emotion Dynamics

Discrimination-health research has been critiqued for neglecting the endogeneity of reports of discrimination to negative affect and the multidimensionality of mental health. To address these challenges, we model discrimination’s relationship to multiple psychological variables without directional constraints. Using time-dense data to identify associational network structures allows for joint testing of the social stress hypothesis, prominent in discrimination-health literature, and the negativity bias hypothesis, an endogeneity critique rooted in social psychology. Our results show discrimination predicts negative emotions from day-to-day but not vice versa, indicating that racial discrimination is a risk factor and not symptom of negative emotion. Furthermore, we identify sadness, guilt, hostility, and fear as a locus of interrelated emotions sensitive to racism-related stressors that emerges over time. Thus, we find support for what race scholars have argued for 120+ years in a model without a priori directional restrictions and then build on this work by empirically identifying cascading mental health consequences of discrimination.

Exploring the nature and variation of the stigma associated with loneliness

The current study uses data from The British Broadcasting Corporation Loneliness Experiment to explore the social stigma of loneliness and how it varies by gender, age and cultural individualism. We examined stigmatizing judgements of people who are lonely (impressions of those who feel lonely and attributions for loneliness), perceived stigma in the community and self-stigma (shame for being lonely and inclination to conceal loneliness), while controlling for participants' own feelings of loneliness. The scores on most measures fell near the mid-point of the scales, but stigmatizing perceptions depended on the measure of stigmatization that was used and on age, gender and country-level individualism. Multilevel analyses revealed that men had more stigmatizing perceptions, more perceived community stigma, but less self-stigma than women; young people had higher scores than older people on all indicators except for internal versus external attributions and people living in collectivist countries perceived loneliness as more controllable and perceived more stigma in the community than people living in individualistic countries. Finally, young men living in individualistic countries made the most internal (vs. external) attributions for loneliness. We discuss the implications of these findings for understandings of loneliness stigma and interventions to address loneliness.

Discrimination experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in Australia: Associations with suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms

INTRODUCTION

Globally, Indigenous populations have higher rates of suicidal behavior and psychological distress compared to non-Indigenous populations. Indigenous populations also report high rates of exposure to discrimination, which could potentially contribute to poor mental health outcomes. The objectives of this paper were to estimate the prevalence of discrimination among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in Australia and to examine the role of discrimination in the association between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

We used cross-sectional data on 13,697 males aged 18-55 years from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health. We undertook a Poisson regression with robust standard error analyses to examine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and self-perceived exposure to discrimination in the past 2 years as correlates of recent suicidal ideation. We used zero-inflated negative binomial regression to assess Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and self-perceived exposure to discrimination as correlates of recent depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males have a twofold higher prevalence of self-perceived discrimination (39.2% vs 19.3%, p < 0.001), suicidal ideation (21.8% vs 9.4%, p < 0.001) and moderate or worse depressive symptoms (24.0% vs 12.2%, p < 0.001) as compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. After adjusting for sociodemographics and substance use, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts (odds ratio = 1.49, p = 0.019) and depressive symptoms (prevalence rate ratio = 1.19, p = 0.018). About 15.3% and 28.7% of the association between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms, respectively, was explained by discrimination.

CONCLUSION

Our analyses add to evidence that discrimination is a contributor to mental health disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations in Australia. Reducing discrimination ought to be considered as part of strategies to improve the social and emotional well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Vicarious Discrimination, Psychosocial Resources, and Mental Health among Black Americans

Does hearing about or witnessing someone else experience discrimination harm individuals’ mental health? Using data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study, we answer this question by examining how vicarious discrimination impacts depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and anger among black Americans. We also test whether mastery and self-esteem moderate the association between vicarious discrimination and each mental health outcome. Findings indicate experiencing vicarious discrimination via a family member has a similar impact on mental health to personally experiencing discrimination. While experiencing vicarious discrimination via a close friend also increased mental health problems, it appeared to be less harmful than personally experiencing discrimination. Moreover, self-esteem moderated the association between vicarious discrimination via a family member and via a close friend and mental health, while mastery did not. This study provides new insights into ways vicarious discrimination impacts health as well as the role that psychosocial resources play in shaping this relationship.

Racism in Australia: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Racism has been identified as a major source of injustice and a health burden in Australia and across the world. Despite the surge in Australian quantitative research on the topic, and the increasing recognition of the prevalence and impact of racism in Australian society, the collective evidence base has yet to be comprehensively reviewed or meta-analysed. This protocol describes the first systematic review and meta-analysis of racism in Australia at the national level, focussing on quantitative studies. The current study will considerably improve our understanding of racism, including its manifestations and fluctuation over time, variation across settings and between groups, and associations with health and socio-economic outcomes.

