Stereotyping across intersections of race and age: Racial stereotyping among White adults working with children

Racism and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning in childhood as risks for health disparities across the lifespan

Racism is a primary social determinant of health and chronic stressor that affects the physical and mental health of People of Color and Indigenous Individuals (POCI) and perpetuates racial and ethnic health disparities. Despite the impact of racism on POCI, the mechanisms through which experiences of racism result in negative health outcomes remain understudied, in particular among children. Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the possible mechanisms. Frequent and prolonged exposure to chronic stressors may result in dysregulation of the HPA axis, and in turn cause adverse physical and psychological health outcomes for POCI children. This paper argues for the importance of examining HPA axis dysregulation as a mechanism that links racism during early childhood to negative health outcomes over the lifespan. Several studies have explored the relationship between racism and HPA axis dysregulation during adulthood and adolescence and have found associations between racism and salivary and hair cortisol. Recent studies have identified racial and ethnic differences in cortisol levels during early childhood, but only one study, to our knowledge, explored whether the differences are attributed to racism. In this paper, we conduct a review of the existing literature on the links between racism and HPA axis dysregulation during adulthood and adolescence given the dearth of studies exploring this relationship during early childhood. We also highlight the importance of utilizing an intersectionality framework in the study of racism and health to provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of health disparities among and within racial/ethnic groups. Using this evidence along with consideration of relevant models, we propose how HPA axis dysregulation identified early in life may foreshadow children's increased risk for negative health outcomes from racism and other systems of oppression and signal the need for prevention and intervention.

From Discrimination to Disease: The Role of Inflammation

ABSTRACT

Discrimination is an established social determinant of mental health that contributes to psychiatric illness disparities among marginalized populations. There is emerging research elucidating the biological mechanisms connecting discrimination to mental health outcomes, revealing inflammation as a key pathway. This column synthesizes evidence from existing literature on the links between discrimination and inflammation, and outlines both the opportunities and challenges in this field. The discussion highlights the necessity of a multifaceted approach to address discrimination, and thus, reduce inflammation at both individual and population levels.

The effectiveness of providing training and ongoing support to foster cultural humility in volunteers serving as mentors to youth of color: a mixed-methods study protocol

BACKGROUND

The aim of this randomized control trial is to test the impact of providing additional training and support to volunteers who are paired with youth of color in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) community-based mentoring program. The aim of the intervention activities is to enhance the capacity of mentors to have more culturally responsive and informed interactions with their mentees of color, thereby strengthening the youth's ethnic/racial identity and abilities to both cope with experiences of racism and contribute to causes that advance social justice.

METHODS

Recruitment started in June 2022, with a goal of enrolling 240 dyads (i.e., "matches"), each consisting of a volunteer mentor and a youth of color aged 9- to 17-years old with whom they were paired through BBBS. Each match is assigned randomly to receive either standard BBBS services or to services that incorporate the intervention activities (i.e., approximately 3 h of initial training that is then supplemented with booster emails and in the context of the contacts that case managers have with mentors routinely in the program). The BBBS staff who are responsible for delivering the enhancements receive preparatory training as well as ongoing support with implementation. The study has a mixed-methods design. Survey data, on outcomes (e.g., ethnic/racial identity, sense of mattering, efficacy) aligned with the theory of change, are collected at multiple time points within 12 months from mentors, youth and their parent/guardian, and BBBS staff. Multiple qualitative interviews are conducted with a subset of youth, mentors, parents and BBBS staff to examine how the intervention works and how it impacts relationship development and youth outcomes over time. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data will aim to better understand whether and how the intervention works with respect to its potential influence on mentor attitudes (e.g., cultural humility), mentor-youth interactions, and emergent identities and capacities that have well-documented importance for the resilience and well-being of youth of color.

DISCUSSION

This culturally tailored training and support intervention for volunteer mentors may be one way to increase the effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth of color. Study findings will have implications for youth mentoring programs and for other settings (e.g., schools, after school programs) in which children and adolescents form relationships with adults.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

www.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov -Clinical Trial #NCT05391711; original 05.21.2022; Amendment 07.01.2022: study status was updated and more details were provided on outcome measures; Amendment 11/13/2022: sample size was modified, a few mentor outcome measures were added in the 12-months survey, the timing of a mentor measure was updated.

