Self-Reported discrimination and health

A significant factor in women’s adverse health in Detroit is race. This disparity is illustrated in the study, “Discrimination, Symptoms of Depression, and Self-Rated Health Among African American Women in Detroit: Results From a Longitudinal Analysis,” which deals with the relationship between self-reported discrimination and poor physical and mental health.

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In a study of African-American women in Detroit, researchers found a relationship between self-reported discrimination and poor physical and mental health, aside from the affects of racism on material well-being. In addition to forms of racism like race-based segregation, everyday discrimination may also contribute to racial inequalities in health on top of institutional racism and oppression. Previous studies concerning health and discrimination have been limited, but this article examines a large sample of African American women in Detroit from 1996 to 2001 and their perceptions of discrimination and overall health. Women self-reported the frequency of perceived discrimination in their everyday lives as well as symptoms of depression and general health; questions included "How often have you been treated with less courtesy than others?" and "How often have other people acted as if they were better than you?" with response categories ranging from 1=never to 5=very often. General health was determined by questions such as "In general, would you say that your health is: excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?" The study found that a change over time in discrimination corresponded to increased symptoms of depression and worse self-reported general health. Researchers reported a longitudinal relationship between discrimination and mental as well as physical health outcomes. It found that everyday discrimination, regardless of socioeconomic status and education level, has an impact on health outcomes.

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Robert Frank, 1955

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From this study, we can see that in addition to forms of racism like race-based segregation, everyday discrimination also contributes to racial inequalities in health on top of institutional racism and oppression. When women self-reported the frequency of perceived discrimination in their everyday lives as well as symptoms of depression and general health, it was found that discrimination does contribute to poorer physical and mental health over time. So, not only do African-American women in Detroit have limited access to their specific health care needs, but they are also placed in adverse health situations based on their race even before they may seek care.

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Residential Disparities

Disparities between women in the city and in the suburbs also illustrate the effects that housing segregation had on public health. The effects of discrimination, unfair treatment and stressors all affect health differences between African American women and white women living in Detroit and its suburbs. African American women report that they face more daily, unfair treatment than white women. Also, SES and daily discriminatory practices contribute to racial differences in the women’s health. For example, women living in racially segregated (specifically East side of Detroit) report lower mean household incomes and education than white women. Also, African American women in Detroit reporting much higher rates of unfair treatment than white women and more frequent acute life events (likelihood of being a victim of an attack) regardless if you live in the city or suburbs. Looking at all these factors, one can conclude that more frequent encounters with these stressful life events and residential living conditions can lead to poorer health outcomes for women in Detroit.

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Further elaborating on the effect of residential based segregation in Detroit for African American women, it’s important to focus on women’s perceptions of health and their own environment. As shown in Schulz (2016), neighborhood effects on women’s health were studied immensely to produce data about this topic. She defined that health included not only physical but also mental health. These neighborhood conditions have a reciprocal effect with women’s personal health and social relationships. In other words, social interactions are necessary for health and health is needed to maintain these social relationships. This affected Detroit women because they described their agoraphobic tendencies to keep their children indoors in order to protect them. They reported feeling fearful for what was going on in their neighborhoods; therefore, this harms the child’s social connections. Also, since it’s proven that increased involvement in their relationships and local institutions leads to better mental health, women reported that they wanted to strengthen their ties to their family, church and overall community.

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