Department of Psychology, Denison University, Granville, OH, USA.
Psychol Health. 2021 Apr;36(4):427-443. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2020.1797028. Epub 2020 Jul 24.
Internalised racism (IR) is associated with better worse health outcomes among racial/ethnic minorities. However, the underlying mechanisms associating IR with either positive or negative health outcomes are not well understood. To address this gap, this study investigated two pathways that associate increased IR with better self-reported overall health (OH; i.e. dental, mental, physical and vision health) among 780 Black/African American adults (mean age 37.68 years, 57.6% female): (1) via stigma consciousness and (2) via stigma consciousness and locus of control beliefs.
Consistent with predictions, stigma consciousness mediated the indirect effect of IR on OH, such that higher IR was associated with lower stigma consciousness, which was associated with better self-reported OH. Confirming predictions, this indirect effect was also carried through locus of control beliefs, such that higher IR was associated with lower stigma consciousness; lower stigma consciousness was also associated with internal locus of control beliefs, which were associated with better self-reported OH.
Although seemingly protective, this adaptive, strategic and short-term response to race-based threat in which group stereotypes are internalised can lead to negative health outcomes over time. These findings have implications for understanding IR and associated health disparities.
内化种族主义（IR）与少数族裔的健康结果（无论是更好还是更差）有关。然而，将 IR 与积极或消极健康结果联系起来的潜在机制尚不清楚。为了解决这一差距，本研究调查了两种途径，即通过（1）污名意识和（2）污名意识和控制信念的位置，将 IR 与 780 名黑/非裔美国成年人（平均年龄 37.68 岁，女性占 57.6%）更好的自我报告总体健康（OH；即牙齿、精神、身体和视力健康）联系起来：IR 与 OH 之间的间接效应，即更高的 IR 与更低的污名意识相关，而更低的污名意识与更好的自我报告 OH 相关。证实了预测，这种间接效应也通过控制信念的位置传递，即更高的 IR 与更低的污名意识相关；较低的污名意识也与内部控制信念相关，而内部控制信念与更好的自我报告 OH 相关。
尽管这种内化基于种族威胁的适应、策略和短期反应看似具有保护作用，但随着时间的推移，它可能会导致负面的健康结果。这些发现对理解 IR 及其相关的健康差距具有重要意义。