Reading the signs in health visits-Perspectives of adolescents with migration experiences on encounters with school nurses

AIM

To explore the experiences of health visits within the school health services from the perspective of adolescents with migration experiences.

DESIGN

A descriptive qualitative study.

METHODS

Data were collected using focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews with adolescents with migration experiences aged 13-17 years old. Analysis was conducted using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The results described adolescents reading the signs in the guided interaction between them and the school nurses. Reading the signs illustrated the adolescents' continuous interpretation of the interaction with the school nurse, and their decisions on how to respond throughout the health visit. These interpretations influenced the adolescents' shifting willingness to talk about their health and how they adapted to the space of participation provided by the school nurse. The interpretation also influenced their experiences of health visits as focusing on their health without making them feel singled out.

CONCLUSION

Although individual considerations might be warranted in health visits with adolescents with migration experiences, the results indicate that similarities in intrapersonal communication in various encounters between adolescents and health professionals might be greater than any differences. Healthcare encounters with adolescents with migration experiences might thus need to be conducted with an awareness that adolescents read the signs in the guided interaction and that similarities in this interaction are greater than any differences.

Vacillating between "strange" and "familiar" - representations of children in migrant families and their health in Swedish school health services

Representations of migrants influence how they are perceived by others. Hence, how children who have migrated or whose parents have migrated (Children in Migrant Families: CMFs) are represented in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for Swedish school health services (SHS) may influence how they are perceived by school nurses. Thus, this study aimed to explore representations of CMFs in school nurses' CPGs. Data consisted of 130 CPGs from municipalities in Sweden. Documents were analyzed using the "What is the Problem Represented to be" (WPR) approach - an analytic strategy for investigating embedded assumptions of "problems". In the analysis, Sarah Ahmed's work on "strangers" and "strangeness" was applied. In the CPGs, the CMFs and their health were repeatedly mentioned in conjunction with the need for particular or additional actions, efforts, or routines when assessing or discussing their health, to a degree beyond what is "usually" provided. This need was motivated by representing the CMFs and their health as being the same, yet different in relation to "Swedish" children in general. Thus, the children were not only represented as different, but they were "foreignized". These representations of difference and foreignness placed the children on a continuum in relation to what is recognized as "familiar" in their health, and constructed elastic boundaries between the strange and the familiar. By illustrating how these boundaries were used for difference-making between "familiar" and "strange", this study showed how CMFs are alternately represented as similar and different, and foreignized while provided with SHS aiming to make them "familiar".

Racial bias in perceptions of children's pain

Across eight experiments, we investigated whether adult perceivers (both lay perceivers and elementary school teachers) evaluate children's pain differently depending on the child's race. We found evidence that adults varying in racial and ethnic identities (but primarily White) believed 4- to 6-year-old Black children felt less pain than 4- to 6-year-old White children (Experiments 1-7), and this effect was not moderated by child sex (Experiments 6-7). We also examined perceptions of life hardship as a mediator of this race-to-pain effect, finding that adults evaluated Black children as having lived harder lives and thus as feeling less pain than White children (Experiments 1-3). Finally, we examined downstream consequences for hypothetical treatment recommendations among samples of both lay perceivers and elementary school teachers. We found that adults' perceptions of pain sensitivity were linked with hypothetical pain treatment decisions (Experiments 5a-7). Thus, we consistently observed that adults' race-based pain stereotypes biased evaluations of 4- to 6-year-old children's pain and may influence pain care. This racial bias in evaluations of young children's pain has implications for psychological theory and equitable treatment of children's pain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluating the impact of 'Ask the Specialist Plus': a training program for improving cultural safety and communication in hospital-based healthcare

BACKGROUND

First Nations peoples in colonised countries often feel culturally unsafe in hospitals, leading to high self-discharge rates, psychological distress and premature death. To address racism in healthcare, institutions have promised to deliver cultural safety training but there is limited evidence on how to teach cultural safety. To that end, we created Ask the Specialist Plus: a training program that focuses on improving healthcare providers intercultural communication skills to improve cultural safety. Our aim is to describe training implementation and to evaluate the training according to participants.

