title: Discrimination and psychiatric disorders among older African Americans.
abstract: This study examined the impact of everyday discrimination (both racial and non-racial) on the mental health of older African Americans.
  
  
  
  This analysis is based on the older African American subsample of the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) (n = 773). We examined the associations between everyday discrimination and both general distress and psychiatric disorders as measured by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Six dependent variables were examined: lifetime mood disorders, lifetime anxiety disorders, any lifetime disorder, number of lifetime disorders, depressive symptoms as measured by the 12-item Center for Epidemiological Scale of Depression (CES-D), and serious psychological distress as measured by the Kessler 6 (K6).
  
  
  
  Overall, racial and non-racial everyday discrimination were consistently associated with worse mental health for older African Americans. Older African Americans who experienced higher levels of overall everyday discrimination had higher odds of any psychiatric disorder, any lifetime mood disorder, any lifetime anxiety disorder, and more lifetime DSM-IV disorders, in addition to elevated levels of depressive symptoms and serious psychological distress. These findings were similar for both racial discrimination and non-racial discrimination.
  
  
  
  This study documents the harmful association of not only racial discrimination, but also non-racial (and overall) discrimination with the mental health of older African Americans. Specifically, discrimination is negatively associated with mood and anxiety disorders as well as depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.|Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Dawne M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Mouzon
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.|Institute for Social Research, Program for Research on Black Americans, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Robert Joseph
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Race, and Ethnic Studies Institute, Texas A&M University, USA.
authors.forename: Verna M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Keith
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Nicklett
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.|Institute for Social Research, Program for Research on Black Americans, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.|School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chatters
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D063508:Social Discrimination / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States
keywords: anxiety disorders; depression; mood disorders; racial discrimination