Study Shows Raise in Income and Education Relates to Depression Among Black Men
There has been progress, though fleeting, for the Black man in education and in income — though recent studies report mental health disparities that could correlate to the above contributing factors.
A study conducted by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan showed that education and income reduces the risk of discrimination and depression for whites and Black women — but not for Black men.
Shervin Assari from Charles Drew University, and TJ Curry from the University of Edinburgh curated and conducted a series of studies about depression and the Black man and recently published their findings in TheConversation.com.
In one study, conducted by the National Survey of American Life, Black boys from wealthy families were among those most depressed.
In another study that followed 1,200 Black and white people for 25 years, the Black men who had the highest increase in educational credentials experienced depressive symptoms (at an increase).
In their own study, using data from the Implicit Association Test, which measures how the brain struggles to match Black faces with positives terms of nearly 450,000 individuals. The study showed, white men to hold more bias towards Black men than white women.
Assari and Curry go on to differentiate slavery and racism (one ended — allegedly 150 years ago, while the other, is still very present). “Many of the racist ideas white Americans have of Black people are driven by the negative stereotypes white Americans have of Black men being more violent, sexually promiscuous and dangerous than other race/sex groups.”
That dynamic, they say, invokes, such a fight-or-flight response in white males that could be triggered even when hearing the names of Black men.
To read the entire study, click here.