METHODS

Inspired by cultural safety, Critical Race Theory and Freirean pedagogy, Ask the Specialist Plus was piloted at Royal Darwin Hospital in Australia's Northern Territory in 2021. The format combined listening to an episode of a podcast called Ask the Specialist with weekly, one-hour face-to-face discussions with First Nations Specialists outside the clinical environment over 7 to 8 weeks. Weekly surveys evaluated teaching domains using five-point Likert scales and via free text comments. Quantitative data were collated in Excel and comments were collated in NVivo12. Results were presented following Kirkpatrick's evaluation model.

RESULTS

Fifteen sessions of Ask the Specialist Plus training were delivered. 90% of participants found the training valuable. Attendees enjoyed the unique format including use of the podcast as a catalyst for discussions. Delivery over two months allowed for flexibility to accommodate clinical demands and shift work. Students through to senior staff learnt new skills, discussed institutionally racist systems and committed to behaviour change. Considering racism is commonly denied in healthcare, the receptiveness of staff to discussing racism was noteworthy. The pilot also contributed to evidence that cultural safety should be co-taught by educators who represent racial and gender differences.

CONCLUSION

The Ask the Specialist Plus training program provides an effective model for cultural safety training with high potential to achieve behaviour change among diverse healthcare providers. The training provided practical information on how to improve communication and fostered critical consciousness among healthcare providers. The program demonstrated that training delivered weekly over two months to clinical departments can lead to positive changes through cycles of learning, action, and reflection.

A review of mental health disparities during COVID-19: Evidence, mechanisms, and policy recommendations for promoting societal resilience

Social and economic inequality are chronic stressors that continually erode the mental and physical health of marginalized groups, undermining overall societal resilience. In this comprehensive review, we synthesize evidence of greater increases in mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among socially or economically marginalized groups in the United States, including (a) people who are low income or experiencing homelessness, (b) racial and ethnic minorities, (c) women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) communities, (d) immigrants and migrants, (e) children and people with a history of childhood adversity, and (f) the socially isolated and lonely. Based on this evidence, we propose that reducing social and economic inequality would promote population mental health and societal resilience to future crises. Specifically, we propose concrete, actionable recommendations for policy, intervention, and practice that would bolster five "pillars" of societal resilience: (1) economic safety and equity, (2) accessible healthcare, including mental health services, (3) combating racial injustice and promoting respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion, (4) child and family protection services, and (5) social cohesion. Although the recent pandemic exposed and accentuated steep inequalities within our society, efforts to rebuild offer the opportunity to re-envision societal resilience and policy to reduce multiple forms of inequality for our collective benefit.

Trends and disparities in deep brain stimulation utilization in the United States: a Nationwide Inpatient Sample analysis from 1993 to 2017

Background

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an approved treatment option for Parkinson's Disease (PD), essential tremor (ET), dystonia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and epilepsy in the United States. There are disparities in access to DBS, and clear understanding of the contextual factors driving them is important. Previous studies aimed at understanding these factors have been limited by single indications or small cohort sizes. The aim of this study is to provide an updated and comprehensive analysis of DBS utilization for multiple indications to better understand the factors driving disparities in access.

Methods

The United States based National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was utilized to analyze the surgical volume and trends of procedures based on indication, using relevant ICD codes. Predictors of DBS use were analyzed using a logistic regression model. DBS-implanted patients in each indication were compared based on the patient-, hospital-, and outcome-related variables.

Findings

Our analysis of 104,356 DBS discharges from 1993 to 2017 revealed that the most frequent indications for DBS were PD (67%), ET (24%), and dystonia (4%). Although the number of DBS procedures has consistently increased over the years, radiofrequency ablation utilization has significantly decreased to only a few patients per year since 2003. Negative predictors for DBS utilization in PD and ET cohorts included age increase and female sex, while African American status was a negative predictor across all cohorts. Significant differences in patient-, hospital-, and outcome-related variables between DBS indications were also determined.

