68th Society for Social Medicine & Population Health Annual Scientific meeting

Abstract

Rosanna Maletta (Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK) presented a study to understand how discrimination could affect mental health. Indeed, repeated discrimination could result in a build-up of resilience, or a cumulative negative effect could develop. Data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study waves 2015–20 were used. In the cohort of 3863 people, 24% of participants reported discrimination at one timepoint, and 16% reported more than one occurrence. Those who had experienced discrimination had worse mental health outcomes than those who had not, and was worse for those with more than one occurrence. Those more at risk of mental health problems from discrimination exposure were more likely to be female, young adults, in the lowest income group, or have had baseline mental health problems. These findings suggest that interventions to tackle discrimination and support for those affected should be prioritised.