Research on perceived discrimination has overwhelmingly focused on one form of discrimination, especially race discrimination, in isolation from other forms. The present article uses data from the Black Youth Culture Survey, a nationally representative, racially and ethnically diverse sample of 1,052 adolescents and young adults to investigate the prevalence, distribution, and mental and physical health consequences of multiple forms of perceived discrimination. The findings suggest that disadvantaged groups, especially multiply disadvantaged youth, face greater exposure to multiple forms of discrimination than their more privileged counterparts. The experience of multiple forms of discrimination is associated with worse mental and physical health above the effect of only one form and contributes to the relationship between multiple disadvantaged statuses and health. These findings suggest that past research may misspecify the discrimination-health relationship and fails to account for the disproportionate exposure to discrimination faced by multiply disadvantaged individuals.
BealeFrances. 1970. “Double-Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female.” Pp. 90-110 in The Black Woman, edited by CadeT.New York: Signet.
2.
BoardmanJason. 2006. “Self-Rated Health among U.S. Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescent Health38: 401-08.
3.
BratterJenniferGormanBridget. 2011. “Is Discrimination an Equal Opportunity Risk? Racial Experiences, Socioeconomic Status, and Health Status among Black and White Adults.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior52:365-82.
4.
BrodyGeneChenYi-FuMurryVelma McBrideGeXiaojiaSimonsRonaldGibbonsFrederickGerrardMegCutronaCarolyn. 2006. “Perceived Discrimination and the Adjustment of African American Youths: A Five-Year Longitudinal Analysis with Contextual Moderation Effects.” Child Development77:1170-89.
5.
BromanClifford L.MavaddatRoyaHsuShu-yao. 2000. “The Experiences and Consequences of Perceived Racial Discrimination: A Study of African Americans.” Journal of Black Psychology26:165-80.
6.
BrownChristiaBiglerRebecca. 2005. “Children’s Perceptions of Discrimination: A Developmental Model.” Child Development76:533-53.
7.
BrowneIreneMisraJoya. 2003. “The Intersection of Gender and Race in the Labor Market.” Annual Review of Sociology29:487-513.
8.
CaldwellCleopatra HowardGuthrieBarbaraJacksonJames. 2006. “Identity Development, Discrimination, and Psychological Well-Being among African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents.” Pp. 163-91 in Gender, Race, Class and Health: Intersectional Approaches, edited by SchultzA.MullingsL.San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
CohenCathy. 2007. The Attitudes and Behavior of Young Black Americans: Research Summary. Chicago: Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, University of Chicago.
11.
CollinsPatricia Hill. 2000. Black Feminist Thought. New York: Routledge.
12.
CummingsJasonJacksonPamela. 2008. “Race, Gender, and SES Disparities in Self-Assessed Health, 1974-2004.” Research on Aging30:137-68.
13.
DiazRafaelAyalaGeorgeBeinEdwardHenneJeffMartinBarbara. 2001. “The Impact of Homophobia, Poverty, and Racism on the Mental Health of Gay and Bisexual Latino Men: Findings from 3 US Cities.” American Journal of Public Health91:927-32.
14.
DowdJamesBengstonVern. 1978. “Aging in Minority Populations: An Examination of the Double Jeopardy Hypothesis.” Journal of Gerontology33:427-36.
15.
FerraroKennethFarmerMelissa. 1996. “Double Jeopardy to Health Hypothesis for African Americans: Analysis and Critique.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior37:27-43.
16.
FosseNathanHaasSteven. 2009. “Validity and Stability of Self-Reported Health among Adolescents in a Longitudinal, Nationally Representative Survey.” Pediatrics123:E496-E501.
17.
GeeGilbertPavalkoElizaLongJ. Scott. 2007. “Age, Cohort and Perceived Age Discrimination: Using the Life Course to Assess Self-Reported Age Discrimination.” Social Forces86:265-90.
18.
GeeGilbertWalsemannKatrina. 2009. “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 & Medicine68:1676-84.
19.
