Health Effects Of Racism Research Paper

Racism imposes additional health issues on people of color because it is an unnecessary stressor in their every day lives. “African Americans die earlier and have higher rates than whites of many chronic diseases across the social gradient” (Unnatural Causes, 2008). Increased cortisol levels, which are caused by stress have been linked to high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and other health problems.

Furthermore, the prevalence of mental has large racial differences on the physical aspects of their health status. It comes across outcomes that tend to be persistent over time. For most procedures, physical health status in blacks has higher rates in indisposition and humanity than whites. There is some growing evidence that stress and poor social conditions may play such a role in these higher rates of illness in socially disadvantaged populations (Williams,1999). Also, can be plenty of assumptions that are in socially disadvantage groups. Where African Americans are those being elevated at risk of mental health problems. It’s

When compared to European Americans, minorities are at a higher risk to experience emotional and physical stress. According to a census, “The death rate for African Americans was generally higher than whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide” (Office of Minority Health). This census brings into light how African Americans are disproportionately impacted by such growing health concerns as compared to European whites. Based on a study performed by Kathleen Anderson discussed in the article, she found that racism causes greater stress in minorities leading to poorer mental and physical health (Silverstein). “Anderson found that 18.2 percent of black participants experienced emotional stress and 9.8 percent experienced physical stress. Comparatively, only 3.5 and 1.6 percent of whites experienced emotional and physical stress, respectively” (Silverstein). Even though European-American also have a sense of fear built in towards law enforcers, but it is nothing nearly comparable to the amount of fear that exists in minorities.

Chapter one covers the history and definition of racism. It also covers different pathways of racism and how racism is manifested. Within this chapter the impact of racism of people of color is discussed and its effects, such as depression. Symptoms beyond the mental and physical aspects are also discussed such as incarceration.

13.2% of the United States population identifies themselves as Black as African Americans, and of those over 16% had an mental illness that was diagnosable. The socio economic impact of a history of slavery, sharecropping and race-based exclusion from health, racism, spiritual beliefs, social and economic resources, education and other factors are key factors that contribute to African American disparities today. Many of these things are linked to mental health. According to the US department of health, African Americans are 20% more likely to report having serious psychological distress than in non-Hispanic whites (. Despite knowing this, African Americans are less likely to seek mental health services than white Americans.

People of different ethnic backgrounds are treated differently due to many kinds of social and multicultural differences people and society. African-Americans within society are treated with prejudice and are stereotyped into negative connotations that can increase distress and impairments such as depression. Behavioral disorders as well as mental illnesses that African-Americans develop throughout their lifespan can show implications on how racism can be a cause of depression when African-Americans are faced with situations that can involve racist views or altercations. This article will provide an overview of how racism towards African-Americans can contribute towards mental health issues within African-American community as

“African Americans have the worst health profile. Disparities in health status are well documented and widely known. However, research on race, ethnicity, and health is controversial. The reason for this is probably linked to the thorny role that race has played in American history and contemporary culture. Because of this history, race engenders emotion, and emotion is the antidote to rationality. Some have called for the end of research on race and health” (Isaac, L pg.

Numerous studies have proven that children of minority descent fare less than their white counterparts and a lack of financial stability further perpetuates this harsh truth. According to Jones (2000), there are three levels of racism that contribute to an endless cycle of race-associated health outcomes (Jones, 2000). Institutionalized racism is associated with a lack of power to underprivileged individuals that does not enable them to gain access to adequate resources and does not institute a voice of change on their behalf (Jones, 2000). Personally-mediated racism is stereotyping a person or group of people based on the color of their skin (Jones, 2000). Internalized racism is when the antagonized race accepts that their worth and intentions

David R. Williams and Ruth Williams Morris write in “Racism and Mental Health: The African American Experience” that negative attitudes of white Americans resulting in the formation of racist policies contribute to mental health problems for African Americans, as they attempt to cope. Mental health issues, Williams and William Morris continues, can be a consequence of living within a lower income bracket with decreasing prospects for future improvement, an inability to attain needed “resources” e.g. the choice between prescription medications and food, or finally, internalizing the damaging opinions.

The first issue that I learned after watching the health disparities video is despite similar levels of education and economic standing that African American women have the higher rates of infant mortality than Caucasian females with less education and a lower economic standing. The video theorized that this anomaly was most likely due to with experiences associated with racism. The video asserted that racism was a constant stressor and that neuroendocrine and sympathetic nervous system changes caused by stress could result in the gradual breakdown of the body and its systems.

Racism causes individuals to devalue themselves, and can lead to self-hatred. Numerous surveys and experiments conducted by researchers have shown the long-term effects of racism on different ethnic and racial groups. In surveys conducted by Camara P. Jones, research director of Social Determinants of Health for the CDC and a specialist on the health impact of racism, she found out that white people rarely spend time thinking about their race during the day. "But 22% of blacks surveyed said they constantly think about their race, and 50% said they think of race at least once a day – they are constantly reminded of their blackness," Jones claimed. "That has a profound effect on health" (“Racism Is Harmful To Your Mental Health”). As racism

Some people have the option to have a great health care system and reinsure that their well being is being greatly taken care of. However, this is not the case for others. African Americans are proved to have the worst health outcomes (Golash-Boza, 2015). Throughout history, African Americans have always been discriminated based on skin color. Because of this disadvantage African Americans are more prone to stress, leading to negative health outcomes (Golash-Boza, 2015). Discrimination can lead to stress, stress leads to stressful conditions such as poverty, crime, or poor housing. These stressful conditions can lead to unhealthy behaviors such as illegal crime, smoking, or substance use (Golash-Boza,2015). Due to the stressful resources African Americans are dealing with they can deal with these situations by eating unhealthy foods, therefore, causing a negative health outcome. Racism and health are indeed correlated with one another. As stated by Golash-Boza in Race and Racisms, “racial discrimination continues to be prevalent in our society and leads to negative health outcomes for people of color”. Overall racism can affect health in many ways. Those who live in poor neighborhoods, racial bias in medical care, the stress of experience of discrimination, and the social brand of inferiority can have consequences for health (Williams, 1999). Race can be a big factor in the type

The purpose of the current study was to examine “whether racial discrimination and any of the coping strategies were related to depressive symptoms” (Seaton, et al., 2014, p. 885) in Black American youth. The authors mention that there have been studies which indicate “perceptions of racial discrimination have been linked to lower life satisfaction levels, decreased

In a study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health (2003), researchers addressed mental health disparities between communities of color and the White community in several areas of health and well-being. Results indicated that although the amount of Asian Americans and African Americans students living in Greater Minnesota is relatively small, they reported much higher levels of several key risk behaviors than do their counterpart. More specifically, African Americans tend to score twice as worse as their White counterparts in most areas (sexual activity, fighting, emotional distress, smoking, drinking, family ties, activities, and etc.).