420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
NISA KHAN
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
nisakhan@michigandaily.com
JUEUI HONG
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
jueuih@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL STAFF
Dayton Hare
Managing Editor
haredayt@michigandaily.com
Jennifer Meer Managing News Editor
news@michigandaily.com
SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Andrew
Hiyama, Kaela Theut
Sarah Khan Editorial Page Editor
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Jacob Shames Managing Sports Editor
sportseditors@michigandaily.com
Will Stewart Managing Arts Editor
arts@michigandaily.com
SENIOR ARTS EDITOR: Dom Polsinelli
Alexis Rankin
and Max Kuang Managing Photo Editors
photo@michigandaily.com
Michelle Phillips Managing Design Editor
design@michigandaily.com
Emily Miiller Managing Copy Editor
copydesk@michigandaily.com
SENIOR COPY EDITOR: Ashley Woonton
Christian Paneda Managing MiC Editor
michiganincolor@michigandaily.com
Abe Lofy Managing Video Editor
video@michigandaily.com
Ishan Vashinta Managing Web Editor
ivashi@michigandaily.com
Ellie Homant Managing Social Media Editor
CONTACT INFORMATION
Newsroom Office hours:
Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.
734-763-2459 opt.3
News Tips news@michigandaily.com
Corrections
corrections@michigandaily.com
Letters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com
or visit michigandaily.com/letters
Photo Department photo@michigandaily.com
Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com
Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com
Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com
Magazine statement@michigandaily.com
Advertising Phone: 734-418-4115
Department dailydisplay@gmail.com
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is
published every Thursday during the
spring and summer terms by students
at the University of Michigan. One copy
is available free of charge to all readers.
Additional copies may be picked up at the
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall
term, starting in September, via U.S. mail
are $110. Winter term (January through
April) is $115, yearlong (September
through April) is $195. University affiliates
are subject to a reduced subscription rate.
On-campus subscriptions for fall term
are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
The Michigan Daily is a member of The
Associated Press and The Associated
Collegiate Press.
2
Thursday, July 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS
University researchers link mental
illness to discrimination in Black men
Police brutality,
mass incarceration
among sources of
discrimination
By ALEXA ST. JOHN
Managing News Editor
Racial discrimination during
one’s youth can predict long-
term
negative
mental
health
consequences
in
Black
men,
one
University
of
Michigan
researcher found. However, these
consequences later in life differ
between males and females.
Shervin
Assari,
a
research
investigator with the School of
Public Health, studied data from
679 Black youth from 1994 to
2012, all of whom lived in Flint,
referred to as an “economically
disadvantaged
urban
area.”
Assari found that perceived racial
discrimination throughout that
time later influenced psychological
symptoms such as anxiety and
depression, but mostly for men.
“Racial
discrimination
may
contribute
to
mental
health
problems through several
potential
mechanisms
including:
1)
heightened
negative
psychological
stress response, 2) increased
physiological stress response,
3) hypervigilance, and 4)
increased participation in
unhealthy behaviors,” Assari
wrote in his new paper.
This
information
has
been
confirmed
through
the National Institutes of
Health; according to another
study, “In the United States
(U.S.), as in other racialized
countries
in
the
world,
racially
stigmatized
and
disenfranchised populations
have
worse
health
than
their
more
advantaged
counterparts.”
According to Assari, based on
higher rates of discrimination
against Black males — including
police
brutality
and
mass
incarceration
—
he
expected
worse effects on mental health
later in life for males than in
females. The paper also outlined
a number of negative stereotypes
associated with Black men, such
as being considered endangered,
aggressive,
angry
and
self-
destructive.
Assari
also
attributed
his
expectations to differing coping
mechanisms
between
genders;
Assari noted in his paper females
tend to use an avoidant coping
mechanism while males are more
confrontational. In a previous
study, Assari noted differences in
vulnerability and susceptibility to
stressors between the genders as
well.
“Those who get exposed to more
discrimination over time become
more depressed and more anxious
one decade later when they are
young … but particularly if they are
male,” Assari said.
Females
have
more
social
support, express emotions and
hold conversations about their
problems,
Assari
said,
while
masculinity tends to be a barrier
for males wanting to reach out and
seek help.
“Women tend to have access to
social support and use it better,”
Assari said. “Discrimination is
worse in the presence of high
masculinity.”
Additionally,
males
and
females are sensitive to different
types of discrimination; males
are more sensitive to fear-based
discrimination, while females are
more sensitive to being ignored or
disregarded in a discriminating
manner.
Nonetheless, Black men make up
the group least likely to seek mental
health care, Assari said, stemming
from a consistent social lack of
knowledge about this community
and a stigma surrounding the
current health care system.
Daniel
Lee,
a
postdoctoral
student working at the Prevention
Research Center in the Public
Health School specifically working
on the Flint Adolescent Study data
used in Assari’s research, wrote in
an email interview that because
of this data, mental health and
services to treat mental illness
need to become priorities in
communities.
“This may involve dismantling
negative attitudes and stigma
around mental illness and mental
health care,” Lee wrote. “Anti-
stigma programs such as the
National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill may play a vital role in this
process. A study actually found
that people of color (especially
males) are apprehensive about
seeking mental health care due to
stigma, but that they still want to
seek out help in some form.”
Lee
also
stressed
concern
for institutional barriers such
as affordability and insurance
coverage, as well as the need for
mental health care to be culturally
tailored.
“Ethnic
and
racial
groups
possess unique cultural practices,
traditions,
and
beliefs,”
Lee
wrote. “It is, therefore, crucial
that mental health professionals
integrate key cultural elements
into their clinical assessment, case
conceptualization, and treatment
plan.”
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
DESIGN BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS