Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2011 Sep;101(9):1704-13. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300168. Epub 2011 Jul 21.
We investigated associations among racial discrimination, psychological distress, and self-rated health among US-born and immigrant Black Americans.
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort of employed working-class Black Americans (193 US-born, 275 foreign-born).
Both US-born and foreign-born Black participants had high levels of exposure to poverty (51% and 57%, respectively) and racial discrimination (76% and 60%) and reported high levels of severe psychological distress (14% and 16% had a Kessler 6 [K6] score of 13 or greater); 17% and 7% reported fair or poor health. After controlling for relevant covariates, their risk parameters for racial discrimination (high vs no exposure) were 4.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.3, 5.6) and 3.3 (95% CI = 2.1, 4.5), respectively, for continuous K6 score; corresponding odds ratios for severe psychological distress were 6.9 (95% CI = 1.4, 35.7) and 6.8 (95% CI = 2.5, 18.3). No associations existed between racial discrimination and self-reported health, suggesting that an underlying propensity to report adversity does not account for our psychological distress findings.
Our results attest to the salience of racial discrimination, nativity, and socioeconomic position in understanding the experiences and psychological health of Black Americans.
我们调查了美国出生和移民的美国黑人中种族歧视、心理困扰和自我评估健康之间的关联。
我们对一群在职的工人阶级美国黑人（193 名美国出生，275 名外国出生）进行了横断面分析。
美国出生和外国出生的黑人参与者都面临着高度的贫困（分别为 51%和 57%）和种族歧视（分别为 76%和 60%），报告了严重的心理困扰（14%和 16%的 Kessler 6 [K6]得分在 13 或以上）；17%和 7%的人报告健康状况一般或较差。在控制了相关协变量后，他们的种族歧视风险参数（高暴露与无暴露）分别为连续 K6 评分的 4.0（95%置信区间[CI] = 2.3，5.6）和 3.3（95%CI = 2.1，4.5）；严重心理困扰的相应比值比为 6.9（95%CI = 1.4，35.7）和 6.8（95%CI = 2.5，18.3）。种族歧视与自我报告的健康之间没有关联，这表明报告逆境的潜在倾向并不能解释我们的心理困扰发现。
我们的结果证明了种族歧视、原籍国和社会经济地位在理解美国黑人的经历和心理健康方面的重要性。
