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Racial and Ethnic Discrimination

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Empirical research illustrates that racial health disparities are large and pervasive in American society (Kung et al. 2008). Racial discrimination is one stressor that has received attention as a determinant of health disparities among racial/ethnic groups. Racial discrimination consists of dominant group members’ actions, which are systematic and result in differential and negative effects on subordinate racial/ethnic groups (Williams et al. 2003). In a review of the literature, Williams and Mohammed (2009) reported that subjective perceptions of discrimination were linked to diminished mental health, increased blood pressure, and increased substance use among minority group members. Unfortunately, minority youth are not immune to the effects of perceived discrimination as a stressor.

The Integrative Model proposed that American society stratifies individuals on the basis of social position variables, such as race, ethnicity, social class, and gender (Garcia Coll et al. 1996)....

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 3270, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3270, USA

    Eleanor K. Seaton

  2. Department of Psychology, Fordham University, 332 Dealy Hall, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA

    Tiffany Yip & Sara Douglass

Authors
  1. Eleanor K. Seaton
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  2. Tiffany Yip
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  3. Sara Douglass
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Correspondence to Eleanor K. Seaton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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Seaton, E.K., Yip, T., Douglass, S. (2011). Racial and Ethnic Discrimination. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_227

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_227

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