Work

Perceived Racial Discrimination and Mental Health in Low-Income, Urban-Dwelling Whites

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and the presence of anxiety and depression in a sample of low-income, urban-dwelling whites. Data were analyzed from a cross-sectional survey of low-income whites living in an inner-city neighborhood in the mid-Atlantic United States. Perceived racial discrimination was reported by 39 percent of participants. Rates of depression in the population exceed prevalence rates in the general U.S. population. Those who perceived racial discrimination and were bothered by it experienced significantly greater odds of being depressed (OR = 2.78, 95% CI 1.60-4.82) and had higher anxiety scores (b = 2.02, SE 0.55, p = 0.000) than those who did not perceive racial discrimination. Low-income, urban white populations have been largely ignored in public health research. This study demonstrates that perceived racial discrimination is common in poor urban whites. Further, exposure to discrimination that is perceived as a stressor is associated with mental illness.

Source: International Journal of Health Services

DOI: 10.2190/hs.43.2.e

Authors: Kelly M. Bower, Roland J. Thorpe, Thomas A. LaVeist

Institution: Johns Hopkins University

Language: English

Topic: Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities