Intersectional Discrimination Attributions and Health Outcomes Among American Older Adults: A Latent Class Analysis

Guided by an intersectionality framework, this study examined intersectional discrimination attributions and their associations with health outcomes. Older respondents (aged ≥50) from the Health and Retirement Study in 2014-2015 were included ( N = 6286). Their reasons for discrimination (age, gender, sexual orientation, race, national origin, religion, financial status, weight, physical appearance, disability, and others) were examined. Latent class analysis examined the subgroup profiles. Six classes were identified: class 1 (54.52% of the sample) had no/minimal discrimination; Class 2 (21.89%) experienced primarily ageism; class 3 (8.81%) reported discrimination based on age/gender/national origin/race; class 4 (7.99%) attributed discrimination to financial/other reasons; class 5 (5.87%) experienced discrimination based on age/weight/physical appearance/disability; and class 6 (0.92%) perceived high discrimination. Intersectional discrimination was associated with poorer self-rated health and higher depressive symptoms compared to the no/minimal discrimination group. Multiple marginalized identities co-occur and contribute to discrimination. An intersectional approach is recommended to understand discrimination in later life.

Breaking connections in the representations of “I – Stranger” interaction: Determinants and prerequisites (the case study of extremist groups)

The article presents the results of a theoretical reflection on the main prerequisites and determinants of extremism as a complex sociopsychological phenomenon which poses a serious threat to international security. Purpose: to study social and socio-psychological determinants which contribute to and lead to breaking connections in the “I – Stranger” dyad as fundamentals of sociability (on the example of extremist groups). We identified social and socio-psychological factors (social tension, instability, uncertainty, stratified social isolation, group status, perceived discrimination, group ideology), serving as prerequisites for extremism, which contribute to breaking ties in the “I – Stranger” dyad along with psychological predictors. The example of extremist groups has shown that, on the one hand, breaking these connections leads to an exaggerated sense of “We”, erosion of individuality, depreciation of one’s own life and “self-erasure” against the background of group superiority and narcissism, on the other hand, it leads to depersonalization, demonization and dehumanization of “Stranger”, positioning him / her as a person who is not fully human, a faceless enemy. It has been established that breaking connections in representations of “I – Stranger” interaction facilitates the process associated with losing a sense of self as a key point in the construction and cognition of the social world and its replacement by the collective “We”. The applied aspect of the problem under study is the possibility of using the results of the analysis for developing preventive socio-psychological programmers and trainings aimed at preventing extremism and religious radicalism in the young people’s environment.

Associations between everyday discrimination and sleep quality and duration among African Americans over time in the Jackson Heart Study

Study Objectives African-Americans have a high burden of poor sleep, yet, psychosocial determinants (e.g., discrimination) are understudied. We investigated longitudinal associations between everyday discrimination and sleep quality and duration among African-Americans (N=3404) in the Jackson Heart Study. Methods At Exam 1 (2000-2004) and Exam 3 (2008-2013), participants completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale, rated their sleep quality (1=poor to 5=excellent), and self-reported hours of sleep. A subset of participants (N=762) underwent 7-day actigraphy to objectively assess sleep duration (Sleep Exam 2012-2016). Changes in discrimination were defined as low stable (reference), increasing, decreasing, and stable high. Within-person changes in sleep from Exam 1-to-3 were regressed on change in discrimination from Exam 1-to-3 while adjusting for age, sex, education, income, employment, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, social support and stress. Results At Exam 1, the mean age was 54.1 (12.0) years; 64% were female, mean sleep quality was 3.0 (1.1) and 54% were short sleepers. The distribution of the discrimination change trajectories, were 54.1% low stable, 13.5% increasing, 14.6% decreasing, and 17.7% were high stable. Participants who were in the increasing (vs. stable low) discrimination group had greater decrease in sleep quality. There was no association between change in discrimination and change in sleep duration. Among Sleep Exam participants, higher discrimination was cross-sectionally associated with shorter self-reported sleep duration, independent of stress. Conclusion Discrimination is a unique stressor for African-Americans; thus, future research should identify interventions to reduce the burden of discrimination on sleep quality.

Latinx Adolescents’ Peer Ethnic Discrimination in After-School Activities and Activity Experiences

