Thread: Perceived racism leads to depression among Hispanics

http://www.newutah.com/content/view/167395/

Sunday, February 26, 2006
BYU study: Perceived racism leads to depression among Hispanics

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Daily Herald
PROVO -- Perceived racism may lead to depression and sleep problems in Utah's Hispanic community, according to a new study by a Brigham Young University researcher.

Previous studies have linked depression and sleep disorders, said BYU clinical psychologist Patrick Steffen, but his new study looks at racism, sleep disorders and depression together.

"We found that perceived racism impacts the quality of their sleep and that disturbed sleep is related to depression," Steffen told the Deseret Morning News in a copyright story.

The perceived racism causes depression because those affected have difficulty determining where they fit in with other people, said Monroe White, a clinical psychologist at the Mountainlands Community Health Clinic in Provo.

Steffen, an assistant professor of clinical psychology, is halfway through a $260,000, 4-year study funded by the American Heart Association. The association is interested in learning more about heart disease factors in Mexican immigrants.

Mexican immigrants, who generally experience low blood pressure and low rates of heart disease in their native country, are experiencing high blood pressure and increased rates of heart disease after immigration, Steffen said.

Although these increases can be attributed to a change in diet and physical activity once they immigrate, a 2003 study by Steffen showed perceived racism is also related to sustained increased blood pressure.

Steffen and BYU graduate student Matthew Bowden gave mental health evaluations to 168 Hispanic immigrants who had been in the United States for an average of five years.

Steffen said immigrants who have most recently arrived in the United States don't experience depression related to racism as often as immigrants who have lived here longer.

It isn't until after they start learning and understanding English that they perceive racism, he said.

Oh Cry me a RIVER! And don't they think we get depressed knowing that we are supporting so many of them at the expense of our own people?

15 million illegal aliens flooding into my country makes me depressed and sleepless.

W

The high blood pressure is because they sit on their butts all day eating - getting fat- watching latino tv and driving everywhere-=
oh excuse me- latinos have the highest rate of obesity of anyone in the united states!

Perceived INVASION leads to depression among AMERICANS!

ain't dat the Truth!
and this study is biased by Brigham Young University. It is a Mormon school in a Mormon state and the Mormons wish to convert the huge illegal population . they have made their state a scantuary state.
you might say they are in competition with the Jehovah Witnesses to convert the Illegal alien population.
even doing a study about the effects of " racism" is biased. maybe americans are just a little pissed that an entire country moved here and took thier jobs.

Listening to the nightly sounds of gunshots, police sirens and Mariachi makes me depressed. Dealing with the costs, aggravation, hassle and outrage of having my truck stolen by an illegal Mexican, seeing the police do nothing more than take a report and let the criminal go free to do it all over again with impunity caused me to be depressed.

Having to see my once clean, quiet, safe hometown over-run by masses of law breaking criminal felon illegals makes me depressed. Having to look at grafitti covering every exposed surface, telling us 'Gringos' we are going to die makes me depressed.

Having to worry every time I drive the streets of my hometown, in fear of being broadsided by an illegal running a red light, or getting smashed head-on by an alien smuggling load van driving 100 MPH going the wrong direction in the fast lane of the freeway with their lights off at night makes me depressed. Driving down the road and seeing more cars with Mexico license plates than all other out of state cars combined, knowing they pay no car registration, have no insurance, drivers license, or obey smog or any other driving regulations, knowing I am required to have all those things and they are not makes me depressed.

Going to the grocery store and seeing a Mexican woman with 14 kids, none of whom speak a single word of English, whipping out a welfare card to pay for the hundreds of dollars of groceries, baby formula and diapers that we taxpayers are saddled with makes me depressed. Going to any hospital emergency room or doctor's office and knowing my tax dollars are going to pay for the baby deliveries of thousands of illegal's anchor babies a month makes me depressed.

Living in fear of gang violence, drive by shootings, drug dealers turf wars and illegal alien's teenage kids stealing, smashing, burning and vandalizing everything in sight makes me depressed.

And most of all, knowing our illustrious dipwad President doesn't give a you know what about it and has vowed to make sure we have millions more come here every year makes me depressed. Let them put that in their damned study.

Reptile09, ditto! A thousand time ditto! And knowing that they are taking the rest of the country one bite at a time makes it even more depressing. I think that every single Congressman, every single Senator and every single person who even THINKS about running for the Presidency should have to come live in a border town for a few years. Only then could they see how much fun it isn't to be an American in a town overrun by illegal aliens.