Racism can Affect Mental Health

An article released on March 16th, 2012 in Medical News Today included some surprising information about the latest major depression finds in the African-American community. According to the article, between 2003 and 2010, a survey was given to 694 African-Americans in four different areas in the United States, asking of the effects of subtle, day to day racism on their mental health. The results were surprising in that the participants indicated more day to day encounters with racism than previously thought.

Also, because of the social norms to withhold the aggression and not act out against these prejudices, the surveys show that the individuals who took these prejudices internally were most susceptible to depressive symptoms. The study, according to the researchers, did not show causation as much as association between discrimination and depression. Furthermore, the study concluded that these encounters of racial degradation can significantly increase the risk of major depression in the individual.