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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 12/2010

01-12-2010 | Original Paper

Racism, mental illness and social support in the UK

Authors: Apu T. Chakraborty, Kwame J. McKenzie, Shakoor Hajat, Stephen A. Stansfeld

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 12/2010

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Abstract

Purpose

The difference in risk of mental illness in UK ethnic minorities may be related to a balance between specific risk factors such as racial discrimination and mediating factors such as social support. We investigated whether social support from friends or relatives reduces the cross-sectional association between perceived racism and the risk of mental illness in an ethnic minority group.

Methods

We conducted secondary analyses of nationally representative community samples of five UK ethnic minority groups (EMPIRIC dataset; n = 4,281) using multiple regression techniques.

Results

We found that the associations between perceived racism, common mental disorder and potentially psychotic symptoms were mainly independent of social support as measured by the number of close persons and their proximity to the individual.

Conclusion

Social support when measured in this way does not mediate the associations between perceived racism and mental ill health in this population-based sample.
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Metadata
Title
Racism, mental illness and social support in the UK
Authors
Apu T. Chakraborty
Kwame J. McKenzie
Shakoor Hajat
Stephen A. Stansfeld
Publication date
01-12-2010
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 12/2010
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0156-8

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