News-Medical.net, Australia
09-14-06
Racial discrimination can affect adolescents' development - lead to depression
and behavior problems
Racial discrimination in the lives of African-American children can lead to
depression and behavior problems in adolescence, but teens who have had
close relationships with their parents, friendships focused on positive pursuits
and good schooling experiences are less likely to experience these negative
effects.
That finding comes from a study published in the September/October issue of the
journal Child Development.
Researchers from the University of Georgia in Athens, the University of
California-Davis and Iowa State University in Ames set out to evaluate the
psychological adjustment of 714 African-American children. The children and
their primary caregivers, usually the mothers, were personally interviewed in the
home three times over a five-year period, beginning when the children were 10 to
12 years old. The study is part of a larger, ongoing joint project, the Family and
Community Health Study, conducted with support from the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH).
The children were interviewed about any racial discrimination they saw directed
towards themselves and those close to them, feelings of depression,
engagement in antisocial behavior and extent to which their friends expected and
encouraged positive behavior. The children and their mothers were also
interviewed about the mothers' parenting practices and the children's school
experiences.
The researchers found that children whose experience with racially based insults,
name calling and distrust increased as they moved into adolescence were more
likely to report symptoms of depression, such as feeling irritable, having difficulty
sleeping and having trouble concentrating in school. Boys were also more likely
to become involved in antisocial behavior such as fighting and shoplifting.
"The outlook was brighter, though, for children whose homes, friends, and
schools protected them from discrimination's negative influences," said lead
researcher Gene H. Brody, PhD, Regents' Professor and Director of the Center
for Family Research at the University of Georgia. "Children whose parents stayed
involved in their lives, kept track of their whereabouts, treated them with warm
affection and communicated clearly with them were less likely to develop
problems due to their experiences with discrimination."
He and his colleagues found similar outcomes for children whose friends
encouraged them to take part in positive pursuits, such as helping out at home
and becoming involved with community activities, and for those who performed
well at school and had good relationships with their teachers.
http://www.srcd.org