METHODS

The research will consist of a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Searches for relevant studies will focus on the social and health science databases CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus. Two reviewers will independently screen eligible papers for inclusion and extract data from included studies. Studies will be included in the review and meta-analysis where they meet the following criteria: (1) report quantitative empirical research on self-reported racism in Australia, (2) report data on the prevalence of racism, or its association with health (e.g. mental health, physical health, health behaviours) or socio-economic outcomes (e.g. education, employment, income), and (3) report Australian data. Measures of racism will focus on study participants' self-reports, with a separate analysis dedicated to researcher-reported measures, such as segregation and differential outcomes across racial/ethnic groups. Measures of health and socio-economic outcomes will include both self-reports and researcher-reported measures, such as physiological measurements. Existing reviews will be manually searched for additional studies. Study characteristics will be summarised, and a meta-analysis of the prevalence of racism and its associations will be conducted using random effects models and mean weighted effect sizes. Moderation and subgroup analyses will be conducted as well. All analyses will use the software CMA 3.0.

DISCUSSION

This study will provide a novel and comprehensive synthesis of the quantitative evidence base on racism in Australia. It will answer questions about the fluctuation of racism over time, its variation across settings and groups, and its relationship with health and socio-economic outcomes. Findings will be discussed in relation to broader debates in this growing field of research and will be widely disseminated to inform anti-racism research, action and policy nationally.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42021265115 .

Discrimination and Health: The Mediating Effect of Acculturative Stress

There is not much evidence on the effects of south–south migration and its consequences on physical and mental health. Our objective was to examine the mediating role of Acculturative Stress in the association between ethnic discrimination and racial discrimination with physical and mental health. This research is a non-experimental, analytical, cross-sectional study. A total of 976 adult Colombian migrants living in Chile were interviewed. We used the Everyday Discrimination Scale, the acculturative stress scale, and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-12) for health status; we found that racial and ethnic discrimination had a negative effect on physical and mental health. In the simultaneous presence of both types of discrimination, racial discrimination was completely absorbed by ethnic discrimination, the latter becoming a total mediator of the effect of racial discrimination on mental and physical health. Our findings are consistent with the literature, which suggests that there are various types of discrimination which, individually or in their intersectionality, can have negative effects on health.

Fifteen-year trends in self-reported racism and link with health and well-being of African Canadian adolescents: a secondary data analysis

BACKGROUND

We assessed the prevalence and trends in racial discrimination among African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia. The association between racial discrimination and self-rated health, access to mental health services, substance use, suicidal thoughts and attempts, experience of extreme stress, among others were examined within the 2018 dataset.

METHODS

Secondary analysis used the data collected from African Canadian adolescents (n = 2448) as part of the British Columbia Adolescent Health Surveys (2003-2018). We examined whether racial discrimination increased, decreased, or remained stable over time. We evaluated experiences of racial discrimination for all adolescents, and then disaggregated analyses for boys, girls, immigrant, and Canadian-born African adolescents. We used Rao-Scott's adjusted chi-square to test differences in racial discrimination and adjusted logistic regressions to test trends across survey years, widening or narrowing gaps in racial discrimination, as well as the link to health outcomes.

RESULTS

Racial discrimination was significantly different across the survey years (Adjusted F = 4.60, p < .01), with the highest percentage of adolescents reporting past year racial discrimination in 2018 (29.9%) and the lowest percentage in 2013 (21.3%). Girls and immigrant African Canadian adolescents were more likely to have experienced racial discrimination. However, girls and Canadian-born adolescents had the highest odds of reporting racial discrimination in 2018 compared to 2003, AOR = 1.85, and 1.58, respectively. The findings reveal significant differences in the experiences of racial discrimination for boys and girls, as well as for immigrant and Canadian-born African adolescents. Significant differences were noted in the link between racial discrimination and self-rated health and engaging in behaviours that might expose them to health risks. The worst negative health outcomes were found for boys and immigrant African Canadian adolescents.

CONCLUSION

The study suggests that more than 1 in 4 African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia report racial discrimination, which is an increasing trend in recent years. Those who reported racial discrimination also had the worst adverse health outcomes. There is a need for more public health action to reduce racism, create awareness about the negative health impacts, and provide better support for African Canadian adolescents.

Do trait psychological characteristics moderate sympathetic arousal to racial discrimination exposure in a natural setting?

Personality and psychological traits are known to influence how individuals react to and cope with stress, and thus, have downstream health and aging consequences. However, research considering psychological health traits as individual-level difference factors moderating the links been racism-related stress and health for racial and ethnic minorities in the United States is rare. Using intensive daily diaries and a wearable sensor that continuously recorded sympathetic nervous system arousal in a sample of racial and ethnic minority college students (80% African American, first-generation Black, or African; 20% Latinx), we linked arousal to racism-related experiences dynamically throughout the day as participants naturally went about their lives. Findings suggest that multiple traits are associated with increased arousal in real time when interpersonal discrimination is perceived, but that only anger and anxiety also predicted increased arousal during moments of rumination and reflection on race-related inequities. Vicarious discrimination exposure moments were also linked to suppressed arousal in general, but particularly for more anxious individuals. We use a stress appraisal and coping framework to elucidate the ways in which individual psychological differences may inform physiological responses to race-related stress. The biopsychosocial pathways by which cognitive appraisal and interpersonal race-related stress contribute to racial health disparities are also discussed.

