The Importance of Biobehavioral Research to Examine the Physiological Effects of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in the Latinx Population

A growing body of research is documenting how racial and ethnic populations embody social inequalities throughout the life course. Some scholars recommend the integration of biospecimens representing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neurological and endocrinological processes, and inflammation to capture the embodiment of inequality. However, in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups, there has been little research examining how Hispanic/Latinx persons embody racial and ethnic discrimination, much less resulting from institutional and structural racism. We provide a rationale for expanding biobehavioral research examining the physiological consequences of racism among Latinx persons. We identify gaps and make recommendations for a future research agenda in which biobehavioral research can expand knowledge about chronic disease inequities among Latinx populations and inform behavioral and institutional interventions. We end by cautioning readers to approach the recommendations in this article as a call to expand the embodiment of racism research to include the diverse Latinx population as the United States addresses racial inequity.

The Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Against Asian American and Pacific Islanders

Hate crimes against Asian American/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have surged in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic to alarming new levels. We analyzed data from the Healthy Minds Study, and found that COVID-19 related racial/ethnic discrimination was associated with greater odds of having depression, anxiety, non-suicidal self-injury, binge drinking, and suicidal ideation among AAPI university students (N = 1,697). Findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated discrimination, which has been linked to mental health problems, calling for more preventive interventions to address the AAPI population, especially given their low rates of formal treatment utilization.

Does Racism Discriminate? Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Among Nigerians and Jamaicans in Houston Texas

As a result of more racially inclusive immigration policies in the U.S., the African and Caribbean population has increased. Thus far, scholarly inquiry on Black immigrants have focused on their incorporation into the racial hierarchy, their experiences with racism, and their relationships with African Americans. While beneficial, these studies overlook the impact of ethnic discrimination for Black immigrants. Although all individuals of African descent share similar racialized experiences in the U.S., I hypothesize that diverse Black immigrant groups endure unique discriminatory experiences because of their ethnic identities. Thus, through in-depth interviews with 27 Nigerian and 20 Jamaican respondents, this paper explores Black immigrants’ experiences with racial and ethnic discrimination. I found that, regardless of ethnic background, 80% of my Nigerian and Jamaican respondents encountered racism. In contrast, ethnic discrimination varied between my Nigerian and Jamaican respondents. My Nigerian respondents were more likely to report their encounters with ethnic discrimination. These experiences ranged from being accused of internet scamming to being mocked for having an accent. On the other hand, not only were my Jamaican respondents less likely to report ethnic discrimination, but they were also more likely to see their ethnicity as an advantage.

The Racialized Pandemic: Wave One of COVID-19 and the Reproduction of Global North Inequalities

We document the broad patterns of COVID-19 as it affects minority communities. We present a theoretical framework rooted in Global North democracies’ racial and ethnic legacies to analyze the health and economic disparities between these communities and the white majority population. Marshalling first-cut empirical evidence from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden, we find patterns of the pandemic’s distribution consistent with how the burden of racial and ethnic legacies endures: people from minority communities have worse health and economic outcomes under normal circumstances, inequalities the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated. The comparison shows that the impact of racial and ethnic discrimination on pandemic policy outcomes is not unique to the United States. Health inequalities stemming in part from patterns of institutional racism and discrimination perversely help reproduce these societal inequities. We find that governments’ initial responses have failed to mitigate the disproportionate impact of this health and economic crisis on minority communities because they did not acknowledge or address the particular challenges that these groups face.

The mental health impact of COVID-19 racial and ethnic discrimination against Asian American and Pacific Islanders

Hate crimes against Asian American/ Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have surged in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic to alarming new levels. We analyzed data from the Healthy Minds Study, and found that COVID-19 related racial/ethnic discrimination was associated with greater odds of having depression, anxiety, non-suicidal self-injury, binge drinking, and suicidal ideation among AAPI university students (N=1697). Findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated discrimination, which has been linked to mental health problems, calling for more preventive interventions to address the AAPI population, especially given their low rates of formal treatment utilization.