Racism and Health I: Pathways and Scientific Evidence

By David R. Williams, S. Mohammed. American Behavioral Scientist, 2013

681 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This article reviews the scientific research that indicates that despite marked declines in public support for negative racial attitudes in the United States, racism, in its multiple forms, remains embedded in American society. The focus of the article is on the review of empirical research that suggests that racism adversely affects the health of nondominant racial populations in multiple ways. First, institutional racism developed policies and procedures that have reduced access to housing, neighborhood and educational quality, employment opportunities, and other desirable resources in society. Second, cultural racism, at the societal and individual level, negatively affects economic status and health by creating a policy environment hostile to egalitarian policies, triggering negative stereotypes and discrimination that are pathogenic and fostering health-damaging psychological responses, such as stereotype threat and internalized racism. Finally, a large and growing body of evidence indicates that experiences of racial discrimination are an important type of psychosocial stressor that can lead to adverse changes in health status and altered behavioral patterns that increase health risks.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Health, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a106df1a50a731a26e4898ee3392263b50577bd1

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In General Health Professions

1. Shervin Assari
2. David R. Williams
3. Brigette A. Davis
4. Jourdyn A. Lawrence
5. Y. Paradies
6. G. Gee
7. N. Denson
8. N. Priest

In Health

1. Shervin Assari
2. David R. Williams
3. Brigette A. Davis
4. Jourdyn A. Lawrence
5. N. Priest
6. Y. Paradies
7. G. Gee

In Sociology and Political Science

1. David R. Williams
2. Shervin Assari
3. N. Priest
4. Brigette A. Davis
5. Jourdyn A. Lawrence
6. Alex L. Pieterse
7. G. Gee
8. Y. Paradies

Citations in the corpus

• Understanding Associations between Race, Socioeconomic Status and Health: Patterns and Prospects (2016, neutral): “…about maximizing the impact of interventions to reduce the observed gaps, there is substantial evidence now that provides clear direction and promising strategies to tackle health inequalities (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Osypuk, Joshi, Geronimo, & Acevedo-Garcia, 2014; Williams & Mohammed, 2013b).”
• SELF-REPORTED EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION AND HEALTH: SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES, ONGOING CONTROVERSIES, AND EMERGING ISSUES (2015, neutral): “Thus, despite the enormous promise of this approach, many questions remain (Williams & Mohammed 2013).”
• Disparities at the intersection of marginalized groups (2016, neutral): “This legacy involves discriminationwhichmay be intentional or the result of policies, laws or practices that systematically disadvantage blacks and shape economic opportunities [21].”
• Emerging into adulthood in the face of racial discrimination: Physiological, psychological, and sociopolitical consequences for african american youth. (2015, neutral): “In another review, Williams and Mohammed (2013a) suggested that institutional and cultural racism are linked to increased mental health risks such as depression and anxiety.”
• Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2015, positive): “More recently, Williams and Mohammed [41] developed a causal model that highlights moderators such as age, socio-economic status, racial group, gender and relational status, as influencing the racism and health relationship.”
• The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations (2024, neutral): “These experiences extend to racial micro­ aggressions, which are more subtle everyday expressions of dis­ crimination through being slighted, made to feel inferior, stereo­ typed, and/or invalidated due to race or ethnicity 161,162 .”
• Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research (2019, positive): “Community initiatives and efforts to build community capacity around racism may also have the potential to improve health (140, 141).”
• Health Disparities due to Diminished Return among Black Americans: Public Policy Solutions (2018, positive): “This section reviews how Williams and Mohammed (2013), Bailey et al. (2017), Reskin (2012), and Gee & Ford (2011) conceptualized Black–White health disparities as the byproduct of the structure and function of American society.”