Skin color as a predictor of mental health in young Latinx children

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) 2019-10, Vol.238, p.112467-112467, Article 112467
• Main Authors: Calzada, Esther J., Kim, Yeonwoo, O'Gara, Jaimie L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Black people; Child & adolescent mental health; Child, Preschool; Children; Correlation of Data; Demographic change; Discrimination; Externalizing problems; Female; Health problems; Hispanic or Latino - psychology; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Internalization; Internalizing disorders; Internalizing problems; Intersectionality; Latin American cultural groups; Latinx children; Male; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental health; Mental health services; Parent-child relations; Peers; Racism; Racism - psychology; Racism - statistics & numerical data; Skin color; Skin Pigmentation; Teachers; United States; United States - epidemiology; Well being
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112467

Racial phenotype shapes the ways in which others perceive and interact with children, with implications for their immediate and long-term well-being. Still, few empirical studies have examined these links in Latinx children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between skin color, as a salient marker of racial phenotype, and the mental health of young, Latinx children. The present study was conducted in the United States between 2010 and 2013. Participants (N = 684) were Mexican- and Dominican origin 4 - 5-year olds who were rated based on their skin tone as “moderately dark” (54%), “honorary white” (35%), and “collective black” (11%). Regression models were used to estimate the association between skin color (measured at age 4–5) and internalizing and externalizing behaviors (measured at the end of first grade). By the end of first grade, “collective black” children had higher ratings on several indicators of internalizing and externalizing problems compared to their “honorary white” peers; this pattern was particularly pronounced for girls. Moreover, the association between externalizing behaviors at baseline and first grade was stronger among children with dark, relative to light, skin color. These findings suggest that darker-skinned Latinx children may be at increased risk for more severe and/or more persistent mental health problems, perhaps due to discrimination based on their skin color. In order to develop intervention strategies to prevent mental health problems in the Latinx child population, future research is needed to examine how racism may manifest, particularly in teacher-student and parent-child interactions, in the everyday experiences of young children. •Aim was to understand race and mental health in Latinx children.•Latinx children, especially girls, with darker skin had more mental health problems.•Mental health problems increased more over time for children with darker skin color.