Interpretation

Demographic and socioeconomic-based disparities in DBS use are evident. Although racial disparities are present across all indications, other disparities such as age, sex, wealth, and insurance status are only relevant in certain indications.

Funding

This work was supported by Alan & Susan Hudson Cornerstone Chair in Neurosurgery at University Health Network.

Trajectories and impact of White mentors' beliefs about racial and ethnic discrimination in a formal youth mentoring program

To examine associations between White mentors' beliefs regarding the presence of discrimination towards Black, Indigenous, and people of Color (BIPOC) individuals and mentoring relationship outcomes, mentors' beliefs about racial/ethnic discrimination were assessed before random mentee assignment and at the end of 9 months of mentoring. White mentors matched with BIPOC youth showed greater increases in beliefs that discrimination limits opportunities for Black Americans. Stronger endorsement of the impacts of discrimination for Hispanic Americans resulted in less youth relationship anxiety when White mentors were matched with White mentees, but not when they were matched with BIPOC mentees. Last, greater increases in beliefs that discrimination limits opportunities for Black Americans resulted in less relationship anxiety for White mentors matched with White mentees, but more relationship anxiety for those matched with BIPOC mentees. Programs should assess and address mentors' racial biases to minimize harm and augment the impact of mentoring programs for all youth.

Race, academic achievement and the issue of inequitable motivational payoff

As racial inequities continue to pervade school systems around the world, further research is necessary to understand the factors undergirding this pressing issue. Here across three studies conducted in the United States (N = 8,293), we provide evidence that race-based differences in student achievement do not stem from a lack of motivation among Black, Latinx and Indigenous (BLI) students, but a lack of equitable motivational payoff. Even when BLI and non-BLI students have the same levels of motivation, BLI students still receive maths grades that are an average of 9% lower than those of their non-BLI peers (95% confidence interval 7 to 11%). This pattern was not explained by differences in students' aptitude, effort or prior achievement but was instead linked to teachers' diminished expectations for their BLI students' academic futures. We conclude by discussing statistical power limitations and the implications of the current findings for how researchers consider the sources of, and solutions for, educational inequity.

Shades of care: Understanding the needs of racially and ethnically diverse paediatric patients, their families, and health care providers in North America

While race and ethnicity have been acknowledged as determinants of health, there remain gaps regarding their effects on experiences of paediatric care. This scoping review examines empirical literature regarding the state and experience of paediatric care provided to racially and ethnically diverse families in North America. We seek to clarify the needs of care administrators and recipients, as well as to conceptualize what paediatric care must look like to enable equitable practices and optimal health outcomes. Utilizing Arksey and O'Malley's framework, we reviewed literature published between 2005 and 2020, most of which was written within an American context. The literature reviewed featured quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies. Paediatric care administrators and recipients collectively identified the following as domains requiring an increased focus: (1) knowledge (awareness or training), (2) alignment of views and values, (3) resources and (4) communication. Findings suggest overall that despite there being merit in the cultural competency efforts underway, more patient-centric approaches are vital. This review concludes by encouraging the sustained development of cultural safety initiatives in paediatric care to ultimately promote patient comfort and provider-patient collaboration.

Roles of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and teacher beliefs in academic grading

BACKGROUND

Educational outcomes in the United Kingdom vary as a function of students' family background, with those of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and certain ethnic minority groups among the worst affected.

AIMS

This pre-registered study investigates: (i) whether knowledge about students' socioeconomic and ethnic background influences teachers' judgements about the quality of their work and potential for the future, and (ii) the role of teachers' beliefs-most notably about meritocracy-in their practices.

SAMPLE

Our findings are based on the responses of 416 in-service (88%) and trainee (12%) teachers who successfully passed several stringent exclusion criteria.

METHODS

As part of a 2 × 2 independent measures design, teachers were randomly assigned to assess an identical piece of work ostensibly written by a student who varied by SES (higher vs. lower) and ethnicity (White British vs. Black Caribbean). Following this, they responded to several measures assessing their beliefs about education.

