Racializing Mental Illness

All multiracial societies have to grapple with the benefits versus the costs of the integration of minorities into majority communities. Indeed, in relation to the costs of integration, it could be argued that integration and assimilation increases non-White people’s exposure to racialized experiences and racism, which in turn predisposes them to mental illness. As such, it is worth considering the case of the UK, where Black integration and assimilation is particularly intense, and where the high rates of schizophrenia in the African-Caribbean population have been an area of concern for over three decades. This paper argues that the interplay between racial minority status stress, racism-induced stress, and racial bias in diagnosis may be significant factors influencing the high Black incidence rate of schizophrenia in the UK.

College Stress, Minority Status Stress, Depression, Grades, and Persistence Intentions Among Hispanic Female Students: A Mediation Model

The present study examined the mediating role of depression symptoms in the relation of college stress and minority status stress to cumulative grade point average (GPA) and persistence intentions among Hispanic women ( n = 426) enrolled in a 4-year major research public institution. Results of path analyses indicated a strong model-data fit for the proposed model. When controlling for each other, both typical college stress and minority status stress positively predicted depression and, in turn, depression negatively predicted college persistence intentions. Tests of indirect effects revealed that depression mediated the relation of college stress and minority status stress to persistence. No mediation effects were present in the relation of the stress variables to cumulative GPA. Findings suggest that depression symptoms is one of the pathways through which college stress and minority status stress may result in lower levels of persistence intentions and, possibly, dropout behavior among Hispanic college women in 4-year institutions.