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ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research shows young American Indians who are identified as being part of a racial group they dont belong to is not only a source of contention, its also a source of emotional stress.
Researchers from the University of Iowa analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. For the study, young adults were asked to identify the racial group they belonged to and an observer was then asked to assign a racial identity to those young adults.
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Results show more than one-third of American Indians in the study were mislabeled by observers of another racial group. Less than 5 percent of Caucasian, Black and Asian participants were incorrectly identified.
The mistaken identity is cause for concern. Of the American Indians who were misidentified, researchers found 13 percent reported thinking about suicide. That was compared to 6 percent of correctly identified American Indians who contemplated suicide. Three percent of those who were misidentified had actually attempted suicide, while just 1 percent of those identified correctly had done so.
Lisa Troyer, a sociologist at the University of Iowa and co-author of the study, was quoted as saying, Adolescence is a critical time in human development, a time when identity becomes crystallized. Race is important to identity and when your race is not recognized by others, it is stressful.
Mary Campbell, also a sociologist at the University of Iowa and co-author of the study, was quoted as saying, Previous studies of multi-racial Americans have given us anecdotal evidence that constantly having to explain your racial background is stressful for people. Until now, we didnt have the data to support these observations.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young American Indians ages 25 to 34 years old. Although this study focuses on American Indians, both authors say the results are potentially applicable to other racial groups.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: American Sociological Review, 2007;72:750-765
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