New Study: Racism Can Make Kids Sick—for the Rest of Their Lives
"There's sometimes a tendency to say, 'Oh, they are just kids—they will get over it.' But it turns out there can be lasting impact."
Racism is still one of America's greatest social ills—and it might actually be making people sick. According to a new study out of Northwestern University, racial discrimination experienced in adolescence can have a profound impact on health later in life.
Controlling for other factors that might cause stress, including socioeconomic status, health behaviors, and depression, researchers found that adults who had reported higher levels of discrimination when they were young had disrupted stress hormone levels 20 years later—and that African Americans experienced the effects at greater levels than their white counterparts.
"There's sometimes a tendency to say, 'Oh, they are just kids—they will get over it,'" says developmental psychologist and head researcher Emma Adam. "But it turns out there can be lasting impact."
Using participants from the Maryland Adolescent Development Context Study—a large-scale, 20-year survey that included adolescents from a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds—the researchers were able to compare levels of the stress hormone cortisol in adults to the responses they gave as 12-year-olds.
Normal cortisol levels are high when you wake up, increase about 30 minutes later, and then slowly decline throughout the day, winding you down until it's time for bed. "The high morning levels are there to activate you for the day, giving you the energy and focus, and stimulate your appetite to basically rev you up to face the demands of your day," Adam says.
But, the researchers found, those who reported they had experienced discrimination New Study: Racism Can Make Kids Sick—for the Rest of Their Lives | Mother Jones:
