Teens experienced helplessness when exposed to secondhand racism

Activism might help

ANN & ROBERT H. LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO

Research News

 

This past year has been transformational in terms of not only a global pandemic but a sustained focus on racism and systemic injustice. There has been a widespread circulation of images and videos in the news and online. Just like adults, adolescents are exposed to these images with important consequences for their emotional health and coping. However, few studies have sought to understand the influence of racism experienced online.

According to a qualitative study published in JAMA Network Open adolescents expressed feelings of helplessness when exposed to secondhand racism online. Specifically, adolescents described helplessness stemming from the pervasiveness of racism in our society. This was illustrated by quotes, such as "[racist events are] just another day in the life" referring to racism as a constant force and unmovable by saying, "there's nothing I can do." However, many adolescents emphasized activism as a way to cope with the vicarious racism they experience. One adolescent stated, "Yeah, and then sometimes my response is it's something I can do something about, like right now..." Further, participation in activism may help mitigate negative feelings.

Lead study author, Dr. Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc is a pediatrician and physician-investigator at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The study team conducted 4 focus groups of 18 adolescents across the Chicagoland area between November 2018-April 2019. Dr. Heard-Garris noted that teens felt that adults underestimated how much they witness discrimination around them. One adolescent said, "It's funny because a lot of people think that teenagers are not socially aware, but I think the friends I keep around me, once we start talking about something, it goes on and on and on and on..."

It is important to note that this study, that took place prior to the wave of racialized violence of Black Americans publicized in the summer of 2020, however, it emphasizes the need to study how adolescents respond to witnessing these events. Dr. Nia Heard-Garris states, "Investigating adolescents' exposure and response to racism online proves critical because of the negative changes in emotional state and potential adverse physical and mental health across the life course." The researchers of this study also highlight that "this study aligns with previous studies that demonstrate social cohesion or connectedness can buffer the negative influence racism has on health generally, and the benefits of activism may be because adolescents can connect to a larger social network to draw support and participate in collective action."

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Research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is conducted through the Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute. The Manne Research Institute is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children's is ranked as one of the nation's top children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. It is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 212,000 children from 49 states and 51 countries.

Original Investigation 

Public Health

June 15, 2021

Adolescents’ Experiences, Emotions, and Coping Strategies Associated With Exposure to Media-Based Vicarious Racism

Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc^1,2,3; Patricia O. Ekwueme, MD, MPH³; Shawnese Gilpin, MD, MPH⁴; et alKaitlyn Ann Sacotte, MD³; Leishla Perez-Cardona, MPHe²; Megan Wong, BA³; Alyssa Cohen, MD^1,3

Author Affiliations Article Information

JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(6):e2113522. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13522

Adolescents’ Experiences, Emotions, and Coping Strategies Associated With Exposure to Media-Based Vicarious Racism | Adolescent Medicine | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Key Points

Question  How do adolescents respond to media-based vicarious racism, and do these responses affect adolescent emotional health and well-being?

Findings  This qualitative focus group–based study with 18 participants found that adolescents experienced helplessness after exposure to media-based vicarious racism and that activism was used as a positive coping strategy.

Meaning  The findings suggest that activism may serve as a powerful coping mechanism, potentially reducing negative emotions for adolescents exposed to media-based vicarious racism; thus, activism may have implications for improving mental health outcomes and advancing societal changes.

Abstract

Importance  Adolescents frequently encounter racism vicariously through online news and social media and may experience negative emotional responses due to these exposures. To mitigate potential adverse health impacts, including negative emotional health, it is important to understand how adolescents cope with these exposures.

Objectives  To examine adolescents’ responses to online and media-based vicarious racism exposure and to explore coping strategies, particularly positive coping strategies, that may be used to combat negative emotions.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This qualitative study rooted in phenomenological research methods conducted 4 semistructured focus groups, with 3 to 6 English-speaking adolescents (aged 13-19 years) in each group, between November 2018 and April 2019. Focus groups were facilitated by 2 research team members. The study was conducted at community sites and youth organizations in the greater Chicago, Illinois, area. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically.

Exposures  Lived experiences of media-based vicarious racism.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Focus group participants shared their experiences with media-based vicarious racism online, including their responses to exposure and the coping strategies used.

Results  Four focus group sessions were conducted with a total of 18 adolescents. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 16.4 (1.6) years. Overall, 7 participants (39%) self-identified as Black/African American, 8 (44%) as Hispanic/Latinx, and 3 (17%) as White individuals; 7 (39%) were in grades 7 to 9, 8 (44%) in grades 10 to 12 grade, and 3 (17%) at the college or university level. Central themes emerged related to adolescents’ experiences, including their emotional and coping responses to media-based vicarious racism. Many participants reported helplessness as a major negative emotion associated with these exposures. Activism was endorsed as a key positive coping strategy that participants used, including online and in-person modalities.

Conclusions and Relevance  The findings from this qualitative study suggest adolescents may experience helplessness as a primary negative emotion after exposure to media-based vicarious racism and activism may serve as a coping mechanism. Activism may represent an important and constructive means by which adolescents cope with and combat structural racism, mitigate negative emotions, and potentially prevent adverse health effects.

Introduction

Racism is entrenched in US institutions, with well-documented impacts on physical and mental health and well-being, even if experienced secondhand.^1-4 Institutions such as health care, government, carceral systems as well as news and media are inextricable from the pervasive nature of racism. News and online platforms, such as social media, can be an important conduit for vicarious racism at the population level and may also affect health. Vicarious racism is the secondhand exposure to racism directed at another individual and occurs irrespective of the race of the unintended target; however, that unintended target or bystander must identify the event as racism.⁴ Recently, the disproportionate murders of members of racial/ethnic minority groups by police has been a type of structural vicarious racism within the public discourse and has been associated with negative repercussions for health.⁵

Adolescents consume news of racialized violence and other racially charged events that are disseminated through traditional and online media as well as social media outlets.⁶ Scholarship on media-based vicarious racism exposures is emerging, and qualitative studies have begun to describe negative emotions after media-based vicarious racism exposure in adolescents.^4,7,8 Given the ubiquity of these stories and ease of internet access, adolescents may have more exposure to structural racism experienced vicariously than previous contemporary periods. Thus, youth may have an increased need for positive coping mechanisms to mitigate adverse health outcomes from this exposure.

Although structural racism may require intervention at the societal level, adolescents may not have traditional access to positions of authority or policy making. However, in today’s technology-driven and highly interconnected world, adolescents may seek out unique strategies to prevent and cope with racism. Given the nascent literature, studies have not yet explored how adolescents navigate media-based vicarious racism or identified the coping strategies that adolescents use following vicarious racism exposure.

Using an adolescent-centered, qualitative approach, we sought to (1) examine how adolescents respond to media-based vicarious racism and (2) to explore coping strategies adolescents use to mitigate negative emotions and structural racism, vicariously experienced in the media. We hypothesized that adolescents use a variety of coping skills after exposure to media-based vicarious racism. We also anticipated that adolescents would openly discuss the impact of vicarious racism on their health. Finally, structural racism and the resultant adverse health outcomes and disparities will require societal, institutional, and individual transformation. However, by focusing on individual-level experiences and strategies, adolescents may be able to actively lessen the negative consequences of racism on their own health and well-being.