Am J Public Health

Objectives

We examined the contribution of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination to disparities in problem behaviors among pre-adolescent Black, Latino, and White youth.

Methods

We used cross-sectional data from Healthy Passages, a three-community study of 5,119 fifth-graders and their parents. Multivariate regressions were used to examine the relationships of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and race/ethnicity to problem behaviors (physical and non-physical aggression, retaliatory behaviors, and delinquency). We used values from these regressions to calculate the percentage of disparities in problem behaviors associated with the discrimination effect.

Results

In multivariate models, perceived discrimination was associated with greater problem behaviors among Black and Latino youth. Compared to Whites, Blacks were significantly more likely to report problem behaviors, whereas Latinos were significantly less likely (a “reverse disparity”). When Blacks’ and Latinos’ discrimination experiences were set to zero, the adjusted disparity between Blacks and Whites was reduced by an estimated one-third to two-thirds; the reverse adjusted disparity favoring Latinos widened by about one-fifth to one-half.

Conclusions

Results suggest that the elimination of discrimination could lead to considerable reductions in mental health issues, including problem behaviors, among Black and Latino youth.

23597387

PMC3651741

Journal Article

CDC Public Access