GreeneMelissaWayNiobePahlKerstin. 2006. “Trajectories of Perceived Adult Discrimination and Peer Discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American Adolescents: Patterns and Psychological Correlates.” Developmental Psychology42:218-38.
20.
HatzenbuehlerMark. 2009. “How Does Sexual Minority Stigma ‘Get Under the Skin’? A Psychological Mediation Framework.” Psychological Bulletin135:707-30.
21.
HennessyCatherine HaganMoriartyDavidZackMatthewScherrPaulBrackbillRobert. 1994. “Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life for Public Health Surveillance.” Public Health Reports109:665-72.
22.
HerekGregoryGarnetsLinda. 2007. “Sexual Orientation and Mental Health.” Annual Review of Clinical Psychology3:353-75.
23.
HouleJasonStaffJeremyMortimerJeylanUggenChristopherBlackstoneAmy. 2011. “The Impact of Sexual Harassment on Depressive Symptoms during the Early Occupational Career.” Society and Mental Health1:89-105.
24.
HughesMichaelDemoDavid. 1989. “Self-Perceptions and Black Americans: Self-Esteem and Personal Efficacy.” American Journal of Sociology95:132-59.
25.
KesslerRonaldMickelsonKristinWilliamsDavid. 1999. “The Prevalence, Distribution, and Mental Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination in the United States.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior40:208-30.
26.
KobauRosemarieSafranMarcZackMatthewMoriartyDavidChapmanDaniel. 2004. “Sad, Blue, or Depressed Days, Health Behaviors and Health-Related Quality of Life, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1995-2000.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes2:40-7.
27.
KriegerNancy. 1999. “Embodying Inequality: A Review of Concepts, Measures, and Methods for Studying Health Consequences of Discrimination.” International Journal of Health Services Planning Evaluation Administration29:295-352.
28.
KriegerNancySidneyStephen. 1997. “Prevalence and Health Implications of Anti-Gay Discrimination: A Study of Black and White Women and Men in the CARDIA Cohort.” International Journal of Health Services27:157-76.
29.
LantzPaulaHouseJamesMeroRichardWilliamsDavid. 2005. “Stress, Life Events, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Health: Results from the Americans’ Changing Lives Study.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior46:274-88.
30.
LeaperCampbellBrownChristia Spears. 2008. “Perceived Experiences with Sexism among Adolescent Girls.” Child Development79:685-704.
31.
MajorBrendaQuintonWendyMcCoyShannon. 2002. “Antecedents and Consequences of Attributions to Discrimination: Theoretical and Empirical Advances.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology34:251-330.
32.
MaysVickieCochranSusan. 2001. “Mental Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in the United States.” American Journal of Public Health91:1869-76.
33.
MaysVickieCochranSusanBarnesNambi. 2007. “Race, Race-Based Discrimination, and Health Outcomes among African Americans.” Annual Review of Psychology58:201-25.
34.
McLeodJaneOwensTimothy. 2004. “Psychological Well-Being in the Early Life Course: Variations by Socioeconomic Status, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity.” Social Psychology Quarterly67:257-78.
35.
MeyerIlan. 1995. “Minority Stress and Mental Health in Gay Men.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior36:38-56.
36.
MeyerIlanSchwartzSharonFrostDavid. 2008. “Social Patterning of Stress and Coping: Does Disadvantaged Social Statuses Confer More Stress and Fewer Coping Resources?” Social Science & Medicine67:368-79.
37.
PagerDevahShepherdHana. 2008. “The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets.” Annual Review of Sociology34:181-209.
38.
ParadiesYin. 2006. “A Systematic Review of Empirical Research on Self-Reported Racism and Health.” International Journal of Epidemiology35:888-901.
39.
PascoeElizabethRichmanLaura Smart. 2009. “Perceived Discrimination and Health: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Psychological Bulletin135:531-54.
40.
PavalkoElizaMossakowskiKrysiaHamiltonVanessa. 2003. “Does Perceived Discrimination Affect Health? Longitudinal Relationships between Work Discrimination and Women’s Physical and Emotional Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior43:18-33.
