Racial Identity and Mental Well-Being: The Experience of African American Medical Students, A Report from the Medical Student CHANGE Study.
Diversification of the physician workforce continues to be a national priority; however, a paucity of knowledge about the medical school experience for African American medical students limits our ability to achieve this goal. Previous studies document that African American medical students are at greater risk for depression and anxiety. This study moves beyond these findings to explore the role of racial identity (the extent to which a person normatively defines her/himself with regard to race) and its relationship to well-being for African American medical students in their first year of training.



This study used baseline data from the Medical Student Cognitive Habits and Growth Evaluation (CHANGE) Study; a large national longitudinal cohort study of 4732 medical students at 49 medical schools in the US racial identity for African American students (n = 301) was assessed using the centrality sub-scale of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity. Generalized linear regression models with a Poisson regression family distribution were used to estimate the relative risks of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress.



First year African American medical students who had lower levels of racial identity were less likely to experience depressive and anxiety symptoms in their first year of medical school. After controlling for other important social predictors of poor mental health (gender and SES), this finding remained significant.



Results increase knowledge about the role of race as a core part of an individual's self-concept. These findings provide new insight into the relationship between racial identity and psychological distress, particularly with respect to a group of high-achieving young adults.
Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. hardeman.rachel@mayo.edu.
Rachel R
RR
Hardeman
Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, John Dewey Hall, Rm 338, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington, VT, 05405-134, USA.
Sylvia P
SP
Perry
Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Sean M
SM
Phelan
Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota, Mayo Bldg. A302, Mail Code 197, 420 Delaware St. S.E, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Julia M
JM
Przedworski
Department of Medicine, Core Investigator, Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Building 9, Mail code: 152 One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA.
Diana J
DJ
Burgess
Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Michelle
M
van Ryn
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States
Anxiety; Depression; Medical student; Racial identity