Racial Discrimination and Mental Health in the U.S.: Testing the Reverse Racism Hypothesis

Background and Purpose

A cumulative body of evidence documents the dire health impacts of racism experienced by racial/ethnic minorities. However, a growing discourse around reverse racism - the idea that Whites believe they are discriminated against as much or more than racial/ethnic minorities - warrants further investigation of racial health disparities relative to a dominant racial group. The claim of reverse racism is problematic as it fails to consider the historical and systematic basis of racial/ethnic stratification and inequities. Most racial discrimination research to date, however, have focused on the detrimental impact of racial discrimination to minority populations and it has not sufficiently tested the assertion of reverse racism.

The influence of racial discrimination and reverse racismmay not be equivalent as racial infractions committed by disparate groups of people have distinct historical bases, severity of violence, and differences in power. Therefore, discrimination experienced by racial/ethnic minorities may be more pernicious. With regard to this, the present study examines whether Whites experience racial discrimination close to the levels experienced by racial/ethnic minorities, and whether the negative health effects of discrimination against Whites are as strong as for racial/ethnic minorities.

Methods

The data were from the 2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III. The sample consisted of five racial/ethnic groups: Whites (n=19,026), Blacks (n=7,637), American Indian/Alaska Natives (n=503), Asians/Pacific Islanders (n=1,778), and Hispanics of any race (n=6,933). Dependent variables were ten DSM-V psychiatric disorders developed in the past 12 months. The independent variable was perceived racial discrimination more than 12 months ago. Logistic regression and heterogeneous choice models were used to test the moderating role of race/ethnicity in regards to the associations between racial discrimination and the ten DSM-V diagnoses by using Whites as a reference group.

Results

All four racial/ethnic minority groups reported significantly higher exposure to racial discrimination than Whites. Compared to Whites, exposure to racial discrimination was associated with higher odds of developing some psychiatric disorders for Blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics, while American Indians/Alaska Natives had lower odds of developing psychiatric disorders.

Conclusions and Implications

This study provides nationally representative evidence that racial/ethnic minorities are more exposed to racial discrimination than Whites, and experience stronger health disadvantages when they are exposed it. Overall, the findings of this study refute the notion that anti-White bias or reverse racismis a bigger societal problem than discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities. Interestingly, American Indian/Alaska Natives who experienced discrimination had lower odds of having panic disorders and substance use disorders than Whites. This result may be due to the resilience of American Indian/Alaska Native communities, or the limitation in capturing the different dimensions of their discrimination experiences.

Awareness of unequal health disadvantages resulting from race-related social stressors can assist policy makers in providing support for socially marginalized individuals and addressing the reverse racism phenomenon with more accurate evidence. The identified racial health inequities also have important implications for health care professionals in improving the mental health status of individuals who are exposed to racial discrimination.