HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (26) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gee, G. C. Articles by Holt, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gee, G. C. Articles by Holt, J. Related Collections Community Health Social Science African Americans/Blacks Hispanics/Latinos Immigration

Gilbert C. Gee, PhD, Andrew Ryan, MA, David J. Laflamme, PhD, MPH and Jeanie Holt, MS, RN

Gilbert C. Gee is with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Andrew Ryan is with the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass. David J. Laflamme is with the University of New Hampshire School of Health and Human Services, Durham. Jeanie Holt is with the New Hampshire Minority Health Coalition, Manchester.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Gilbert C. Gee, PhD, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights, Rm M5224, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 (e-mail: gilgee{at}umich.edu).

Objectives. We examined whether self-reported racial discrimination was associated with mental health status and whether this association varied with race/ethnicity or immigration status.

Methods. We performed secondary analysis of a community intervention conducted in 2002 and 2003 for the New Hampshire Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health 2010 Initiative, surveying African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos. We assessed mental health status with the Mental Component Summary (MCS12) of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12, and measured discrimination with questions related to respondents’ ability to achieve goals, discomfort/anger at treatment by others, and access to quality health care.

Results. Self-reported discrimination was associated with a lower MCS12 score. Additionally, the strength of the association between self-reported health care discrimination and lower MCS12 score was strongest for African descendants, then Mexican Americans, then other Latinos. These patterns may be explained by differences in how long a respondent has lived in the United States. Furthermore, the association of health care discrimination with lower MCS12 was weaker for recent immigrants.

Conclusions. Discrimination may be an important predictor of poor mental health status among Black and Latino immigrants. Previous findings of decreasing mental health status as immigrants acculturate might partly be related to experiences with racial discrimination.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. R. M. Hausmann, K. Jeong, J. E. Bost, N. R. Kressin, and S. A. Ibrahim Perceived Racial Discrimination in Health Care: A Comparison of Veterans Affairs and Other Patients Am J Public Health, November 1, 2009; 99(S3): S718 - S724. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. J. Nicklett and S. A. Burgard Downward Social Mobility and Major Depressive Episodes Among Latino and Asian-American Immigrants to the United States Am. J. Epidemiol., September 15, 2009; 170(6): 793 - 801. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A Llacer, J D. Amo, A Garcia-Fulgueiras, V Ibanez-Rojo, R Garcia-Pino, I Jarrin, D Diaz, A Fernandez-Liria, V Garcia-Ortuzar, L Mazarrasa, et al. Discrimination and mental health in Ecuadorian immigrants in Spain J Epidemiol Community Health, September 1, 2009; 63(9): 766 - 772. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. E. R. Hunte and D. R. Williams The Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Obesity in a Population-Based Multiracial and Multiethnic Adult Sample Am J Public Health, July 1, 2009; 99(7): 1285 - 1292. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. H. Chae and K. L. Walters Racial Discrimination and Racial Identity Attitudes in Relation to Self-Rated Health and Physical Pain and Impairment Among Two-Spirit American Indians/Alaska Natives Am J Public Health, April 1, 2009; 99(S1): S144 - S151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. De Marco, S. Thorburn, and W. Zhao Perceived Discrimination During Prenatal Care, Labor, and Delivery: An Examination of Data From the Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 1998-1999, 2000, and 2001 Am J Public Health, October 1, 2008; 98(10): 1818 - 1822. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. R. Torres, L. J. Cabassa, L. H. Zayas, and T. Alvarez-Sanchez Assessing Psychosocial Stressors Among Hispanic Outpatients: Does Clinician Ethnicity Matter? Psychiatr Serv, June 1, 2008; 59(6): 690 - 692. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. Shattell, K. M. Smith, A. Quinlan-Colwell, and J. A. Villalba Factors Contributing to Depression in Latinas of Mexican Origin Residing in the United States: Implications for Nurses Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, June 1, 2008; 14(3): 193 - 204. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. C. Gee, A. Ro, A. Gavin, and D. T. Takeuchi Disentangling the Effects of Racial and Weight Discrimination on Body Mass Index and Obesity Among Asian Americans Am J Public Health, March 1, 2008; 98(3): 493 - 500. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]