Dissociative experiences in Black people of African and African Caribbean descent in the UK: an adaptive response to perceived racism or evidence of mental ill-health?

Abstract

Black people of African and Caribbean descent are 3.3 times more likely to be diagnosed and treated for schizophrenia than their White counterparts are. The reasons why remain unclear, however, Black people living with schizophrenia often give racism as the cause of their health and financial difficulties. A series of within-subjects design and web-based survey methods were used to test the validity of these two scales designed to measure perceived racism and examine the relationship between perceived racism, self-depreciation, and the frequency of dissociative experiences in a nonclinical sample of the Black population in the UK. Self-depreciation, the effects of perceived obsession with aspects of the Black body on future social interaction, and race-related schemas were found to significantly contribute to the frequency of dissociative experiences overall. However, race-related schemas need not be derogatory to undermine identity security in those Black people sensitised to perceived racism. Simply mentioning anything race-related might be sufficient to induce dopamine dysregulation in those sensitised to perceived racism and susceptible to schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Study limitations and implications for health and social care policy are considered.