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Fri Aug 19 09:18:58 PDT 2011

 *
Responding to racism: Insights on how racism can damage health from an urban
study of Australian Aboriginal people*

Purchase
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ShoppingCartURL&_method=add&_udi=B6VBF-53CP6MH-7&_acct=C000228598&_version=1&_userid=10&_ts=1313770606&md5=4994ca86fd25d9590a52f465a7d50086>

*Anna M. Zierscha<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#aff1>,
[image: Corresponding Author Contact
Information]<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#cor1>,
[image: E-mail The Corresponding Author]
<anna.ziersch at flinders.edu.au>, Gilbert
Gallahera<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#aff1>,
Fran Bauma<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#aff1>,
b <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#aff2>and
Michael
Bentleya<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#aff1>,
b <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266#aff2>*

a Southgate Institute for Health Society and Equity, Public Health, GPO Box
2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

b South Australian Community Health Research Unit, Adelaide, Australia

Available online 23 July 2011.

Abstract

This paper examines responses to racism and the pathways through which
racism can affect health and wellbeing for Aboriginal people living in an
urban environment. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in 2006/07 with
153 Aboriginal people living in Adelaide, Australia. Participants were asked
about their experience of, and responses to, racism, and the impact of these
experiences on their health. Racism was regularly experienced by 93% of
participants. Almost two thirds of people felt that racism affected their
health. Using a thematic analysis with a particular focus on how agency and
structure interacted, a number of key reactions and responses to racism were
identified. These included: emotional and physiological reactions; and
responses such as gaining support from social networks; confronting the
person/situation; ignoring it; avoiding situations where they might
experience racism; ‘minimising’ the significance or severity of racism or
questioning whether incidents were racist; and consuming alcohol, tobacco
and other drugs. A further theme was a conscious decision to not ‘allow’
racism to affect health. Our study found that most people used more than one
of these coping strategies, and that strategies were selected with an
awareness of positive and negative health impacts. While individuals
demonstrated substantial agency in their responses, there were clear
structural constraints on how they reacted and responded. We found that not
only was racism potentially detrimental to health, but so too were some
responses. However, while some strategies appeared ‘healthier’ than others,
most strategies entailed costs and benefits, and these depended on the
meanings of responses for individuals. This paper concludes that initiatives
to promote health-protective responses to racism need to consider structural
constraints and the overarching goal of reducing systemic racism.
 Highlights

► A qualitative study of responses to racism by Aboriginal people in urban
Australia, about which little is known. ► Experience of racism was reported
by the vast majority of participants and was seen as damaging to health. ►
The range of responses reported demonstrated individual agency, as well as
structural constraints on individuals. ► Some responses were seen as bad for
health, but this depended on the meaning of these responses for individuals
themselves. ► Concludes with the need to tackle the root causes of racism so
that individuals will not have to cope with its impacts.

*Keywords: *Australia; Racism; Discrimination; Coping responses; Aboriginal;
Indigenous; Whiteness
 Article OutlineIntroduction<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec1>
Background<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec2>
Theorising
racism<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec2.1>
Racism
and health<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec2.2>
Responses
to racism<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec2.3>
Racism
and health for Aboriginal people in
Australia<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec2.4>
Methodology<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec3>
Sample<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec3.1>
Interviews<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec3.2>
Analysis<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec3.3>
Findings<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec4>
Reactions<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec5>
Emotional<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec5.1>
Physiological<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec5.2>
Responses<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6>
Turn
to social resources<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.1>
Confronting
the person/situation<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.2>
Ignore
it<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.3>
Avoidance<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.4>
Minimisation
- was it racism?<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.5>
Health-related
behavioural responses<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.6>
Breaking
the link between racism and
health<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec6.7>
Discussion<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec7>
Study
strengths and limitations<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec7.1>
Conclusion<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#sec8>
Acknowledgements<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#ack001>
References<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004266?_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_origin=&md5=22543fb95e34d36391c44b9d9cd72533#bibl001>
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