Racial discrimination and child and adolescent health in longitudinal studies: A systematic review

RATIONALE

The association between racial discrimination and adverse health outcomes has been documented across an increasing body of evidence in recent years, although a close examination of longitudinal studies has not yet taken place. This review applied a life course lens in examining the evidence for a longitudinal association between racial discrimination exposure during childhood and adolescence, and later mental and physical health outcomes.

METHOD

Medline, PsycINFO, Global Health, ERIC, CINAHL Plus, Academic Search Premier and SocINDEX were searched from earliest records to October 2017 for eligible articles. Results were described through a narrative synthesis of the evidence.

RESULTS

Findings from 46 studies reported in 88 empirical articles published between 2003 and 2017 were identified. Studies were primarily based on cohorts from the United States, comprised of young people aged 11-18 years, and were published since 2010. Data were most frequently collected over two to three timepoints at intervals exceeding 12 months. Statistically significant associations with racial discrimination were most commonly reported for behaviour problems including delinquency and risk-taking behaviour, with significant adverse effects found in 74% of these associations. Statistically significant adverse effects were also reported in 63% of associations with health-harming behaviours including substance use, and 61% found associations with mental health outcomes. Consistently significant associations were reported between accumulated racism and later health outcomes, and the health effects of racism were reported to vary with developmental periods, although few studies featured these analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence from this review highlights that the duration and timing of exposure to racial discrimination matters. This review emphasises the need to gain evidence for the mechanisms linking early racism exposure to adverse health outcomes in later life. Future longitudinal research can address this need by capitalising on prospective cohort studies and ensuring that proposed analysis informs variable selection and timing of data collection.

Cumulative Effects of Bullying and Racial Discrimination on Adolescent Health in Australia

This study examined how cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization influences the health of Australian adolescents (n = 2802) aged 10 to 11 years (19.3% visible ethnic minorities [nonwhite, non-Indigenous]; 2.6% Indigenous) using data from three waves (2010-2014) of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization had incremental negative effects on socioemotional difficulties. Higher accumulated exposure to both stressors across time was associated with increased body mass index z-scores and risk of overweight/obesity. Studies that examine exposure to single risk factors such as bullying victimization or racial discrimination at one time point only are likely to miss key determinants of health for adolescents from stigmatized racial-ethnic backgrounds and underestimate their stressor burden.

Effects of racism on the socio-emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal Australian children

BACKGROUND

Racism is a pervasive experience in the life of Aboriginal Australians that begins in childhood. As a psychosocial stressor, racism compromises wellbeing and impacts developmental trajectories. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of racism on indicators of Australian Aboriginal child socio-emotional wellbeing (SEWB) at one to two years after exposure. Age-related differences in the onset of symptoms were explored.

METHODS

Data from the B- and K-cohorts of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children were used (aged 6 to 12 years). Racism, confounding variables, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (a measure of SEWB) were collected by questionnaires and guided interviews with each child's main caregiver. Adjusted Poisson regression was used to estimate the relative risk (RRa) effects of racism on SEWB for both cohorts separately. RRa were pooled in a random effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Exposure to racism was associated with an adjusted point estimate indicating a 41% increased risk for total emotional and behavioural difficulties, although the confidence intervals were wide (pooled RRa 1.41, 95% CI 0.75, 2.07). Analyses by cohort showed younger children had higher RRa for total difficulties (RRa 1.72, 95% CI 1.16, 2.54), whilst older children had higher RRa for hyperactive behaviour (RRa 1.66, 95% CI 1.01, 2.73).

CONCLUSIONS

The effects observed contributes to our understanding of the impact of racism on Aboriginal Australian children. Support for emotional and behavioural difficulties, and hyperactive behaviour, for Aboriginal children might help counteract the effects of racism. Future longitudinal research and policies aimed at reducing racism in Australian society are necessary.

Intergenerational and early life influences on the well-being of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: overview and selected findings from Footprints in Time, the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children

Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) is a national study of 1759 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living across urban, regional and remote areas of Australia. The study is in its 11th wave of annual data collection, having collected extensive data on topics including birth and early life influences, parental health and well-being, identity, cultural engagement, language use, housing, racism, school engagement and academic achievement, and social and emotional well-being. The current paper reviews a selection of major findings from Footprints in Time relating to the developmental origins of health and disease for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Opportunities for new researchers to conduct further research utilizing the LSIC data set are also presented.