A new study from scholars at New York University has found young adults from underrepresented backgrounds who have encountered racial discrimination experience psychosis at proportionately higher rates than their White peers.
For their study, the authors sought out to determine if the European-developed “Social Defeat Hypothesis,” a theoretical framework for treating young adults with psychosis, is relevant in the United States. The theory suggests exclusion and discrimination experienced by socially marginalized populations predict psychotic experiences.
In analyzing data on over 1,500 U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 who participated in the National Survey of Poly-Victimization and Mental Health, the authors found that Black, Latinx, multiracial, and Indigenous participants were 60 percent more likely than White participants to have experienced at least one psychotic episode in the prior year.
Furthermore, participants who had encountered police violence were associated with 52 percent higher odds of experiencing a psychotic episode. Other indicators linked to an increased likelihood of psychosis include high-frequency substance use, everyday discrimination, and exposure to childhood abuse or bullying.
Historically, the European framework has focused on individual experiences, such as substance use and bullying. However, based on their findings, the authors believe psychiatrists who use the Social Defeat Hypothesis in the United States need to incorporate systemic influences affecting the broader American population, such as societal racism, economic inequality, and police violence.
