It’s well-documented that racial minorities experience psychosis at consistently higher rates compared to the general population. This mental health condition involves hallucinations, delusions, confused thinking, and disorganized behavior; it is one of the most severe mental health disorders because it affects a person’s ability to perceive and interpret reality.
A new systematic review published last month in the journal PLOS Mental Health helps to explain why. The review shows racial and ethnic discrimination significantly increases the risk of psychosis, adding to the body of evidence demonstrating that the consequences of racism have broader health implications.
The new analysis combines data from seven systematic reviews and a total of 23 studies that included more than 40,000 participants.
The review found that participants who reported experiencing racial or ethnic discrimination were consistently at higher risk for developing psychosis risk. Participants who reported psychosis symptoms but weren’t diagnosed with a psychotic disorder were the most likely to have experienced discrimination.
This suggests that the impact of racism on mental health may be more widespread and many who are affected don’t receive medical treatment.
The research contributes to a growing understanding of how social determinants of health contribute to mental health disparities. Beyond experiencing discrimination, researchers identified other factors that may increase the risk of psychosis in marginalized communities, including lower socioeconomic status, adverse neighborhood conditions, and traumatic experiences.
This research is important, the authors wrote, because racism is a potentially modifiable risk factor. Unlike some biological or genetic risk, discrimination is social phenomenon that could be addressed over time.
There are some limitations in this review. First, the current research focuses interpersonal racism—interactions between individuals; but further research is needed to understand how structural forms of racism impact mental health. Also, there were also high levels of variability in methods and quality among the studies in the review; more long-term research is needed.
Given currently available research, it is still important for mental health professionals to consider how experiences of discrimination affect their patients. This means incorporating questions about discrimination in routine evaluations, using trauma-informed approaches to therapy, and developing community interventions that could help to address racism.
The take-home message: racism poses a serious public health threat with measurable consequences for mental well-being. Experiencing discrimination clearly increases the risk of developing psychosis.