Grounded in ecological frameworks, this study examines (a) the extent to which Latinx adolescents’ perceptions of peer ethnic discrimination were associated with their participation in organized after-school activities, activity type, and ethnic composition; (b) different patterns of perceived peer ethnic discrimination; and (c) associations between discrimination patterns with key activity experiences including psychological engagement, perceived peer support, perceived leader support, and positive feelings in the activities. Using a pattern-centered approach, we applied latent profile analysis to analyze the data from 204 Latinx adolescents (53% female, M age = 12.40) in Southwest United States. Latinx adolescents who did not participate in organized after-school activities perceived higher peer ethnic discrimination than Latinx adolescents who participated. Latinx adolescents who were the numerical ethnic majority in activities reported lower discrimination than those who were the numerical minority. Among those who participated, 4 patterns of peer ethnic discrimination Latinx adolescents experienced in activities were identified. These profiles included moderate discrimination (4%), minimal discrimination (21%), no discrimination (64%), and somewhat negative beliefs (11%), which were differentially related to adolescents’ activity outcomes. Adolescents in the no discrimination group reported the most positive activity outcomes and those in the moderate discrimination group reported the most negative activity experiences. Adolescents who experienced little discrimination but felt other peers held negative beliefs about their ethnicity reported significantly lower psychological engagement and peer support than the no discrimination group. These findings highlight the importance of examining adolescents’ varying patterns of perceived ethnic discrimination in activities and provides ways that activity practitioners can optimize organized activity settings for Latinx adolescents.

Rumination about discrimination mediates the unique association between anger and collective action intentions

People are more willing to engage in collective action when they feel anger about collective disadvantage (van Zomeren, Postmes, & Spears, 2008). However, anger is often a fleeting emotion, whereas collective action is deliberate and sustained. Moreover, people cannot always engage in collective action on demand. We propose that rumination, or repetitive thoughts about negative emotions and experiences, may constitute a mechanism by which anger about collective disadvantage is sustained, and through it the motivation to engage in collective action. In three separate samples (128 students of color, 155 women, and 150 sexual minorities), we measured group-based anger about discrimination, group efficacy, group identification, rumination about discrimination, and collective action intentions. In all samples, rumination mediated the unique association between group-based anger and collective action intentions, controlling for group efficacy and group identification. Further, in an experimental study with 117 undergraduate women, we found that rumination, compared to distraction, sustained anger about collective disadvantage over a short period of time, and this sustained level of anger mediated the relationship between rumination and collective action intentions. These results lend support to conceptualizing collective action as a form of coping with collective disadvantage, and highlight the potential role of emotion regulation strategies like rumination in understanding intergroup relations.

When Interest Doesn’t Turn into Action: Discrimination, Group Identification, and Muslim Political Engagement in the Post-9/11 Era

This article examines the effect of exposure to post-9/11 stigmatization on various types of Muslim political engagement, using a mixed-methods approach that combines propensity score matching analysis of data from the Muslims in the American Public Square (MAPS) survey administered immediately after 9/11 with experimental data of the U.S. Muslim population. I find that increased discrimination results in increased political interest but has a neutral or dampening effect on political participation. I use experimental data to argue that group identification acts as a partial mediator in this relationship, especially in accounting for the increase in political interest in response to discrimination.

The impact of a school-based musical contact intervention on prosocial attitudes, emotions and behaviours: A pilot trial with autistic and neurotypical children

Children with autism are more likely to be socially excluded than their neurotypical peers. Since the majority of children with autism attend mainstream schools, interventions are needed to improve the attitudes and behaviours of their peers. Many studies highlight the influence of contact on positive attitudes and reduced discrimination. Group music-making provides an ideal opportunity for positive contact to occur in the classroom. This study evaluated the impact of music-based contact with autistic peers on the attitudes, emotions and behaviours of neurotypical children. Changes in those with autism were also assessed. Neurotypical participants ( n = 55) aged 10–11 years took part in an 11-week music programme designed to increase social interaction, which either did or did not include contact with autistic children ( n = 10). Measures of attitudes, emotions and behaviours were assessed at baseline and follow-up. In response to a hypothetical scenario depicting social exclusion of a child with autism, neurotypical participants in the contact group showed a greater increase in prosocial emotions and a greater decrease in tendency to be a victim than those in the no-contact group. Participants with autism also showed a 19.7% decrease in victimisation. Implications of group music-making for tackling social exclusion of children with autism are discussed.

When do immigrant adolescents feel personally discriminated against? Longitudinal effects of peer preference

Despite research showing that immigrant adolescents differ in the degree to which they feel personally discriminated against, little is known about individual predictors of their perceived personal discrimination. We studied the role of a major developmental task in adolescence that is highly relevant for discrimination experiences: being liked by peers. We followed N = 532 13-year old immigrant students ( n = 294 boys) in Greek high schools over 2 years to examine longitudinal links between personal ethnic discrimination and social preference among host-national and immigrant classmates. We applied a sociometric method to asses peer preference and we assessed self-perceived preference. Cross-lagged models revealed that preference among host-national peers but not by immigrant peers predicted low personal ethnic discrimination beyond self-perceptions of preference and group ethnic discrimination. Group ethnic discrimination moderated the effect of preference among host-national peers on low personal ethnic discrimination. Peer preference, in turn, did not feed back on personal ethnic discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of being liked by host-national classmates for immigrant adolescents: it can prevent feelings of being personally discriminated against, even if they perceive their group to be discriminated against.