Geographic Region Matters In The Relation Between Perceived Racial Discrimination And Psychiatric Disorders Among Black Older Adults

This study examined whether the relation between perceived racial discrimination and psychiatric disorders varied by large geographic region among Black older adults in the United States.Black adults aged 55 or older who had experienced racial/ethnic-specific discrimination were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine main and interaction effects.Results show that there was a significant main effect of perceived racial discrimination, indicating that greater perceived discrimination was significantly associated with increased odds of having any past-year psychiatric disorder. The interaction of region by perceived racial discrimination was significant: The effect of perceived racial discrimination on any past-year psychiatric disorder was stronger among Blacks in the West than those in the South.Findings suggest that whereas, in general, perceived racial discrimination is a risk factor for poor mental health among older Blacks, this association may differ by geographic region. Additional research examining reasons for this variation is needed.