Racial Discrimination is Associated with Acute Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Predicts Future Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity in Trauma‐Exposed Black Adults in the United States

Claire M. Bird · Elisabeth Kate Webb · Andrew T. Schramm · Lucas Torres · Christine L. Larson · Terri A. deRoon‐Cassini

131 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Traumatic Stress

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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Racial and Ethnic Identity Research Migration, Health and Trauma

Abstract

Abstract In the United States, Black residents exposed to a traumatic event are at an increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and experiencing more severe symptoms compared to their non‐Hispanic White counterparts. Although previous work has suggested a link between racial discrimination and PTSD symptoms, no studies have assessed this association in a sample of traumatic injury survivors. The current study investigated whether (a) past racial discrimination was associated with acute posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and (b) discrimination prospectively contributed to the prediction of future PTSD symptoms. African American and/or Black patients ( N = 113) were recruited from an emergency department in southeastern Wisconsin. Patients in the acute postinjury phase (i.e., 2 weeks posttrauma) completed self‐report measures, with PTSD symptoms assessed using the Clinician‐Administered PTSD Scale at 6‐month follow‐up. Bivariate associations indicated past racial discrimination was significantly related to acute PTSS. A multiple regression analysis revealed that pretrauma exposure to racial discrimination significantly predicted PTSD symptoms at follow‐up, even after controlling for age, gender, previous psychiatric diagnosis, social support, and lifetime trauma history. Our results suggest that experiences of racial discrimination add significant additional risk for PTSD symptom development following traumatic injury, R 2 = .16, F (6, 106) = 3.25, p = .006. Broadly, these findings add to the body of empirical evidence and personal testimonies of Black individuals in White‐centric societies asserting that racial discrimination affects mental health and overall well‐being and further highlight the recent call for racism to be classified as a public health crisis.

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References

2013Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 2014Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed.1991The MOS social support survey 2015The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM‐5 (PCL‐5): Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation 2017Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions 1995The development of a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale 2008Discrimination and racial disparities in health: evidence and needed research 2015Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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