THE IMPACT OF ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION AND INSTITUTIONAL BETRAYAL ON CANADIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH

ABSTRACT

The aims of this study were to understand associations among mental health symptoms, ethnic discrimination, and institutional betrayal, and explore the potential role of protective factors (e.g. ethnic identity and racial regard) in attenuating the detrimental effects of discrimination and betrayal. A total of 89 racialized Canadian university students were recruited for this study. Self-report measures investigated demographics, mental health symptoms, experiences of discrimination and institutional betrayal, racial regard, and ethnic identity. Experiencing ethnic discrimination was associated with increased symptoms of depression and PTSD, even when controlling for the buffering effects of protective factors. Marginally significant results suggested that institutional betrayal might play a role in this relationship. Experiencing ethnic discrimination is linked to significant posttraumatic consequences. Unhelpful institutional responses may further aggravate symptoms. Universities have a duty to protect victims, and prevent ethnic discrimination.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnic discrimination
• institutional betrayal
• mental health
• university students
• racialized people

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.