Racism can spark depression and anxiety in Black adolescents, study finds

Assaf Oshri, lead author of the study, is an associate professor whose research focuses on child development. He and his team pulled data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, a nationwide project funded by the National Institutes of Health that collects data on children’s health and brain development. Oshri and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 1,500 participants, gathered over three years.

“We know discriminatory experiences are associated with a range of negative health outcomes,” Oshri said. “This study is showing that some brain patterns that are trying to process threats … can help [participants] cope with these types of experiences, but there might be an emotional toll.”

By studying the amygdala — the emotion center of the brain — the authors were able to better understand the role it plays in Black youths’ responses to threats such as racism.

The amygdala’s activity was assessed using data collected during functional MRIs, widely known as fMRIs. During fMRI scans, participants were shown neutral and negative facial expressions — a commonly used test in neuroscience known as the Emotional N-Back Task. The test can simulate how participants respond to negative stimuli.

The authors also evaluated surveys in which Black adolescents self-reported experiences with racial discrimination and categorized their behaviors.

If a participant indicated on a survey that they were feeling scared or anxious, or sad or depressed, the researchers noted these feelings as internalizing symptoms, which are inner problems a person can face. If a participant noted they argued frequently or threw temper tantrums, Oshri and his team categorized these behaviors as externalizing symptoms, which are problems that present outwardly and affect the individual and people around them.

Internalizing and externalizing symptoms can tell researchers how participants are responding to stressors in their environment.

Taking the brain and survey data together, Oshri and his team found a correlation between youths whose amygdala shut down in response to negative stimuli and increased reporting of internalizing symptoms — including anxiety and depression.

Many of those adolescents also expressed feelings of marginalization in their surveys and fewer externalizing symptoms. The authors noticed these trends in about 1 in every 5 participants. So, while some youths may be less likely to act out in response to stressors, they might be at a higher risk of internalizing them and feeling sad or anxious as a result.

The amygdala shutting down in response to negative stimuli may be the brain’s way of protecting Black adolescents when they confront discrimination, though it may also be a sign of avoidant coping, which can harm their mental health over time.

“There’s a lot of implications,” Oshri said. He highlighted the importance of using data to document that “discriminatory experiences are harming our children and [their] development.”

Ryan DeLapp agreed. DeLapp, who was not involved in the study, is a psychologist and the creator of the Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Healing program, which is designed to help youths of color navigate and heal from experiences with racial discrimination.

“Looking at biological data can further substantiate what has been shown for decades, [which is] that individuals are significantly impacted by these experiences,” DeLapp said. He added that quantitative studies should not stand alone: “These studies are needed in addition to … anecdotes of people’s lived experiences.”

Howard Stevenson, professor of Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said scientific studies influence and inform intervention strategies all the time, including his own as a leader in the field of intervention work. He spearheads the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, a training and research center that explores how racism affects people’s lives.

Stevenson, who was not involved in the University of Georgia study, said that work such as Oshri’s shows why mindfulness is an important practice to teach youths, especially youths of color who are likely to experience discrimination.

“That’s like vitamins for your amygdala,” Stevenson said. Much like Oshri’s findings, Stevenson emphasized the importance of adolescents acknowledging their feelings rather than constantly suppressing them.

“The practice of noticing what’s happening to your body, thoughts and feelings” is central to intervention work, Stevenson said.