RESULTS

Teachers judged students of lower SES to be inferior to students of higher SES across a range of indicators. By contrast, we found no evidence of racial bias in teachers' judgements, though potential reasons for this are discussed. Teachers who believed that schooling is meritocratic were significantly less likely to support equity-enhancing teaching practices and initiatives.

CONCLUSIONS

Unconscious teacher biases and beliefs may be contributing to the relative underperformance of students from poorer backgrounds. These findings provide a mandate for educational institutions to help teachers reflect upon, and develop the skills required to mitigate potentially harmful biases.

The impact of systemic racism on health outcomes among Black women: Recommendations for change

ABSTRACT

Black women suffer disproportionately from healthcare inequities in comparison to their White counterparts. Using the Public Health Critical Race framework, this article explores the lasting effects of systemic racism on the health outcomes of Black women across the lifespan. A case study and specific strategies are presented to examine how clinicians, educators, and policymakers can work with Black women to mitigate and eliminate health inequities.

All Things Considered: Examining Mentoring Relationships Between White Mentors and Black Youth in Community-Based Youth Mentoring Programs

Background

Community-based youth mentoring programs are popular interventions that serve a large number of Black youths throughout the country. Interestingly, the majority of mentors who volunteer their time for mentoring organizations identify as non-Hispanic White. This study examines how White mentors address topics acknowledging ethnic/racial identity and issues centered around social justice and recognize their own privileges when mentoring Black youth in community-based youth mentoring programs.

Objective

The aims of the current study were to examine: (a) whether and how White volunteer mentors address ethnic/racial identity, racial socialization, and oppression in the mentoring relationship and (b) how White mentors' awareness of their own positionality and privilege impacted how they addressed ethnic/racial identity, racial socialization, and oppression in the mentoring relationship with Black youth.

Method

Utilizing a constructivist grounded theory approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 current and former mentors from six different Big Brothers Big Sisters community-based mentoring programs across the United States.

Results

Findings reveal that some mentors felt uncomfortable discussing issues centered around race and others do not think it is relevant at all. Further, findings demonstrated that mentoring Black youth significantly impacts mentors' perceived awareness of social issues and acknowledgment of privileges they hold.

Conclusions

Current findings highlight the need for youth mentoring programs to provide training and resources to help White mentors discuss implications of race and broader social justice issues with the Black youth they mentor.

Key demographic and mental disorder diagnostic differences between Australian First Nations and non-First Nations clinic-referred children and adolescents assessed in a culturally appropriate and safe way

OBJECTIVE

Increased point prevalence rates of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder have been reported in American Indian and Canadian First Nations children and adolescents. To date, in Australia, there has been no published examination of standardized Diagnostic and Statistical Manual mental disorder diagnoses in First Nations children and adolescents, determined after addressing key cultural methodological issues.

METHODS

In all, 113 First Nations children and adolescents and 217 non-First Nations young people, aged 6-16  years, age, gender, mental disorder symptom severity, symptom-linked distress and impairment matched were recruited in a case control study. Also, 112 typically developing non-First Nations participants, age and gender matched to the other two clinical groups as a second comparison group were recruited. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual mental disorder diagnoses via semi-structured clinical interview, social adversity status and full scale IQ were determined in all participants with cultural validity and reliability of the impairing patterns of symptoms in First Nations young people determined by First Nations mental health staff and Aboriginal Health Liaison Officers. Full scale IQ and social adversity status were appropriately controlled in the Logistic Regression analyses of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual mental disorder diagnoses between the two clinical groups.

RESULTS

Oppositional defiant disorder was the only diagnostic and statistical manual mental disorder diagnosis that differed between the First Nations and non-First Nations clinical groups, adjusting for confounding by social adversity status and full scale IQ in the multivariable model. The point prevalence of oppositional defiant disorder was 2.94 times higher (95% confidence interval: 1.14-7.69) among the First Nations compared to the non-First Nations clinical group.

