Media release

From:

Caregiver experiences of racism (indirect racism) may impact on children’s perception of the world  as being fair and just, thus negatively impacting on their sense of mental wellbeing. This study  aimed to measure how common indirect racism in New Zealand is and investigate the association  between this indirect racism and diagnosed child mental health conditions. Data from 2,989 child– caregiver pairs showed that almost 20% of caregivers had experienced “any” racism ever. Children  in Māori, Pacific, and Asian ethnicity groupings experience significantly higher exposure to indirect  racism than those in the European/Other grouping. Multiple experiences of indirect racism are  associated with increased chance of diagnosed child mental health conditions. These results,  alongside existing research about racism as a determining factor for health, should be received with  concern about the damaging effects of racism, colonisation, and white supremacy on health, and  provide strong motivation for health system and whole-of-society action.