Exploring the Transmission of experiences of #Racism, #Anxiety and #DEpression in #families. Based @KingsCollegeLon & @CentreforMH. Funded by @EmergingMindsUK.
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ALT Image: A Black mother with blonde curly hair embracing her son who is smiling, with her arm over his shoulder. Text: A Constant Battle: Exploring the intergenerational consequences of racism in the UK
ALT Quote: "You've got to fight every battle, be it in a shop or in employment or at school... it's a constant battle that knocks you."
ALT Quote: "So I said to her, I understand you don't feel comfortable. But this is who you are. And as you get older, you're going to have to love yourself."
ALT Racism is a form of prejudice that maintains hierarchy and inequality between groups of people based on social perceptions of how they look (referred to as “race”) (Jones, 2002). Experiences of racism are linked to mental and physical stress, increasing the risk for psychiatric and physical illness among those exposed (e.g., Williams et al., 2021; Carter et al., 2017; Paradies et al., 2015). Those faced with the adverse effects of racism may start to develop coping strategies. Coping strategies are used for managing stress, and over 400 types of coping strategies have been documented in broader research (Skinner et al., 2003). However, which of these strategies is used and useful in the face of racism remains unclear. This paper (Jacob et al, 2022) focuses on the experiences of people perceived to be “Black” in countries where most people are perceived to be “White”.
ALT Inclusive research that tackles inequalities is an essential component of good quality-mental health research. Mental health research has an important role in tackling inequalities, especially when inequalities can have such a profound impact on someone’s mental health. Historically, this hasn’t been something the mental health sector has been good at. Mental health services and mental health research do not address the needs of marginalised and racialised communities well. The UKRI mental health networks have spent the last four years embedding inclusivity in their work. A key part of this is listening to and learning from people with relevant lived experience. There are numerous examples across the UKRI networks of inclusive, antiracist research that tackles inequalities. We’ve explored one example per network here, but there’s a longer list below if you’d like to look into the networks’ work in this area in more detail.