Tony N. Brown

Critical race theory speaks to the sociology of mental health: mental health problems produced by racial stratification.

The sociology of mental health focuses on the epidemiology, etiology, correlates, and consequences of mental health (i.e., psychiatric disorder and symptoms, psychological distress, and subjective well-being) in an attempt to describe and explain how social structure influences an individuals psychological health. Critical race theory describes and explains iterative ways in which race is socially constructed across micro- and macro-levels, and how it determines life chances implicating the mundane and extraordinary in the continuance of racial stratification (i.e., racism). This paper invoked critical race theory to inform the sociology of mental healths approach to studying race and mental health by conceptualizing five hypothetical mental health problems that could exist because of racial stratification. These problems were: (1) nihilistic tendencies, (2) anti-self issues, (3) suppressed anger expression, (4) delusional denial tendencies, and (5) extreme racial paranoia. Mental health problems such as these and undocumented others can only be recognized given awareness of the social and personal implications of racial stratification.

Social Environmental Stressors, Psychological Factors, and Kidney Disease

Kidney disease is one of the most striking examples of health disparities in American public health. Disparities in the prevalence and progression of kidney disease are generally thought to be a function of group differences in the prevalence of kidney disease risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. However, the presence of these comorbidities does not completely explain the elevated rate of progression from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal disease among high-risk populations such as African Americans. We believe that the social environment is an important element in the pathway from CKD risk factors to CKD and end-stage renal disease. This review of the literature draws heavily from social science and social epidemiology to present a conceptual frame specifying how social, economic, and psychosocial factors interact to affect the risks for and the progression of kidney disease.

THERE'S NO RACE ON THE PLAYING FIELD Perceptions of Racial Discrimination Among White and Black Athletes

Contrary to patterns in the public opinion literature, the authors predicted White and Black athletes would agree at similar levels that racial and ethnic discrimination is no longer a problem. Using survey data collected from 533 intercollegiate student athletes as part of the 1996 Progress in College/Social and Group Experiences study, they found White and Black athletes did not differ significantly in their perceptions of discrimination. The authors investigated interrelationships among perceptions of discrimination and athletic and racial identity centrality, proposing that athletic identity dampens racial identity and perceptions of discrimination. They found Black student athletes strongly identified with athletics reported low levels of racial identity centrality. In contrast, White student athletes strongly identified with athletics reported high levels of racial identity centrality. Finally, among Black student athletes, high levels of athletic identity centrality were positively associated with the perception that racial and ethnic discrimination is no longer a problem.

Experience of Strain among Types of Caregivers Responsible for Children with Serious Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

Parents and relative caregivers of children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) often report high levels of strain associated with the care of that child.This study compares how parents and other relative caregivers, and different family caregiver groups, experience strain. Overall, we found that Medicaid caregivers ( n = 648) reported high levels of objective strain, whereas military caregivers (n = 978) had high scores on the subjective internalized and externalized subscales of the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ). An exploratory common factor analysis showed that overall,the CGSQ performed similarly for the Medicaid and the military caregivers and was generally consistent with previous research showing three factors. However, among Medicaid caregivers, other relatives (n = 109) reported two rather than one type of objective strain, and emotionally based items had lower correlations with the latent factor among other relatives as compared with parents (n = 539).These findings suggest the need to tailor approaches to assisting different groups of caregivers in coping with their strain.

The Comprehensive Race Socialization Inventory

This pilot study introduces the comprehensive race socialization inventory (CRSI), an amalgam and extension of existing inventories that systematically captures the race socialization process within Black families. Using survey data collected in 2000 and 2001 from a convenience sample of Black adolescents (n= 18) and a random sample of Black college students (n= 225), the authors compare data yielded from the CRSI with data yielded from existing inventories of race socialization. The authors find that CRSI components such as (a) onset and recency, (b) the most useful message, (c) multiple sources, (d) anticipatory socialization messages, and (e) socializing behaviors are absent from existing race socialization inventories. Because the CRSI captures these critical components of the race socialization process, the authors argue that it is an improvement over existing inventories. The authors report measures of central tendency and dispersion to demonstrate the utility of the CRSI and also discuss its reliability and validity.

