A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Internalized Racial Oppression and Health-Related Outcomes
Abstract
Internalized racism represents a critical component of the system of racial oppression wherein People of Color adopt the negative beliefs about their race held by members of the White majority group. In this meta-analysis, the authors reviewed 29 studies (32 effect sizes) on the relationships between internalized racism and negative physical and mental health outcomes published between 1999 and 2015 and tested for literature-driven moderator effects using subgroup analyses. Results suggested that the direct overall relation between internalized racism and health was strongest for negative mental health outcomes ( r = .26), followed by negative physical health outcomes ( r = .11). Significant moderator effects were found for scale of measurement, country of sample (United States vs. international), and sampling method. Moderator effects of gender, publication type, year, and sample setting were not statistically significant. These findings are discussed and their implications for practice, advocacy, education/training, and research are described.
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Internalized racism is evidenced to contribute to poor physical and psychological distress for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
“Internalized racism is evidenced to contribute to poor physical [21] and psychological distress [28] for AAPIs, for example, psychological distress and social isolation [26] as well as depression and anxiety [1,29,30].”
From Internalized Racism and Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Collective Racial Self-Esteem (2024) · cites this paper as [21]
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Internalized Racism and Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Collective Racial Self-Esteem
Sanders, S., Williams, T., Berry, A., Garcia-Aguilera, C., Robinson, K., Martin, R., & Jones, P. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs14111003 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gale, M. M., Pieterse, A. L., Lee, D. L., Huynh, K., Powell, S., & Kirkinis, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Hartford (US)
- University at Albany, State University of New York (US)
- University of Miami (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gale, Michael M.
- Venue
- The Counseling Psychologist
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-03-09
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 498-525
- ISSN
- 0011-0000 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3861
- OpenAlex
- W3010473092
- Cited by
- 94
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 1.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Counseling Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Gender, Health, and Social Inequality
- Keywords
- internalized racism, racial oppression, health outcomes, mental health, physical health, people of color, racial identity, moderator effects, measurement scales, sampling methods
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