41.
PearlinLeonard I.1989. “The Sociological Study of Stress.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior30:241-56.
42.
PearlinLeonard I.1999. “The Stress Process Revisited: Reflections on Concepts and Their Interrelationships.” Pp. 395-415 in Handbook on the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ.New York: Plenum Press.
43.
PuhlRebecca M.AndreyevaTatianaBrownellKelly D.2008. “Perceptions of Weight Discrimination: Prevalence and Comparison to Race and Gender Discrimination in America.” International Journal of Obesity32:992-1000.
44.
RidolfoHeatherMaitlandAaron. 2011. “Factors that Influence the Accuracy of Adolescent Proxy Reporting of Parental Characteristics: A Research Note.” Journal of Adolescence34:95-103.
45.
RyffCarolKeyesCoreyHughesDiane. 2003. “Status Inequalities, Perceived Discrimination, and Eudaimonic, Well-Being: Do the Challenges of Minority Life Hone Purpose and Growth?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior44:275-291.
46.
Sanders-PhillipsKathySettles-ReavesBeverlynWalkerDorenBrownlowJaneese. 2009. “Social Inequality and Racial Discrimination: Risk Factors for Health Disparities in Children of Color.” Pediatrics124:S176-86.
47.
SchultzAmyMullingsLeith. 2006. Gender, Race, Class and Health: Intersectional Approaches. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
48.
SeatonEleanorCaldwellCleopatraSellersRobertJacksonJames. 2008. “Developmental Characteristics of African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents’ Attributions Regarding Discrimination.” Journal of Research on Adolescence20:774-88.
49.
SimonsRonaldSimonsLeslieBurtCallieDrummundHolliStewartEricBrodyGeneGibbonsFrederickCutronaCarolyn. 2006. “Supportive Parenting Moderates the Effect of Discrimination upon Anger, Hostile View of Relationships, and Violence among African American Boys.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior47:373-89.
50.
SobelMichael E.1982. “Asymptotic Confidence Intervals for Indirect Effects in Structural Equation Models.” Sociological Methodology13:290-312.
51.
St. JeanYanickFeaginJoe R.1998. Double Burden: Black Women and Everyday Racism. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
52.
StuberJenniferGaleaSandroAhernJenniferBlaneyShannonFullerCrystal. 2003. “The Association between Multiple Domains of Discrimination and Self-Assessed Health: A Multilevel Analysis of Latinos and Blacks in Four Low-Income New York City Neighborhoods.” Health Services Research38:1735-59.
53.
StuberJenniferMeyerIlan. 2008. “Stigma, Prejudice, Discrimination and Health.” Social Science & Medicine67:351-57.
54.
TaylorJohnTurnerR. Jay. 2002. “Perceived Discrimination, Social Stress, and Depression in the Transition to Adulthood: Racial Contrasts.” Social Psychology Quarterly65:213-25.
55.
ThoitsPeggy. 1995. “Stress, Coping, and Social Support Processes: Where Are We? What Next?” Journal of Health and Social BehaviorS53-S79.
56.
ThoitsPeggy. 2010. “Stress and Health: Major Findings and Policy Implications.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51:S41-53.
57.
TurnerR. JayAvisonWilliam. 2003. “Status Variations in Stress Exposure: Implications for the Interpretation of Research on Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Gender.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior44:488-505.
58.
TurnerR. JayLloydDonald. 1999. “The Stress Process and the Social Distribution of Depression.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior40:374-404.
59.
WilliamsDavidMohammedSalina. 2009. “Discrimination and Racial Disparities in Health: Evidence and Needed Research.” Journal of Behavioral Medicine32:20-47.
60.
WilliamsDavidNeighborsHaroldJacksonJames. 2003. “Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health: Findings from Community Studies.” American Journal of Public Health93:200-08.
61.
YuanAnastasia S. Vogt. 2007. “Perceived Age Discrimination and Mental Health.” Social Forces86:291-311.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
