Racism has a detrimental effect on black youth

A brand new study published by JAMA Network Open found that incidents of racial discrimination may put Black teenagers at greater risk of depression and anxiety. The study’s findings, published on June 9, examined the harmful long-term effects of racism.

There was a test conducted by researchers on the University of Georgia and examined how black youth take care of the trauma of discrimination, .

Assaf Oshri, the lead writer of the study, found that child development paths and harmful cognitive patterns are linked to racist experiences. Oshri and his colleagues analyzed aggregate data from greater than 1,500 participants over three years.

Oshri said: “We know that experiences of discrimination are related to a range of negative health outcomes. “This study shows that certain brain patterns trying to process threats… can help (participants) cope with these types of experiences, but there may be an emotional toll.”

Focusing on the brain’s emotional center, the amygdala, researchers assessed Black youth’s reactions to racist threats. In addition to the MRI results, researchers also checked out self-reported surveys from Black youth who had experiences with racial discrimination. They reported feeling more “scared, anxious, sad or depressed.”

Oshri and his team identified internalizing and externalizing symptoms in response to stressors of their environment.

Oshri found that there was a correlation between “young people whose amygdala shuts down in response to negative stimuli and are more likely to report internalizing symptoms – including anxiety and depression” and those that experienced more incidents of racism.

This particular amygdala response was present in 1 in 5 participants and will be a sign of avoidance coping.

“There are many consequences,” Oshri said, “discriminatory experiences harm our children and (their) development.”

Ryan DeLapp, one other researcher, agreed: “Looking at biological data can further confirm what has been shown for decades, which is that these experiences significantly impact individuals.”

“This research is needed in addition to… anecdotes from people’s experiences.”

However, in addition they found that mindfulness exercises may also help protect the brain from harmful formative experiences.