The Association Between Discrimination and the Health of Sikh Asian Indians

• Published in: Health psychology Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 351 - 355
• Main Authors: Nadimpalli, Sarah B., Cleland, Charles M., Hutchinson, M. Katherine, Islam, Nadia, Barnes, Lisa L., Van Devanter, Nancy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-04-2016
• Subjects: Acculturation; Asian Americans; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Discrimination; Ethnic groups; Female; Health Disparities; Health status; Health Status Disparities; High risk; Human; Humans; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Minority groups; New York; Physical Health; Queens; Race and Ethnic Discrimination; Racism; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Risk reduction; Self Report; Social support; South Asian Cultural Groups; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Waist; health outcomes; discrimination; health disparities; Sikh Asian Indian
• ISBN: 9781433823169; 1433823160
• ISSN: 0278-6133; 1930-7810
• DOI: 10.1037/hea0000268

Objective: We investigated the relationships between self-reported discrimination (SRD) and mental and physical health (self-reported physical health conditions and direct, physiologic measures [BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure]) among Sikh Asian Indians (AI), a group that may be particularly discriminated against because of physical manifestations of their faith, including a tendency to wear turbans or ethnic clothing. Methods: Sikh AIs (N = 196) were recruited from Sikh gurdwaras in Queens, New York. Data were collected on SRD, social support, and self-reported health, along with multiple direct physiological measures for cardiovascular health. Results: Participants who wore turbans/scarves reported higher levels of discrimination than those who did not wear turbans/scarves. As hypothesized, multiple regression analysis supported that discrimination is significantly associated with poorer self-reported mental (B = −.53, p < .001) and physical health (B = −.16, p = .04) while controlling for socioeconomic, acculturation, and social support factors. The study did not support an association between SRD and physiologic measures (elevated BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure). Conclusion: Consistent with previous discrimination and health reports, this study demonstrated an inverse relationship between discrimination and health among Sikh AIs, an understudied yet high-risk minority population. Community-based efforts are also needed to reduce the occurrence or buffer the effects of discrimination experienced by Sikh AIs.