CONCLUSION

Key known risk factors for oppositional defiant disorder can be identified early and holistically managed in First Nations young people. This will prevent oppositional defiant disorder decreasing their access to mental health services and increasing their involvement in the criminal justice system. In addition, the resilience building aspects of oppositional defiant disorder that may enhance self-respect need to be nurtured.

Educational considerations based on medical student use of polygenic risk information and apparent race in a simulated consultation

PURPOSE

To craft evidence-based educational approaches related to polygenic risk score (PRS) implementation, it is crucial to forecast issues and biases that may arise when PRS are introduced in clinical care.

METHODS

Medical students (N = 84) were randomized to a simulated primary care encounter with a Black or White virtual reality-based patient and received either a direct-to-consumer-style PRS report for 5 common complex conditions or control information. The virtual patient inquired about 2 health concerns and her genetic report in the encounter. Data sources included participants' verbalizations in the simulation, care plan recommendations, and self-report outcomes.

RESULTS

When medical students received PRSs, they rated the patient as less healthy and requiring more strict advice. Patterns suggest that PRSs influenced specific medical recommendations related to the patient's concerns, despite student reports that participants did not use it for that purpose. We observed complex patterns regarding the effect of patient race on recommendations and behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Educational approaches should consider potential unintentional influences of PRSs on decision-making and evaluate ways that they may be applied inconsistently across patients from different racial groups.

A five-nation study of the impact of political leaning and perception of crisis severity on the preference for female and minority leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic

Research on underrepresented groups in leadership has shown that women and ethnic minorities are preferred as leaders during a crisis. In the present study, we investigated factors that shape voter preferences for minority political leaders in the COVID-19 crisis. We examined participant perceptions of the severity of the COVID-19 crisis in health, social, and economic domains and self-reported political leaning, and their impact on preference for a female (vs male) or minority political leader. We collected survey data in autumn 2020 using online platforms in France, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a snowball sample in Germany (total N = 1,259). Results showed that female leaders were generally more preferred by politically left- than right-leaning participants independent of severity perceptions of the social or economic crisis. In addition, we found that preference for female leaders amongst right-leaning participants increased when their current regional leader's actions were judged insufficient to manage the health crisis, an effect primarily driven by participants in Germany and the United Kingdom. Left-leaning political orientation also predicted the preference for minority leaders across countries. Moreover, a more severe perception of the social aspects of the crisis increased minority preference, as expected, but mostly in Germany and the United States. We discuss cross-country variation of our results. Overall, our findings affirm and expand prior research showing the importance of political leaning and changing leadership demands in a crisis and their impact on the preference for minority leaders.

Locked, Loaded, and Ready for School: The Association of Safety Concerns With Weapon-carrying Behavior Among Adolescents in the United States

There is limited, if any, prior research exploring the potential link between adolescents' safety concerns and their predisposition to possess weapons has been limited. This study aimed to examine the relationship between high school students' perceived lack of safety and their weapons carrying behavior in a multiyear nationally representative sample of high school students. Information on self-reported weapons carrying in past month and gun carrying in past year, perceived lack of safety at school or during commute, being bullied and/or threatened, involvement in physical fights, and demographic characteristics were retrieved from Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey data for 1991-2017. Generalized linear mixed models were used to address data clustering by survey year. Sampling design and sample weights were accounted for. Of a total number of 195,280 respondents with valid responses during 1991-2017, 18%, 7%, and 5%, respectively, carried weapon(s) in general, weapon(s) to school, and gun. On an average, 5% skipped school due to safety concerns. Missing ≥2 school days was associated with weapon (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.94 -2.61) and gun (AOR: 3.18; 95% CI: 1.81 -5.58) possessions, as well as weapons possession in school (AOR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.96 -3.12). Experiences of weapons-induced injury(ies) or threat(s), and involvement in physical fights were other significant covariates in adjusted analyses. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, students of other racial/ethnic groups had significantly lower odds of possessing weapons. Perceived lack of safety emerged as a potential determinant of weapon carrying, a behavior with far-reaching public health concerns. While future research looking into the psychological motivations of possessing weapons is recommended, our findings offer a unique opportunity to address the crucial problems of school absenteeism induced by experiences of aggression and fears for safety as well as preempt the consequences of weapons-possession by adolescents.

