Study: Denying the Existence of Racism Harms Minority Children

African-American preschoolers whose parents say they don't believe racism is a problem are more likely to be depressed or anxious, a new study indicates. Racism is a reality," lead author Dr. Margaret O'Brien Caughy said. "It does have impact on very young children. And we have to acknowledge that," she noted. Caughy said that there are many reasons why young children may become anxious if their parents deny the existence of racism. For one thing, parents who experience racism but don't acknowledge it may be anxious or depressed themselves, and pass that onto their children, she noted. Otherwise, young children may witness signs of racism around them, and become upset when their parents' opinions don't match their experience. "If (children) see in their day-to-day lives that racism is real, but their parents don't acknowledge it, could that create anxiety?" Caughy asked. Traditionally, people who report they have experienced racism are more likely to have problems with their physical or mental health. In order to investigate whether denying instances of discrimination hurts health even more, Caughy and her team interviewed 200 African-American families with children aged 3 or 4. Caughy, who is based at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Dallas, along with her colleagues, asked parents how often they experienced racism and how they coped with it, then measured children's behavior. [more]