FRIDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Racism is similar to trauma in how it affects the mental health of black adults in the United States, a new analysis finds.
An examination of 66 previous studies that included more than 18,000 black adults concluded that there are common responses to both racism and trauma, including somatization (psychological distress that is expressed as physical pain), interpersonal sensitivity and anxiety. The more stressful the racism, the more likely a person was to report mental distress.
The study is published online in the Journal of Counseling Psychology.
The researchers suggested that the link between mental health and racism could contribute to physical health disparities between blacks and other Americans of different races and ethnicities.
Comments