Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child recently released a report on the harmful effects of racism on child development, and possible policy solutions which address the source of structural, cultural, and interpersonal forms of hate.
Entitled, “Moving Upstream: Confronting Racism to Open Up Children’s Potential,” the report reveals unique and significant stressors for families raising young children of color and looks at the link between racist interactions and future success.
About the Report
This report shares a portion of current knowledge on the effects of racism on child development and is based on studies from the social and biological sciences. It is not an complete review of all related research. Report authors took and adapted content from “Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Impacts of Racism on the Foundations of Health,” by Jack P. Shonkoff, Natalie Slopen, and David R. Williams.
Additional research findings, particularly in the biological sciences, are currently the subject of an ongoing inquiry by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and will be reported in future Center publications.
Key Findings
How Racism Affects the Body
Please note: There is no evidence that the groups we commonly call “races” have unique, unifying genetic identities. Distinctions by race are empty social creations that change over time with societal influences. Therefore, well-documented “racial disparities”
in health outcomes undoubtedly have multiple causes that are not genetically determined.
Stress & Allostatic Load
- The body responds to adverse experiences and exposures by activating the stress response, popularly known as “fight or flight.” When activated at high levels for long periods, it can become what is known as toxic stress or allostatic load, which can have a significant effect on children’s brains and other biological systems. The need to cope continuously with the burdens of structural racism and everyday discrimination can be a potent activator of that kind of regular stress response, which builds up over time.
- When the stress response is triggered, the immune system responds by sending immune cells to fight off potential infections. This
process is called inflammation. Persistently elevated inflammation puts highly activated substances in constant contact with multiple organs, which can disrupt their function over time. For some individuals, this can produce lasting changes in biological systems that increase the risk of later impairments, such as:
- obesity,
- diabetes,
- heart disease,
- depression, and
- preterm births.
- Both Black men and women have higher mean allostatic load scores than do White men and women at all ages, equivalent to as much as 10 years of aging.
Environmental Threats
- Additionally, toxic environmental exposures—including air pollution, heavy metals (e.g., cadmium, arsenic, lead), contaminated water, and pesticides—are more prevalent —in neighborhoods populated mostly by people of color with low incomes. As a result, these exposures are experienced at disproportionately higher levels by Black populations. They are associated with increased risk of:
- poor pregnancy outcomes,
- poor nutrition,
- higher rates of obesity and diabetes, and
- decreased physical activity.
How Racism Creates Conditions That Harm the Well-Being of Children and Families
Race-based discrimination is deeply embedded within social, political, and economic systems and institutions, such as housing, labor markets, the justice system, immigration policies, education, health care, and the media, among others. This complex web of economic policies, zoning regulations, social misconceptions, and historical legacies results in regular barriers and unequal opportunities that affect the healthy development of children in multiple ways.
Segregated Neighborhoods
- Residential segregation by race—whether through historical housing policies or economic inequalities—continues throughout the United States, with significant differences in:
- neighborhood quality,
- living conditions,
- exposure to environmental toxins, and
- access to opportunities.
- Longstanding institutional neglect and disinvestment in poor, segregated communities contribute to low-quality housing, underfunded schools, and weakened community and neighborhood infrastructures that harm interpersonal relationships and trust among neighbors.
- In the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, almost two-thirds of all White and Asian-American children live in high or very high opportunity neighborhoods, compared to 19% of Black, 23% of Hispanic, and 29% of Native American children.
- Segregation makes it harder for families to improve their circumstances (and life prospects for their children) by decreasing access to:
- quality early childhood services,
- elementary and high school education,
- after-school services,
- preparation for higher education, and
- employment opportunities.
- Segregation adversely affects both access to medical care and the quality of care received. Medical facilities in largely segregated, lower socioeconomic neighborhoods are more likely to have:
- less financial stability,
- less access to diagnostic imaging equipment, and
- higher barriers to finding and keeping specialty doctors.
Interpersonal Discrimination
- Experiencing racial bias or animosity is often connected to:
- lower self-esteem,
- diminished psychological well-being,
- increased problems related to pregnancy outcomes, and
- higher levels of alcohol consumption, depressive symptoms, and obesity.
- Increased reports of discrimination have been connected with higher rates of preterm delivery and babies with very low birth weight.
- A study of Black and Latina urban, teen mothers found that everyday discrimination reported during pregnancy predicted greater separation problems and negative emotions in their children at 6 months and one year of age.
- Discrimination experienced by mothers is connected with increased indicators of inflammation in their children aged 4-9 years.
Financial Stress and Loss
- Among the most common items on typical lists of stressful life events are financial difficulties and the loss of a loved one. The financial strain of poverty is significantly more common among Black (31%), Hispanic (23%), and American Indian (30%) children relative to non-Hispanic, White children (10% ).
- Relationship losses—and the resulting financial challenges—due to imprisonment are disproportionately felt by families of color compared to White families (see below), as is the death of a loved one due to poorer living and working conditions, earlier onset of disease, and higher rates of early death.
Incarceration
- Significant disparities in surveillance, prosecution, and sentencing have driven a tenfold increase in the risk of incarceration for Black men compared to White men. Considerable evidence shows that adult incarceration affects the health and well-being of children and their families, including:
- economic instability and adverse influences on prenatal health,
- infant and child death,
- obesity,
- poor self-reported health in childhood and young adulthood,
- unhealthy behaviors and mental health problems, and
- poorer school outcomes
- Mass incarceration of adults has increased racial disparities in children’s behavioral and mental health problems by 15-25% for externalizing problems and 24-46% for internalizing problems.
- Exposure to high levels of police incidents, which are much higher in neighborhoods with mostly Black families, is also connected with higher rates of preterm births.
Cultural Racism & Immigration Policy
- Negative stereotypes and images of racial groups normalize and support the idea of racial inferiority, and can spark and sustain both institutional and individual discrimination.
- Cultural racism contributes to bias in how students of color are treated in school, beginning in the early childhood years.
- Black preschoolers are 3.6 times more likely than their White peers to receive one or more suspensions. Accordingly, although Black children make up 19% of the preschool population, they make up almost half (47%) of the preschoolers suspended one or more times.
- Anti-immigrant initiatives trigger hostility that can lead to a feeling of vulnerability, threat, and psychological distress among individuals who get targeted directly, as well as those who get affected indirectly, including children.
- A study of Latinos in 38 U.S. states found higher rates of mental health illnesses in areas with more exclusionary policies.
Policy Recommendations
- Strengthen policies that provide economic support.
- Invest in place-based interventions.
- Take steps to reduce cultural racism.
Learn More
To learn more, read the full report or visit the Center on the Developing Child website.
Source
Information for this post was taken directly from the Center on the Developing Child’s “Moving Upstream: Confronting Racism to Open Up Children’s Potential.” Some text may have been added, paraphrased, or adapted for readability and comprehension.
Resources and Related Content
