Discrimination and Health: The Mediating Effect of Acculturative Stress

Alfonso Urzúa, Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar, Diego Henríquez and David R. Williams
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Alfonso Urzúa: Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1240000, Chile
Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar: Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica 1000000, Chile
Diego Henríquez: Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1240000, Chile
David R. Williams: TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: There is not much evidence on the effects of south–south migration and its consequences on physical and mental health. Our objective was to examine the mediating role of Acculturative Stress in the association between ethnic discrimination and racial discrimination with physical and mental health. This research is a non-experimental, analytical, cross-sectional study. A total of 976 adult Colombian migrants living in Chile were interviewed. We used the Everyday Discrimination Scale, the acculturative stress scale, and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-12) for health status; we found that racial and ethnic discrimination had a negative effect on physical and mental health. In the simultaneous presence of both types of discrimination, racial discrimination was completely absorbed by ethnic discrimination, the latter becoming a total mediator of the effect of racial discrimination on mental and physical health. Our findings are consistent with the literature, which suggests that there are various types of discrimination which, individually or in their intersectionality, can have negative effects on health.

Keywords: migration; acculturative stress; discrimination; racism; health; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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