Citation

Priest N, Kavanagh A, Bécares L, King T. J. Health Soc. Behav. 2019; 60(3): 344-361.

Affiliation

Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0022146519868847

PMID

31526020

Abstract

This study examined how cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization influences the health of Australian adolescents (n = 2802) aged 10 to 11 years (19.3% visible ethnic minorities [nonwhite, non-Indigenous]; 2.6% Indigenous) using data from three waves (2010-2014) of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization had incremental negative effects on socioemotional difficulties. Higher accumulated exposure to both stressors across time was associated with increased body mass index z-scores and risk of overweight/obesity. Studies that examine exposure to single risk factors such as bullying victimization or racial discrimination at one time point only are likely to miss key determinants of health for adolescents from stigmatized racial-ethnic backgrounds and underestimate their stressor burden.

Language: en

Keywords

Indigenous; adolescents; bullying; discrimination; ethnicity; health