Perceived Racial Discrimination and Health Issues among Black Americans

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Studies in the literature have claimed that perceived discrimination affects both people’s status of physical health and substance use (e.g., Gibbons et al., 2014), and this was more noticeable among African American (Hope, Thomas, & Hoggard, 2015). This study explored the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and diagnosable health problems among different racial groups with a focus on 516 African Americans in 1990s. By using the data from the Detroit Area Study: Social Influences on Health: Stress, Racism, and Health Protective Services (Jackson & Williams, 1995). The perceived racial discrimination was measured with 13 items which asked if they felt that they had ever been treated unfairly in certain situations, for example, being denied a promotion because of their skin tone. Health problems were measured with 15 items asking whether or not the respondent had experienced specific health problems. Different from what was expected, the analysis results revealed that the correlation between perceived racial discrimination and health problem was positive but, insignificant with a small effect size. Based on the findings, the current research expands the focus to potential suppressors affecting the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and health problem such as age of the respondents in Detroit, environmental factors in Detroit (e.g., one of the largest African American communities, outreach for health care), and financial crisis in Detroit. In addition to research findings, the presentation of current research will also provide information about how secondary data analyses can facilitate undergraduate research.