Citation

Waldman K, Stickley A, Oh H. J. Latinx Psychol. 2021; 9(3): 258-268.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/lat0000185

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Discrimination resulting from the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks has been associated with poor mental health outcomes among Arab and/or Muslim Americans. However, there has been an absence of research assessing whether 9/11-related discrimination has been associated with psychiatric disorders among other populations of color. This study investigated whether perceived discrimination resulting from the 9/11 attacks was associated with psychiatric disorders and psychiatric comorbidity within Latinx populations in the United States. We used multivariable logistic and negative binomial regression to analyze nationally representative data from 2,507 Latinx respondents collected during the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). Psychiatric outcomes included mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Perceived discrimination was associated with a significantly increased likelihood of reporting all of the psychiatric disorders included in this study, with odds ratios ranging from 1.22 (any psychiatric disorder) to 1.56 (PTSD) for the entire Latinx sample. In addition, perceived discrimination was significantly associated with psychiatric comorbidity (p <.001) for the entire sample. The associations between perceived discrimination post-9/11 and psychiatric disorders as well as psychiatric comorbidity were heterogeneous across Latinx ethnicities. Perceived discrimination post-9/11 was significantly associated with psychiatric disorders independent of more routine and unrelated forms of discrimination. Discrimination resulting from major sociopolitical events has the potential to affect the mental health of a variety of social groups, including racial and ethnic groups not linked to the occurrence of such events. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en