Am J Public Health 93(2): 200-208

Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health: Findings From Community Studies

The authors are with the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Requests for reprints should be sent to David R. Williams, PhD, MPH, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PO Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 (e-mail: ude.hcimu@divadliw).

Accepted October 21, 2002.

Abstract

The authors review the available empirical evidence from population-based studies of the association between perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination and health. This research indicates that discrimination is associated with multiple indicators of poorer physical and, especially, mental health status.

However, the extant research does not adequately address whether and how exposure to discrimination leads to increased risk of disease. Gaps in the literature include limitations linked to measurement of discrimination, research designs, and inattention to the way in which the association between discrimination and health unfolds over the life course.

Research on stress points to important directions for the future assessment of discrimination and the testing of the underlying processes and mechanisms by which discrimination can lead to changes in health.

Abstract

THERE IS GROWING SCIENTIFIC interest in examining the extent to which perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination are a type of stressful life experience that can adversely affect health.1–5 The stress induced by personal experiences of racial bias is viewed as one mechanism by which racism in the larger society can affect health.6–8 Here we review the evidence for an association between discrimination and health in population-based studies. Gaps in the literature are identified, along with critical next steps for advancing research in this area.

Acknowledgments

Preparation of this commentary was supported by grant MH 59575 from the National Institute of Mental Health and by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health.

We wish to thank Scott Wyatt, Carl Hill, Rashid Njai, and Car Nosel for assistance with research and manuscript preparation.

Acknowledgments

Notes

All of the authors contributed to the conceptualization of this article. D. R. Williams and H. W. Neighbors analyzed the data, and all of the authors contributed to the writing of the article.

Peer Reviewed

Notes

All of the authors contributed to the conceptualization of this article. D. R. Williams and H. W. Neighbors analyzed the data, and all of the authors contributed to the writing of the article.

Peer Reviewed

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