Vines Anissa I, Baird Donna D
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 266 Rosenau Hall, CB #7435, NC 27599, USA.
J Natl Med Assoc. 2009 Feb;101(2):156-60. doi: 10.1016/s0027-9684(15)30829-4.
Regardless of race, most mothers experience stress related to concerns about their children. African American mothers may experience the additional stress of their child (ren) experiencing racism. We describe the stress that African American women have about their children experiencing racism.
The Telephone-Administered Perceived Racism Scale (TPRS) was administered to 476 African American women ages 36 to 53 who were members of a prepaid health plan. The 8-item Concern for Children scale, 1 of the 5 TPRS scales, was completed by 382 women and assessed the level of concern women have about their children experiencing racism. The responses ranged from "not at all concerned" to "very concerned."
For 6 of the 8 items, more than 60% reported being "very concerned" for their children. Items of highest concern involved institutionalized racism with more than 70% reported being very concerned about their children being harmed or harassed by the police or getting stopped in a predominantly white neighborhood. Respondents were less concerned about their children being considered less attractive than their white counterparts and/or being excluded from social events, activities, or groups. Level of concern was not related to income or education. Unsurprisingly, respondents who reported high levels of perceived racism also reported greater concern for their child(ren).
These findings highlight an additional stressor related to childrearing in a "race-conscious" society. Future research on stress and African American women's health should include this additional stressor.
无论种族如何，大多数母亲都会因担心自己的孩子而经历压力。非裔美国母亲可能会因自己的孩子遭受种族主义而承受额外的压力。我们描述了非裔美国女性对自己的孩子遭受种族主义的压力。
对476名年龄在36至53岁之间、参加了预付健康计划的非裔美国女性进行了电话管理的种族主义感知量表（TPRS）调查。在TPRS的5个量表中，有一个由382名女性完成的8项儿童担忧量表，该量表评估了女性对自己的孩子遭受种族主义的担忧程度。回答范围从“一点也不担心”到“非常担心”。
在8个项目中的6个项目上，超过60%的人表示“非常担心”自己的孩子。最受关注的项目涉及制度化的种族主义，超过70%的人表示非常担心自己的孩子受到警察的伤害或骚扰，或者在以白人为主的社区被拦下。受访者不太担心自己的孩子被认为不如白人孩子有吸引力，和/或被排除在社交活动、活动或团体之外。担忧程度与收入或教育程度无关。不出所料，那些报告自己感受到高水平种族主义的受访者也表示对自己的孩子更担心。
这些发现凸显了在一个“种族意识强烈”的社会中，育儿过程中存在的另一个压力源。未来关于压力与非裔美国女性健康的研究应纳入这一额外的压力源。
