Racism and psychosis: an umbrella review and qualitative analysis of the mental health consequences of racism

Abstract

Black people and People of Color are disproportionately affected by racism and show increased rates of psychosis. To examine whether racialized migrant groups are particularly exposed to racism and therefore have higher risks for psychosis, this paper (1) systematically assesses rates of psychosis among racialized migrant groups concerning the country of origin, and (2) analyzes interviews regarding the association of racism experiences with psychosis-related symptoms in racialized Black people and People of Color populations in Germany. We present an umbrella review of meta-analyses that report the incidence of positive symptoms (e.g., hallucinations and delusions) and negative symptoms (e.g., apathy and incoherent speech) of diagnosed schizophrenia, other non-affective psychotic disorders (e.g., schizoaffective disorder) or first-episode psychosis among migrants by country of origin. We also report 20 interviews with first- and second-generation migrants racialized as Black and of Color in Germany to capture and classify their experiences of racism as well as racism-associated mental health challenges. In the umbrella review, psychosis risk was greatest when migration occurred from developing countries. Effect size estimates were even larger among Caribbean and African migrants. In the qualitative study, the application of the constant comparative method yielded four subordinate themes that form a subclinical psychosis symptomatology profile related to experiences of racism: (1) a sense of differentness, (2) negative self-awareness, (3) paranoid ideation regarding general persecution, and (4) self-questioning and self-esteem instability. We here provide converging evidence from a quantitative and qualitative analysis that the risk of poor mental health and psychotic experiences is related to racism associated with minority status and migration.