Racial discrimination and anxiety in African American youth: Risk, resilience, and intervention

Abstract

Among African American youth, experiences of discrimination are related to having an anxiety disorder with significant impairment. Although incorporating culturally relevant treatment components (e.g., race socialization) that address experiences of discrimination might better serve minority youth, current evidence based interventions for anxiety in outpatient settings typically fail to include those culturally relevant components. This manuscript, noting the role of racial discrimination, outlines indicators of risk and resilience for diagnosis and prognosis of anxiety disorders among African American youth. Qualitative examples, provided from a sample of community stakeholders and African American youth seeking services for an anxiety disorder, describe specific associations between experiences of racial discrimination and anxiety. We conclude that identification and inclusion of culturally specific risk and protective factors in the development, implementation, and evaluation of anxiety-focused intervention programs in outpatient settings that target culturally specific protective factors will better serve African American youth experiencing anxiety disorders.