Understanding and Addressing Race-Related Stress and Trauma in Youth of Color
3 - (Sym 74) Centering the Impact of COVID-19, School Discrimination, and Children's Mental Health in Minoritized Families
Saturday, November 19, 2022
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM EST
Location: Chelsea, 7th Floor
Keywords: Racial Trauma, Stress, Vulnerable Populations Recommended Readings: Saleem FT, Anderson RE, Williams M. Addressing the “Myth” of Racial Trauma: Developmental and Ecological Considerations for Youth of Color. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 2020;23(1):1-14. doi:10.1007/s10567-019-00304-1 Priest N, Paradies Y, Trenerry B, Truong M, Karlsen S, Kelly Y. A systematic review of studies examining the relationship between reported racism and health and wellbeing for children and young people. Soc Sci Med. 2013;95:115-127. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.031
Associate Professor/Program Director Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA
The COVID-19 pandemic and discriminatory experiences are dual contributors to mental health inequity. Specifically, minoritized people and families in the United States are more likely to be employed in essential worker positions and to experience inequitable education in person and virtually, and higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and death (Webb Hooper et al., 2020). In addition to COVID-19 related discrimination and inequities, the killings of unarmed Black people in the media during COVID-19 and Anti-Asian hate crime during the COVID-19 pandemic has publicized the structural and interpersonal racism and discrimination in the United States (Gover et al., 2020; Shim & Starks, 2021). This may impact children’s experiences of discrimination in schools, which has and continues to occur on the peer, school personnel, or schoolwide level. Therefore, the current study examined the relationship between COVID-19 impact, school discrimination, and children’s mental health through caregivers’ perspectives. Data were collected from caregivers of elementary-aged children at two-time points from March to April 2020 (N = 131, Mage = 36.7) and one year later in 2021 (N = 75) through multiple sources including social media posts, referrals, and Prolific. The following measures were used for examination in this study: demographic form, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 2001), and adapted versions of the Perceived Discrimination Scale - Daily Discrimination (Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson, 1997) and Personal Disaster Impact scale (Kuntz et al., 2013). The regression analysis was conducted with mental health as the outcome variable; school discrimination, COVID-19 impact, and the interaction between school discrimination and COVID-19 impact as independent variables; and children’s age, children’s gender, and parent education level as covariates. Preliminary analysis demonstrated relationships between children’s COVID-19 impact, school-based discrimination, and mental health outcomes concurrently and longitudinally based on caregivers’ reports. Culturally responsive school mental health resources and practices promoting equity for minoritized families are warranted and will be discussed.