Racial/ethnic and gender disparities in child protection decision-making: What role do stereotypes play?

BACKGROUND

A wide range of studies have revealed racial/ethnic and gender disparities in child protection decision-making.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated whether disparities are mediated by stereotypes that professionals may hold, by applying the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) which suggests that stereotypes are formed by perceptions of sociability, morality, and competence.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

258 professionals (133 current staff and 125 trainees) from Colorado participated in the study.

METHODS

The study applied a 2 × 3 randomized experimental vignette design. Participants read a case in which the gender of the parent responsible for maltreatment (mother or father) and race/ethnicity of the family (white, Black, or Latinx) varied.

RESULTS

A SEM model (CFI = .94, RMSEA = .05) with free parameters for trainees and current staff was estimated. No significant association between stereotypes and race/ethnicity and gender appeared. However, evidence for disparities emerged. In the trainee group, scores to decide for a supervision order were higher for white fathers, Black mothers, Latinx mothers, and Latinx fathers (β = 0.18 to 0.25) compared to white mothers. Current staff provided larger risk scores for Black mothers and both Latinx parents (β = 0.20 to 0.22) compared to the white mother, resulting in increased inclinations to decide for a supervision order (β = 0.26). Lastly, negative perceptions of morality increased supervision order scores (β = -0.55 to -0.36).

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence for disparities in decision-making appeared, but the study could not confirm that these disparities were mediated by stereotypes. Furthermore, perceptions of morality seemed to impact decision-making processes.

Is Trust Enough? Anti-Black Racism and the Perception of Black Vaccine "Hesitancy"

In this article, I offer a preliminary exploration of the heavy lifting that the word "trust" is doing in questions about Black distrust of medicine and what, if anything, comes from it. I also offer an account of why questions like, "Why don't Black people trust vaccines?" are not only the wrong questions to ask but also insulting, and I go on to provide a Black feminist analysis of racial injustice in medicine-an analysis that does not center a notion of trust. I begin by arguing that implicit in these questions is a pathologizing of Black people-the idea that there is something wrong with Black people rather than something wrong with the conditions within which Black people exist. The sense that there is something wrong with Black people both further disadvantages them and ignores the role that health care institutions have played and continue to play in fostering a climate of distrust. I show that even attempts to explain distrust fail to adequately capture the harms committed against Black people, even if such efforts gesture at institutional responsibility. I sketch out what is important about trust but also briefly discuss why trust may not be the answer to the problems that Black people face in health care encounters.

Protective parenting behavior buffers the impact of racial discrimination on depression among Black youth

The adverse impact of racial discrimination on youth, and particularly its impact on the development of depressive symptoms, has prompted attention regarding the potential for family processes to protect youth from these erosive effects. Evidence from non-experimental studies indicates that protective parenting behavior (PPB) which occurs naturally in many Black families can buffer youth from the negative impact of racial discrimination. Of interest is whether "constructed resilience" developed through family-centered prevention programming can add to this protective buffering. The current paper examines the impact of constructed resilience in the form of increased protective parenting using 295 families randomly assigned either to a control condition or to the Protecting Strong African American Families (ProSAAF) program, a family-based prevention program previously shown to enhance protective parenting. We found that baseline racial discrimination was predictive of change in youths' depressive symptoms across the pre-post study period. Second, we found that parents participating in ProSAAF, relative to those randomly assigned to the control group, significantly improved in their use of an intervention targeting PPB. Third, we found a significant effect of change in PPB on the association of discrimination with change in depressive symptoms. Finally, we found that ProSAAF participation buffered the impact of racial discrimination on change in depressive symptoms through change in PPB. Results provide experimental support for constructed resilience in the form of change in PPB and call for increased attention to the development of family-based intervention programs to protect Black youth from the pernicious effects of racial discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Racial discrimination, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems among Blacks in the rural South

OBJECTIVES

Experiences of racial discrimination are common for Black Americans and have been associated with depression and sleep disturbance, factors likely involved in the insidious development of health disparities. The current study replicates these associations and examines longitudinal linkages.

