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
• Email:
  jianli2019@ucla.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• 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 ]