Discrimination in the Workplace Linked to Psychological Distress: A Longitudinal Study in the United States

Details

• Personal Author:
  Guardiano M ; Keller E ; Li J
• Description:
  Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationship between workplace discrimination and psychological distress across 9 years using data from the Midlife in the Unites States study. Methods: Workplace discrimination was measured with a validated six-item scale at baseline with three categories (low, intermediate, and high), and psychological distress was measured with the Kessler 6 scale at baseline and follow-up. In total, 1,546 workers were analyzed by linear regression. Results: High levels of workplace discrimination were significantly associated with increased psychological distress at follow-up (crude β = 0.633; 95% CI, 0.307-0.959). After adjusting for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and health-related behaviors, associations were slightly attenuated (fully adjusted β = 0.447; 95% CI, 0.115-0.780). Conclusions: High workplace discrimination was longitudinally associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Organizations should actively prevent discrimination, which may improve workers' mental health consequently. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Workplace Discrimination Discrimination Longitudinal Study Mental Health Occupational Health Psychological Distress Psychological Effects Psychosocial Factors SDOH Social Determinants Of Health Well-being

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• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; San Francisco Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  66
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069834
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2024 Oct; 66(10):803-809
• Contact Point Address:
  Jian Li, MD, PhD, Departments of Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095
• Email:
  jianli2019@ucla.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:67e19053acc90c938049620c7432df9bae9f333112f23ce99b33cbb4270c77e075b8b54af61ea1156494ebd6d1bf9930fb7c86209538e64d6f15602ce50a2c6b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208180/cdc_208180_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 354.59 KB ]