Racism harms body and psyche

Discrimination and exclusion harm the body, the psyche and thus the health.

Currently, a so-called immigration debate is conducted in Germany. In the course of the debate, one essential issue is not dealt with: How does such a partly discriminatory discussion affect the health of migrants living in Germany? Scientists at the University of Leipzig have published a study that shows how subjective or actual discrimination negatively affects people's bodies and psyche.

It is no secret that people who are disadvantaged, marginalized or wrongly treated are mentally and physically ill. A study by the University of Leipzig shows that perceived discrimination in people with a migration background has a strong influence on health. Currently around 16 million people of non-German origin live in Germany. Although the group of immigrants is very large, it has been poorly known how they feel physically and mentally. For this reason, the social researchers around Dipl. Ulrike Igel evaluated the data of 1844 men and women who live on average for about 20 years in Germany. It showed that socioeconomic factors such as income levels, length of education or employment status have little impact on the mental health of migrants. However, the perceived discrimination has a relatively strong impact. Anyone who feels discriminated against, suffers from mental illness and ultimately also mentally and physically ill. One possible consequence could be depression.

Men are more affected than women
The researchers noticed that especially male migrants feel much more discriminated and disadvantaged than women. The researchers suggest that women tend to be more destructive and experienced racism rather small talk or even denial. However, it could also be due to another assumption that men are more exposed to exclusion than women because of their background.

Turkish-born men most often feel marginalized
Another factor was also noticeable. The scientists looked more closely at the countries of origin of the migrants living in Germany. It became clear that men from the country of origin feel much more marginalized than, for example, people from Greece or Eastern Europe.

The findings and the social researchers Hedgehog and Team impressively show how strongly perceived or actually experienced exclusion and rejection affect the well-being of migrants. At the same time, money or occupational status have less of an impact on the state of well-being of people, such as experienced or subjective exclusion. These findings are also consistent with the other international studies which show that deprivation suffered worsens the physical and psychological condition of migrants and thus strongly influences the health of those affected. The reasons why the subjective or actual discrimination contributes so much to the deterioration of health is still unclear. For this further studies are necessary, as the authors write in the journal "Psychiatric Practice". (sb, 18.10.2010)

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Picture credits: Dieter Schütz.
Source Evidence: The Impact of Discrimination Experiences on the Health of Migrants. Psychiatric practice 2010; 37 (4): pp. 183-190.