This study examines the influence of perceived discrimination on the health and behaviour of ethnic minority immigrant children in British Columbia, Canada. Using data from the New Canadian Children and Youth Study, we examine perceived discrimination experienced by the parent, family, and cultural group in Canada to test the influence of micro-, meso-, and macrolevels of discrimination on children. Families from 6 ethnic backgrounds participated in the study. Parents’ perceptions of the child’s health and six behavioral scales (hyperactivity, prosocial behaviour, emotional problems, aggression, indirect aggression, and a general combined behaviour scale) were examined as outcome variables. After controlling for ethnicity and background variables, our findings suggest that perceived micro- and macrodiscrimination has the greatest influence on the health and behaviour of our immigrant child sample. Variation among ethnic groups provided the largest explanation of health and behavioural discrepancies in our study. 1. Introduction Ethnic-based prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or perception of the way one’s ethnocultural group is regarded by others and often leads to racial or ethnic discrimination which denotes actual practice or experience. Racial discrimination is the behaviour that excludes individuals or groups based on one’s racial or ethnic group identity from engaging in opportunities, or receiving services, that would otherwise be awarded to others [1]. According to Kessler and colleagues [2], a high prevalence of racial discrimination, combined with its negative strong influence on adult’s mental health makes it one of the most important factors to assess when examining wellbeing of marginalized individuals. Ethnic based prejudice and discrimination are associated with racism: the idea that negative racial opinions and behaviours are justifiable because of group differences. Often, the concepts of racial discrimination and racism are used interchangeably. Studies that examine the influence of racism on health and general wellbeing in adult populations have progressively increased since the 1980s [3, 4]. The literature suggests that perceived racial discrimination is negatively associated with behavioural, mental, and physical health statuses [2, 5, 6]. Both Paradies’ [3] and Williams et al’s. [4] meta-analyses of 138 and 52 studies, respectively, examined the influence of racism on adult health (from 1980 to 2007). Both studies concluded that ample evidence exists to support the link between racism and poor health outcomes. Paradies'
References
[1]
R. T. Schaefer, Racial and Ethnic Groups, Harper and Collins Publishers, 1993.
[2]
R. C. Kessler, K. D. Mickelson, and D. R. Williams, “The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 208–230, 1999.
[3]
Y. Paradies, “A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health,” International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 888–901, 2006.
[4]
D. R. Williams, H. W. Neighbors, and T. S. Jackson, “Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: findings from community studies,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 98, supplement, pp. 1541–1549, 2008.
[5]
R. Clark, N. B. Anderson, V. R. Clark, and D. R. Williams, “Racism as a stressor for African Americans: a biopsychosocial model,” American Psychologist, vol. 54, no. 10, pp. 805–816, 1999.
[6]
G. Gee and K. Walsemann, “Does health predict the reporting of racial discrimination or do reports of discrimination predict health? Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth,” Social Science & Medicine, vol. 68, no. 9, pp. 1676–1684, 2009.
[7]
B. K. Finch, B. Kolody, and W. A. Vega, “Perceived discrimination and depression among Mexican-origin adults in California,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 295–313, 2000.
[8]
G. H. Brody, Y. F. Chen, V. M. Murry et al., “Perceived discrimination and the adjustment of African American youths: a five-year longitudinal analysis with contextual moderation effects,” Child Development, vol. 77, no. 5, pp. 1170–1189, 2006.
[9]
R. L. Simons, V. Murry, V. McLoyd, K. H. Lin, C. Cutrona, and R. D. Conger, “Discrimination, crime, ethnic identity, and parenting as correlates of depressive symptoms among African American children: a multilevel analysis,” Development and Psychopathology, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 371–393, 2002.
[10]
T. R. Coker, M. N. Elliott, D. E. Kanouse et al., “Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among fifth-grade students and its association with mental health,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 878–884, 2009.
[11]
K. L. Dion, K. K. Dion, and A. W.-P. Pak, “Personality-based hardiness as a buffer for discrimination-related stress in members of Toronto’s Chinese community,” Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 517–536, 1992.
[12]
N. Krieger and S. Sidney, “Racial discrimination and blood pressure: the CARDIA study of young black and white adults,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 86, no. 10, pp. 1370–1378, 1996.
[13]
X. S. Ren, B. C. Amick, and D. R. Williams, “Racial/ethnic disparities in health: the interplay between discrimination and socioeconomic status,” Ethnicity and Disease, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 151–165, 1999.
[14]
D. R. Williams, R. Lavizzo-Mourey, and R. C. Warren, “The concept of race and health status in America,” Public Health Reports, vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 26–41, 1994.
[15]
S. Karlsen and J. Y. Nazroo, “Relation between racial discrimination, social class, and health among ethnic minority groups,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 92, no. 4, pp. 624–631, 2002.
[16]
N. E. Adler and J. M. Ostove, “Socioeconomic status and health: what we know and what we don’t,” in Socioeconomic Status and Health in Industrial Nations: Social, Psychological and Biological Pathways, N. E. Adler, M. Marmot, B. S. McEwen, and J. Stewart, Eds., vol. 896, pp. 3–15, Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1999.
[17]
M. Beiser, H. Hamilton, J. A. Rummens et al., “Predictors of emotional problems and physical aggression among children of Hong Kong Chinese, Mainland Chinese and Filipino immigrants to Canada,” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 45, no. 10, pp. 1011–1021, 2010.
[18]
M. Beiser, N. Zilber, L. Simich et al., “Regional effects on the mental health of immigrant children: results from the New Canadian Children and Youth Study (NCCYS),” Health & Place, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 822–829, 2011.
[19]
Statistics Canada and Ministry of Industry, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Growing up in Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 1996.
[20]
A. Quesnel-Vallée, “Self-rated health: caught in the crossfire of the quest for “true” health?” International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 1161–1164, 2007.
[21]
J. B. Dowd and A. Zajacova, “Does the predictive power of self-rated health for subsequent mortality risk vary by socioeconomic status in the US?” International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 1214–1221, 2007.
[22]
M. Huisman, F. Van lenthe, and J. Mackenbach, “The predictive ability of self-assessed health for mortality in different educational groups,” International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 1207–1213, 2007.
[23]
A. Singh-Manoux, A. Dugravot, M. J. Shipley et al., “The association between self-rated health and mortality in different socioeconomic groups in the GAZEL cohort study,” International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 1222–1228, 2007.
[24]
E. L. Idler and Y. Benyamini, “Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 21–37, 1997.
[25]
R. Dinovitzer, J. Hagan, and P. Parker, “Choice and circumstance: social capital and planful competence in the attainments of immigrant youth,” Canadian Journal of Sociology, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 463–488, 2003.
[26]
X. Ma, “The first ten years in Canada: a multi-level assessment of behavioural and emotional problems of immigrant children,” Canadian Public Policy, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 395–418, 2002.
