Racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans: a thirteen year national panel study.

TLDR

The study examined how experiences and perceptions of racism affect the physical and mental health of African Americans and called for further research into contributing factors. The authors analyzed data from 623 African Americans across four waves of the National Survey of Black Americans spanning 1979–1992. Racism experiences were linked to both immediate harm—lower well‑being and more health problems in 1979–80—and, over time, only weakly predicted lower well‑being in 1992; moreover, believing that whites want to keep blacks down was associated with poorer early physical health, better later physical health, increased psychological distress, and lower subjective well‑being in 1992.

Abstract

This paper examined the relationships between the experiences and perceptions of racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans. The study was based upon thirteen year (1979 to 1992), four wave, national panel data (n = 623) from the National Survey of Black Americans. Personal experiences of racism were found to have both adverse and salubrious immediate and cumulative effects on the physical and mental well-being of African Americans. In 1979-80, reports of poor treatment due to race were inversely related to subjective well-being and positively associated with the number of reported physical health problems. Reports of negative racial encounters over the 13-year period were weakly predictive of poor subjective well-being in 1992. A more general measure of racial beliefs, perceiving that whites want to keep blacks down, was found to be related to poorer physical health in 1979-80, better physical health in 1992, and predicted increased psychological distress, as well as, lower levels of subjective well-being in 1992. In conclusion, the authors suggested future research on possible factors contributing to the relationship between racism and health status among African Americans.