64 CHAPTER 2
A study by Jane Costello and colleagues (2003) tested the infl uence of social
selection and social causation on psychopathology in children. These researchers
tracked over 300 Native American children between the ages of 9 and 13 for
8 years; the children were seen annually. At the start of the study, over half of the
children were living in poverty. Halfway through the study, a casino opened on
the reservation, raising the income of all the Native American families and pulling
a quarter of them above the poverty line. Before the casino opened, children whose
families were below the poverty line had more psychiatric symptoms than children
whose families were above it. After the casino opened, the number of psychiatric
symptoms among children who were no longer living in poverty was the same as
among those who had never lived in poverty. Once the socioeconomic disadvan-
tages and accompanying family stress were removed, children functioned better and
their symptoms improved, an outcome that supports the role of social causation in
this setting (Rutter, 2003).Discrimination
Being the object of discrimination is associated with an increased risk of distress and
psychological disorders (Bhui et al., 2005; Chakraborty & McKenzie, 2002; Kessler,
Mickelson, & Williams, 1999; Mays & Cochran, 2001; Simons et al., 2002; United
States Public Health Service, 2001). Women, for example, may experience sexual harass-
ment and assault, limitations on their freedom (such as a prohibition against working
outside the home), or glass ceilings (unstated limits on social or occupational possibili-
ties). Such experiences may lead to increased stress and vulnerability to psychological
disorders. For instance, sexual harassment of women in the workplace is associated
with subsequent increased alcohol use by those women (Freels et al., 2005; Rospenda,
2002). Similarly, members of ethnic, racial, or sexual minority groups may experience
harassment at—or discrimination in—school,
housing, or jobs, which can create a sense of pow-
erlessness and lead to chronically higher levels of
stress (Bhugra & Ayonrinde, 2001; Burke, 1984;
Mills et al., 2004; Williams & Williams-Morris,
2000), which in turn increases the risk for devel-
oping psychological disorders.
Despite the increased risk for disorders
that is associated with discrimination, Ameri-
can Blacks and Hispanics are no more likely
to experience psychological disorders than
are Whites (Kessler et al., 1994; Breslau et
al., 2005, 2006). How can we understand this
paradoxical fi nding? People from nonmajority
ethnic groups may also experience more pro-
tective factors—factors that buffer the effects
of discrimination (Breslau et al., 2006; Lee &
Newberg, 2005). Protective factors include
social support, a sense of ethnic identity,
spirituality, and religious participation. When
non-Whites do have a disorder, however, their
symptoms are more persistent than are those of Whites with the same disorder
(Bresalu et al., 2005). Moreover, non-Whites are less likely to receive treatment for
their psychological disorders (United States Public Health Service, 2001).Bullying
Whereas discrimination involves untoward behavior toward someone because of his
or her status as a member of a particular group (based on ethnicity, race, religion,
sexual orientation, or another characteristic), bullying involves untoward behav-
ior that may be unrelated to the victim’s membership in an ethnic, racial, or otherThe stigma and discrimination encountered by
some gays and lesbians can make them—and
others experiencing discrimination—more vulner-
able to psychological disorders (Herek & Garnets,
2007; Mays & Cochran, 2001).Max Whittaker/Getty Images