Racism as a determinant of social and emotional wellbeing for Aboriginal Australian youth

• DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb03099.x
• Publication Date: 2019-09-24T07:35:23Z
• Authors: Naomi C Priest; Yin C Paradies; Wendy Gunthorpe; Sheree J Cairney; Sue M Sayers
• Keywords: demography; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Adolescent; Psychology, Adolescent; 150; emotional well being; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Surveys and Questionnaires; gender; Northern Territory; cross-sectional study; Humans; human; 10. No inequality; drug use; car ownership; high school; adult; article; Australia; anxiety; 16. Peace & justice; body mass; boarding school attendance; household; 3. Good health; female; Mental Health; Socioeconomic Factors; Adolescent Behavior; adolescent; depression; coping behavior; Keywords: Aborigine; 0305 other medical science; Prejudice; Stress, Psychological

To explore the associations between self-reported racism and health and wellbeing outcomes for young Aboriginal Australian people.A cross-sectional study of 345 Aboriginal Australians aged 16-20 years who, as participants in the prospective Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study, were recruited at birth between 1987 and 1990 and followed up between 2006 and 2008.Self-reported social and emotional wellbeing using a questionnaire validated as culturally appropriate for the study's participants; recorded body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio.Self-reported racism was reported by 32% of study participants. Racism was significantly associated with anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 2.18 [95% CI, 1.37-3.46]); depression (OR, 2.16 [95% CI, 1.33-3.53]); suicide risk (OR, 2.32 [95% CI, 1.25-4.00]); and poor overall mental health (OR, 3.35 [95% CI, 2.04-5.51]). No significant associations were found between self-reported racism and resilience or any anthropometric measures.Self-reported racism was associated with poor social and emotional wellbeing outcomes, including anxiety, depression, suicide risk and poor overall mental health.