Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, 21205, USA.
Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Dec;9(6):2180-2187. doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-01157-7. Epub 2021 Oct 1.
This study examined the association between discrimination, peer connectedness, and mental health symptoms among Black medical students. Data were collected from a convenience sample of Black medical students via an anonymous electronic questionnaire (n = 733) in year 2020. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Depression and Anxiety forms were used to measure depression and anxiety symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the association between discrimination, peer connectedness, and mental health symptoms (Mplus 7.3). The majority of the participants were female (80%), approximately 40% were third or fourth year medical school students, and 13% had a clinical diagnosis of depression/anxiety before medical school. About half of the students reported being watched more closely than their classmates, and 66% reported feeling the need to work twice as hard as others to get the same treatment or evaluation. The majority of students reported that their peers were supportive of their academic success (60.7%), and 53% reported that students often or always invited them to social outings. The mean T-score for depressive symptoms was 53.6 (SD = 7.8), and the mean T-score for anxiety symptoms was 58.6 (SD = 8.4). Overall, findings indicated a high prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms among Black medical students, and increased discrimination was associated with more mental health symptoms among males. Additionally, increased peer connectedness was associated with fewer symptoms of anxiety among males and females and fewer depressive symptoms among females. Addressing discrimination among medical students may improve mental health among Black medical students.
本研究考察了歧视、同伴联系与黑人医学生心理健康症状之间的关系。2020 年，通过匿名电子问卷从黑人医学生的便利样本中收集数据（n=733）。使用患者报告的结果测量信息系统抑郁和焦虑量表来衡量抑郁和焦虑症状。使用结构方程模型（Mplus 7.3）来检验歧视、同伴联系与心理健康症状之间的关系。大多数参与者为女性（80%），约 40%为三四年级医学生，13%在入医学院前被诊断为抑郁/焦虑。约一半的学生报告说他们比同学受到更密切的关注，66%的学生报告说他们觉得自己需要比别人加倍努力才能得到同样的待遇或评价。大多数学生报告说他们的同伴支持他们的学业成功（60.7%），53%的学生报告说他们经常或总是邀请他们参加社交活动。抑郁症状的 T 分数平均值为 53.6（SD=7.8），焦虑症状的 T 分数平均值为 58.6（SD=8.4）。总体而言，研究结果表明，黑人医学生中焦虑和抑郁症状的患病率较高，而歧视的增加与男性更多的心理健康症状有关。此外，同伴联系的增加与男性和女性的焦虑症状减少以及女性的抑郁症状减少有关。解决医学生中的歧视问题可能会改善黑人医学生的心理健康。
