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Racial Stereotypes and their Effects
Racial Stereotypes and their Effects
racism and health disparities essay
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Throughout the past, scientists have attempted to explain the health disparity between African Americans and Whites. With the completion of the human genome project, it was shown that there is very little difference between different races on the genetic level. However, “African Americans are twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease as their European counterpart,” the question that has arisen is where do these differences stem from (Harell, Floyd, Daniels and Bell). Recently, scientists have begun to believe that racism could possibly explain these differences (Belgrave &Allison, 2010). Racism has been an issue for African Americans since the early days of slavery. Everywhere they go, they face a possibility of being treated differently because of their race. Within the past fifty years, the racism that African Americans faced has dropped, however it is still prevalent. According to Belgrave and Allison, racism is defined as “the negative beliefs, actions, and emotions based on race” although there are different types of racism, this definition gives a generalization on what racism is. It seems as though racism is the cause of many of the health problems that are faced by African Americans. Whether it is because African Americans generally do not receive the same health service as Whites or because direct racism causes higher blood pressure, racism has a negative health effect on African Americans (Belgrave &Allison, 2010). Purpose The purpose of this experiment is to see whether racism has an effect on the self-esteem of African Americans and the health risks associated with racism, mainly high blood pressure. The independent variable is perception of racism and the dependent variables are the self... ... middle of paper ... ...nd blood pressure. Racism is a problem facing many African Americans in the United States. It is affecting both their self-esteem and health. Until they are given the help they need or racism dissipates from society, they will always have these problems. References Belgrave, A. Z., & Allison, K. W. (2010S).African american psychology, from africa to america. (2nd ed., pp. 96-112). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc. Fischer, A. R., & Shaw, C. (1999). African americans mental health and perceptions of racist discrimination: The moderating effects of racial socialization experiences and self-esteem. Journal of Counseling Psychology,46(3), 395-407. Retrieved from psycnet.apa.org/journals/cou/46/3/395.html Harrell, C. P. J., Floyd, L. J., & Bell, S. R. Psychophysiological methods: enduring value to research within black psychology.
Does racism still exist today? Although many believe it was a problem in the past, it still exists today. Many People are still not aware that it still exists in our workforces, especially in medical field. Although racism in medicine can be very offense, it can sometimes be beneficial and help reveal differences in diseases based on genetic make up. These differences can be taken in the wrong manner and can lead to social problems especially if these distinctions are thought of as ethnic differences. In Gregg M. Bloche’s article. “Race, Money and Medicine”, he states that we should erase racial categories from medicine but only use them if they are beneficial for the patient’s health. Peter Clark, author of “Prejudice and the Medical Profession: A Five Year Update”, explains that racial categories should be understood because understand these different can be beneficial. Lynne D. Richardson and Marlaina Norris, authors of “Access to Health and Health Care: How Race and Ethnicity Matter”, also believe that these differences can be beneficial but want to improve the health are because they know a majority of minorities do not receive proper health care and treatment. Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, pays attention to the fact that her character, Henrietta Lacks, was not given the proper treatment and care she should have. Although Henrietta’s cells were beneficial to cancer research , she never once gave consent to the doctor’s to distribute her cells. She was taken advantage of because of her race and low income. Minorities’ opinions and beliefs should be taken into perspective because they often feel neglected which causes a sense of “distrust”. There has been a vast history of racism in the ...
Utsey, S. (2000). Racial Discrimination, Coping, Life Satisfaction, and Self-Esteem Among African Americans. Journal Of Counseling & Development,, 72-80.
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., & Holder, A. (2008). Racial microaggressions in the life experience of Black Americans. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(3), 329.
Chao, Ruth Chu-Lien Longo, Joseph Wang, Canzi Dasgupta, Deepest Fear, Jessica. "Perceived Racism As Moderator Between Self-Esteem/Shyness And Psychological Distress Among African Americans." Journal Of Counseling & Development 92.3 (2014): 259-269. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 15 May 2015.
Healthcare disparities are when there are inequalities or differences of the conditions of health and the quality of care that is received among specific groups of people such as African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, or Hispanics. Not only does it occur between racial and ethnic groups, health disparities can happen between males and females as well. Minorities have the worst healthcare outcomes, higher death rates, and are more prone to terminal diseases. For African American men and women, some of the most common health disparities are diabetes, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and HIV infections. Some factors that can contribute to disparities are healthcare access, transportation, specialist referrals, and non-effective communication with patients. There is also much racism that still occurs today, which can be another reason African Americans may be mistreated with their healthcare. “Although both black and white patients tended not to endorse the existence of racism in the medical system, African Americans patients were more likely to perceive racism” (Laveist, Nickerson, Bowie, 2000). Over the years, the health care system has made improvements but some Americans, such as African Americans, are still being treating unequally when wanting the same care they desire as everyone else.
There are three types of racism. The most visible type is personally mediated racism where say a black man is being beaten due to the color of his skin. The effects on his health are obvious to see, the physical aspect is apparent. When people over a period of time have been subjected to, racial prejudice and discrimination begin to doubt their own worth and abilities they become victims of internalized racism. Constant, numerous instances in their respective environments have all abst...
