Objective: To explore the associations between self-reported racism and health and wellbeing outcomes for young Aboriginal Australian people.
Design, setting and participants: A cross-sectional study of 345 Aboriginal Australians aged 16–20 years who, as participants in the prospective Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study, were recruited at birth between 1987 and 1990 and followed up between 2006 and 2008.
Main outcome measures: Self-reported social and emotional wellbeing using a questionnaire validated as culturally appropriate for the study’s participants; recorded body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio.
Results: Self-reported racism was reported by 32% of study participants. Racism was significantly associated with anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 2.18 [95% CI, 1.37–3.46]); depression (OR, 2.16 [95% CI, 1.33–3.53]); suicide risk (OR, 2.32 [95% CI, 1.25–4.00]); and poor overall mental health (OR, 3.35 [95% CI, 2.04–5.51]). No significant associations were found between self-reported racism and resilience or any anthropometric measures.
Conclusions: Self-reported racism was associated with poor social and emotional wellbeing outcomes, including anxiety, depression, suicide risk and poor overall mental health.
The information contained on this website has been sourced by the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP) and AIPEP 2. The first AIPEP was funded by the Australian Government Office of Teaching and Learning. AIPEP 2 is part of the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing Project, funded by the Million Minds Mission Grant. The views expressed in this website do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office of Teaching and Learning or the Million Minds Mission Grant.
Several of the images used throughout this website are credited to Chris Lewis
