Why should clinical psychological scientists care about racism?

Introduction to a new SSCP series

In a new study that recently made its way around Psych Twitter, Roberts and colleagues (2020) examined trends in 26,000+ cognitive, social, and developmental psychology papers published in top-tier journals between 1974 and 2018. They offer several findings, among them: (1) Articles highlighting race were rare to virtually nonexistent; (2) The vast majority of publications were edited by White editors; (3) Editorial boards that had more White members were significantly less likely to publish papers highlighting race. The authors conclude that systemic inequality is, indeed, alive and well in psychology. Clinical psychological science may have been “spared” from this particular review, but are we immune to issues of systemic inequality? Research suggests not.

In 1993, the NIH mandated that funding proposals include specific strategies to increase the diversity of research participants. And yet a review of 379 NIMH-funded clinical trials published between 1995 and 2004 found that less than half of those studies had samples where subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity and gender were possible (Mak et al., 2007). Similar patterns emerged in a review of RCTs for depression published over a 36-year-period; despite some improvements in the diversity of participants over time, it was still exceedingly rare for treatment effects to be examined across racial/ethnic groups (Polo et al., 2019). Meanwhile, a review of RCTs for panic disorder (1993–2010) found that less than half of published studies reported racial/ethnic data at all. Of those that did, about 83% of participants were White (Mendoza et al., 2012). Reporting practices lag behind in suicide research, too; longitudinal studies on risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors frequently do not include ethnicity of participants, and rarely include LGBTQ status (Cha et al., 2017). These trends continue despite the fact that LGB youth are almost five times as likely to attempt suicide compared to their non-LGB counterparts (CDC, 2016), and 30–50% of transgender youth attempt suicide (Toomey et al., 2018). These shortcomings in reporting and inclusion reflect just the tip of the iceberg.

So, where do we go from here? Welcome to the official SSCP blog, hosted by the SSCP Diversity Committee. We invite you to join us as we explore systematic inequality in clinical psychology.

The SSCP Diversity Committee was established in 2014 to promote a more diverse clinical science through the pursuit of two primary goals: (1) To support and increase the diversity of the SSCP membership; and (2) To further the mission of clinical psychological science as it applies to diversity issues. Six years later, we find ourselves in a moment of national reckoning with the systemic racism that has plagued our institutions for too long. Academia, psychological science, and, more specifically, clinical psychology, are not immune to this reckoning. We are guided by principles of clinical science in the pursuit of a more equitable, just, and anti-racist field.

The purpose of this blog is to elevate diverse voices in the field, while ensuring the widespread, sustained dissemination of diversity-related issues and content in clinical psychological science. Through a combination of narrative, reflection, and evidence-based posts written by a diverse group of graduate students, early career researchers/psychologists, and senior psychological scientists, we aim to provide consistent content pertaining to diversity in our field.

References

Center for Disease Control. (2016). Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9–12: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Cha, C. B., Tezanos, K. M., Peros, O. M., Ng, M. Y., Ribeiro, J. D., Nock, M. K., & Franklin, J. C. (2018). Accounting for diversity in suicide research: Sampling and sample reporting practices in the United States. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 48(2), 131–139.

Mak, W. W., Law, R. W., Alvidrez, J., & Pérez-Stable, E. J. (2007). Gender and ethnic diversity in NIMH-funded clinical trials: Review of a decade of published research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 34(6), 497–503.

Mendoza, D. B., Williams, M. T., Chapman, L. K., & Powers, M. (2012). Minority inclusion in randomized clinical trials of panic disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26(5), 574–582.

Polo, A. J., Makol, B. A., Castro, A. S., Colón-Quintana, N., Wagstaff, A. E., & Guo, S. (2019). Diversity in randomized clinical trials of depression: A 36-year review. Clinical Psychology Review, 67, 22–35.

Roberts, S. O., Bareket-Shavit, C., Dollins, F. A., Goldie, P. D., & Mortenson, E. (2020). Racial inequality in psychological research: Trends of the past and recommendations for the future. Perspectives on Psychological Science.

Toomey, R. B., Syvertsen, A. K., & Shramko, M. (2018). Transgender adolescent suicide behavior. Pediatrics, 142(4), e20174218.