For African Americans, there is a major relationship between unemployment and poor health, around one-third of their population is poor and that can cause illness due to a poor diet and bad living conditions. They also have most cost involved if healthcare is needed because they are less likely to have insurance coverage. Distrust in the healthcare system is another problem, because they believe that the care is inadequate or harmful. Also, having racism within healthcare systems can be very detrimental to the African Americans care. Babies in African American families are twice as likely to die than babies in white families. They have problems within their culture with cancer, sickle cell anemia and hypertension. For cancer, they have a 27% higher rate than whites do and for hypertension they are one-third more likely than whites to have it due genetics, poor diet and stress. Sickle cell anemia is worse for anyone with African American descent, one in twelve have the gene and around one in six-hundred actually develop the disease. This disease means that the blood cells will become elongated and pointed which will clog vessels, reducing oxygen flow, and could even cause organ
One reason, stated the author, for the state of health for Black Americans is “in dire straits” is because blacks have fallen behind other races in getting quality health care and insurance. Dr. Michael Floyd of Meharry Medical College in Nashville Tennessee, who specializes in internal medicine, was used to explain the medical aspects of the article. African Americans have a tendency wait until we’re sick to visit the emergency room instead of visiting a primary care physician. Visiting a primary care physician may lead to an early diagnosis in people and an offering of sound advice on leading a healthier lifestyle. The weakening economy is largely a benefactor in the lack of adequate health care in blacks. Politics and the economy play a role in our access to quality healthcare and how we deal with diseases and medication, but much of respon...
Quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. “ Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes on every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.” In daily basis, every single person on this earth is facing different kind of discrimination. In general discrimination prevails in life particulars. We are living in a world that is based on qualifications. Being a normal human is no longer accepted. However, African Americans are one of the most populations in this world who faced discrimination in general: Racial discrimination in particular. Although African Americans faced racial discrimination due to slavery period hundred years ago, racial discrimination still prevails in African Americans life in the present, lead by huge psychological affects.
The intersection of race and gender and the experiences of discrimination and prejudice are paramount in defining and understanding the mental health of African American women (D. Brown & Keith, 2003; Canady, Bullen, HoIzman, Broman, & Tian, 2008). Behaviors seen in African American women are adaptations to a complex set of gender, generational, chronic, and extreme life stressors (hooks, 1993) and should be viewed in terms of the psychosocial and cultural factors unique to this
Many people believe that racism is no longer present; however, racism is subtly interconnected with many aspects of ever person’s life, including school, upper mobility, access to services and their race many times determine the proper care given by a health care professional. Based on research, racism is interconnected with mental health care. This essay will offer a theoretical explanation that allows social workers a better understanding to clinician’s misdiagnosis of ethnic minorities. Critical Race Theory permits clinicians to purposely or unintentionally misdiagnoses ethnic minorities and will be used in understanding how racism ingrained in the mental health care system.
Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.
In conclusion, racism is a fundamental cause towards the health of ethnic minority groups around the world. Previous studies have demonstrated that individual self-reports of racial experience is strongly linked to negative health outcomes. This gives reason for researchers to keep investigating the role of racism in health. However, it is not just the role of governments to resolve these issues as racism is deeply rooted in societal culture; individuals need to know how racism affects health. Therefore, major improvements are still needed in society to allow ethnic minorities to feel associated with the wider community without racial discrimination.
The Association of Black Psychologist (ABP) (2013) defines colorism as skin-color stratification. Colorism is described as “internalized racism” that is perceived to be a way of life for the group that it is accepted by (ABP 2013). Moreover, colorism is classified as a persistent problem within Black American. Colorism in the process of discriminatory privileges given to lighter-skinned individuals of color over their darker- skinned counterparts (Margret Hunter 2007). From a historical standpoint, colorism was a white constructed policy in order to create dissention among their slaves as to maintain order or obedience. Over the centuries, it seems that the original purpose of colorism remains. Why has this issue persisted? Blacks have been able to dismantle the barriers faced within the larger society of the United States. Yet, Blacks have failed to properly address the sins of the past within the ethnic group. As a consequence of this failure, colorism prevails. Through my research, I developed many questions: Is it right that this view remain? How does valuing an individual over another cause distribution to the mental health of the victims of colorism? More importantly, what are the solutions for colorism? Colorism, unfortunately, has had a persisted effect on the lives of Black Americans. It has become so internalized that one cannot differentiate between the view of ourselves that Black Americans adopted from slavery or a more personalized view developed from within the ethnicity. The consequences of this internalized view heightens the already exorbitant mental health concerns within the Black community, but the most unfortunate aspect of colorism is that there is contention on how the issue should be solved.
Race conscientiousness is present in today’s society, many harbor negative feelings towards African Americans on an unconscious level, which can have a negative impact on the mental health of the person who are victims of this discriminatory behavior. The unintentional expression of anti-black feelings is projected on to blacks as fear or discomfort with their presence. According to Gaertner and Dovidio, two psychology professors, proposed “the biased judgments against African Americans result of childhood socialization of the dominant racial biases in society and from the typical way in which individuals categorize people into social groups rather than expend limited cognitive resources to judge each person individually” (Levin 2). I