Negotiating Boundaries and Bonds: Frequency of Young Children’s Socialization to Their Ethnic/Racial Heritage

This study addressed intergroup differences in how often U.S. families socialized young children to their ethnic/racial heritage using nationally representative survey data gathered as part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K).The sample (N = 18,827) included young White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, and multiracial children. Among other things, the authors found that families raising young American Indian children were likely to socialize them frequently to their ethnic/racial heritage. Also, most intergroup differences in frequency of ethnic/racial socialization were robust across child gender and parental education.

Marital Status and Mental Health

Social bonds, social integration, and primary group relations are central constructs in sociological theory and have been prime considerations within sociological analyses. This chapter begins with a description of prominent conceptualizations of social support. It discusses current knowledge of this topic, paying particular attention to the challenges of assessing both the mechanisms underlying the association between social support and mental health and the causal direction of this association. The chapter considers how the relationship between social support and well-being is importantly influenced by ones social location. The perception of being loved and wanted, valued and esteemed, and able to count on others must be a function of ones history of supportive and unsupportive experiences, with both early life and recent experiences representing major influences. Social support tends to matter for psychological distress and depression independent of stress level. However, it tends to matter more where stress exposure is relatively high.

Race, racism, and mental health: elaboration of critical race theory's contribution to the sociology of mental health

Critical race theory provides a much‐needed framework for improving the study of race and racisms influence on psychological health and illness. Implicating the mundane and extraordinary, critical race theory explains how racism determines lifestyles and life chances. It also clarifies the individual and institutional nature of racism. Such clarification should be meaningful to sociologists of mental health, especially those interested in how race‐related inequality alters the distribution of psychological health and illness. Towards improving research linking race and racism with mental health, the present essay exposes five weaknesses in the sociology of mental health literature: (1) misspecification of perceived discrimination; (2) neglect of the psychological wages of Whiteness; (3) conflation of race and ethnicity; (4) assumption of mental health measurement invariance; and (5) disregard for narratives about how racism hurts mental health. These weaknesses and the strategies for overcoming them are uncovered by systematically applying select critical race theory tenets.

The relationship between internalization and self-esteem among black adults

Abstract We address whether individual variation in internalization of positive or negative racial stereotypes was associated with low levels of self-esteem in a national probability sample of 2,107 self-identified black adults interviewed face-to-face in 1980 (National Survey of Black Americans). Rejection of positive stereotypes and acceptance of negative stereotypes were statistically linked to declining levels of self-esteem, controlling for background variables such as gender, region, education, age, income, marital status, and skin color. Weak evidence was found to suggest that the relationship between negative stereotype acceptance and self-esteem depended upon how close respondents felt to other blacks. We advocate that closer attention be given to conceptualizing internalization and measuring its psychological impact among stigmatized groups exposed to social discrimination.

Race, Nativity, Ethnicity, and Cultural Influences in the Sociology of Mental Health

This chapter examines how interconnections among race, nativity, ethnicity, and cultural influences are critical for understanding mental health status in the United States. We argue that many sociologists of mental health neglect sociocultural variation—differences in lived experiences that are linked to race, nativity, ethnicity, and cultural influences—when assessing mental health status, when examining considering social statuses as sources of stress, and when selecting predictors to explain variation in mental health status. We challenge sociologists of mental health to investigate sociocultural variation with care and, in doing so, to expose the limits of current knowledge and reveal further the significance of race, ethnicity, nativity, and cultural influences. In terms of future research, we provide prescriptions connected to intersectionality, cultural competencies, control groups, and culture-bound syndromes. As diversity within the United States increases, continued neglect of sociocultural variation’s relation to mental health status becomes irresponsible.