Dataset Information

Race-based biases in psychological distress and treatment judgments.

ABSTRACT: Racism creates and sustains mental health disparities between Black and White Americans and the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing harassment directed at Black Americans has exacerbated these inequities. Yet, as the mental health needs of Black Americans rise, there is reason to believe the public paradoxically believes that psychopathology hurts Black individuals less than White individuals and these biased distress judgments affect beliefs about treatment needs. Four studies (two pre-registered) with participants from the American public and the field of mental health support this hypothesis. When presented with identical mental illnesses (e.g., depression, anxiety, schizophrenia), both laypeople and clinicians believed that psychopathology would be less distressing to Black relative to White individuals. These distress biases mediate downstream treatment judgments. Across numerous contexts, racially-biased judgments of psychological distress may negatively affect mental healthcare and social support for Black Americans.

SUBMITTER: Kunstman JW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10586605 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Race-based biases in psychological distress and treatment judgments.

Kunstman Jonathan W JW Ogungbadero Tade T Deska Jason C JC Bernstein Michael J MJ Smith April R AR Hugenberg Kurt K

PloS one 20231019 10

Racism creates and sustains mental health disparities between Black and White Americans and the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing harassment directed at Black Americans has exacerbated these inequities. Yet, as the mental health needs of Black Americans rise, there is reason to believe the public paradoxically believes that psychopathology hurts Black individuals less than White individuals and these biased distress judgments affect beliefs about treatment needs. Four studies (two pre-registered) wi ...[more]

PMID: 37856467

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Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate disparities in financial toxicity and psychological distress in patients with cancer as a function of treatment and reveal the relationship between financial toxicity and psychological distress.MethodsThis was a multicenter cross-sectional study. Patients were recruited from March 2017 to October 2018, and questionnaires were completed regarding their demographics, financial toxicity, and psychological distress. A multiple linear regression model was used to examine factors associated with financial and psychological distress.ResultsSignificant financial toxicity and psychological distress occurred in 47.9% and 56.5% of patients, respectively. Financial toxicity (P = 0.032) and psychological distress (P < 0.001) were statistically different among the single chemotherapy, adjuvant therapy, and surgery groups. Multivariable analysis revealed that patients aged 50-59 years (P = 0.035), 60-69 years (P = 0.007), and 70 years or older (P = 0.002) had higher the Comprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) scores compared with patients less than 50 years old. Patients with personal annual income > 40,000 CNY reported higher COST scores than those who had < 20,000 CNY (P < 0.001). Patients who had Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) (P = 0.030) or New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) (P = 0.006) compared with Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) presented lower COST scores than patients with UEBMI. The multiple analysis model of psychological distress showed that an age of more than 70 years (P = 0.010) was significantly associated with low the Distress Thermometer (DT) scores, and patients with colorectal cancer (P = 0.009), the surgery group (P < 0.001) and adjuvant therapy group (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with high DT scores. The correlations between financial toxicity and psychological distress were mild but statistically significant in the chemotherapy-related treatment groups.ConclusionsThe research highlights the high rates of financial and psychological distress in adult patients. Multidimensional distress screening and psychosocial interventions should be provided for patients with cancer according to related factors.

Project description:COVID-related discrimination towards historically marginalized racial-ethnic groups in the United States has been well-documented; however, its impact on psychological distress and sleep (overall and within specific racial-ethnic groups) is largely unknown. We used data from our nationally representative, online survey of 5,500 American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Latino, White, and multiracial adults, conducted from 12/2020-2/2021. Participants were asked how often they experienced discriminatory behaviors "because they think you might have COVID-19" (modified Everyday Discrimination Scale). Psychological distress was captured as having experienced anxiety-depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionairre-4, PHQ-4), perceived stress (modified Perceived Stress Scale), or loneliness-isolation ("How often have you felt lonely and isolated?"). Sleep disturbances were measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Information System Short Form Sleep Disturbance scale (PROMIS-SF 4a). Overall, 22.1% reported COVID-related discriminatory behaviors (sometimes/always: 9.7%; rarely: 12.4%). 48.4% of participants reported anxiety-depression symptoms (moderate/severe: 23.7% mild: 24.8%), 62.4% reported feeling stressed (moderate/severe: 34.3%; mild: 28,1%), 61.0% reported feeling lonely-isolated (fairly often/very often: 21.3%; almost never/sometimes: 39.7%), and 35.4% reported sleep disturbances (moderate/severe:19.8%; mild: 15.6%). Discrimination was only associated with increased psychological distress among racial-ethnic minorities. For example, COVID-related discrimination was strongly associated with anxiety-depression among Black/African American adults (mild: aOR=2.12, 95% CI=1.43-5.17; moderate/severe: aOR=5.19, 95% CI=3.35-8.05), but no association was observed among White or multiracial adults. Mitigating pandemic-related discrimination could help alleviate mental and sleep health disparities occurring among minoritized racial-ethnic groups.

Dataset Information

Race-based biases in psychological distress and treatment judgments.

Publications

Race-based biases in psychological distress and treatment judgments.

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