Racism and its effects

This chapter elaborates the bidirectional relationship between the many manifestations of racism and mental health diagnosis, prevalence and disparities in service delivery. The concept of “microaggressions” is utilized to understand the insidious effects of repeated manifestations of individual, institutional and structural and institutionalized racism on the well-being, including mental health, of People of Color.1 Social factors such as housing discrimination, poverty and employment opportunities which all interface with racism to exacerbate the conditions of chronic mental illness are also considered. Psychological factors include the impact of racism on the emergent identity and mental health of People of Color. Though the discussion and case examples focus primarily on the experiences of racism of African American individuals, racism affects all racial and minority groups in similar, yet distinct ways. While evidence shows the experience of racial discrimination can influence the manifestations of many psychiatric disorders, we focus here on depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia, three conditions that tend to be both chronic and socially debilitating. Finally, the specific impact of various forms of racism on mental health is explored through the use of three case examples.