METHOD

Black American couples (men: N = 248, Mage = 40, SD = 9; women: N = 277, Mage = 37, SD = 7) and their children, aged 9 to 14 (N = 276, Mage = 11, SD = 1), completed measures of experiences of racial discrimination, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems at baseline and 8-month follow-up. In separate analyses for men, women, and youth, we examined concurrent and prospective associations of racial discrimination with depressive symptoms and sleep problems, then used longitudinal indirect effect models to examine whether depressive symptoms in response to racial discrimination led to increased sleep problems, or vice versa.

RESULTS

Racial discrimination was associated concurrently with depressive symptoms and sleep problems for all family members. Prospective associations were also found with depressive symptoms and sleep problems in fathers and youth, and sleep problems in mothers. Longitudinal models showed significant indirect effects of racial discrimination on change in sleep problems through depressive symptoms for fathers and mothers, and a similar, but nonsignificant, pattern in youth. There were no indirect effects on change in depressive symptoms through sleep problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Persistent associations of racial discrimination with depressive symptoms and sleep problems reflect a lasting impact of racial discrimination. Because discrimination's effects on depression may contribute to increased sleep problems over time, interventions that buffer the effects of discrimination on depressive symptoms may also reduce sleep problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Predicting Choice Behavior of Group Members

Meaningful social interactions rest upon our ability to accurately infer and predict other people’s preferences. Ireferen doing so, we can separate two sources of information: knowledge we have about the particular individual (individual knowledge) and knowledge we have about the social group to which that individual belongs (categorical knowledge). However, it is yet unclear how these two types of knowledge contribute to making predictions about other people’s choice behavior. To fill this gap, we had participants learn probabilistic preferences by predicting object choices of agents with and without a common logo printed on their shirt. The logo thereby served as a visual cue to increase perceptions of groupness. We quantified how similar predictions for a specific agent are relative to the objective individual-level preferences of that agent and how close these predictions are relative to the objective group-level preferences to which that agent belongs. We found that the logo influenced how close participants’ predictions were to the individual-level preferences of an agent relative to the preferences of the group the agent belongs to. We interpret this pattern of results as indicative of a differential weighting of individual and categorical group knowledge when making predictions about individuals that are perceived as forming a social group. The results are interpreted in an assimilation account of categorization and stress the importance of group knowledge during daily social interactions.

Career Barriers of Chinese Self-Expatriate Women: Neither Double Jeopardy nor Ethnic Prominence

The study explored barriers to career progression of Chinese self-initiated expatriate (SIE) women in the United Kingdom using semi-structured interviews with two matched samples of Chinese SIE and native Caucasian British women. Double jeopardy and ethnic prominence offered the theoretical backdrop. Common gender-related career hindering factors emerged in both groups. However, no barriers due to ethnicity per se emerged for the Chinese SIE women, whilst their narrations revealed that the Chinese stereotype had rather facilitated their careers in the host country. Furthermore, they did not view self-expatriation as a particularly challenging endeavor. None of the two interpretative frameworks deployed, double jeopardy and ethnic prominence, could account for the findings. The study implies that the effects of ethnicity on self-expatriation experiences and outcomes may be contingent on SIEs' ethnic and cultural origins. In addition, the findings imply that women who self-expatriate to escape gendered opportunities in their home countries may face similar gender-related barriers in host countries.

Stress and the Mental Health of Populations of Color: Advancing Our Understanding of Race-related Stressors

This article provides an overview of research on race-related stressors that can affect the mental health of socially disadvantaged racial and ethnic populations. It begins by reviewing the research on self-reported discrimination and mental health. Although discrimination is the most studied aspect of racism, racism can also affect mental health through structural/institutional mechanisms and racism that is deeply embedded in the larger culture. Key priorities for research include more systematic attention to stress proliferation processes due to institutional racism, the assessment of stressful experiences linked to natural or manmade environmental crises, documenting and understanding the health effects of hostility against immigrants and people of color, cataloguing and quantifying protective resources, and enhancing our understanding of the complex association between physical and mental health.