Skip to main content

Racism

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health
  • 117 Accesses

Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races (Oxford English Dictionary). This definition applies in four primary contexts, namely, individual, institutional, internalized, and horizontal or cultural racism. Individual racism is the belief and attitude set as well as an individual’s actions that support or perpetuate racism. Institutional racism is a term coined by Stokely Carmichael and is best described as the collective failure of an organization to provide appropriate and professional services to people because of their color, culture, or ethnicity. This concept covers government, universities, and private business, and is perhaps the bleakest kind of discrimination due to the numbers of individuals who are affected by institutional policies and mores. Internalized racism happens when an individual knows that stereotyping or certain...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,100.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Suggested Readings

  • American College of Physicians. (2004). Racial and ethnic disparities in health care: A position paper of the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 141, 226–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhugra, D., Harding, C., & Lippett, R. (2004). Pathways into care and satisfaction with primary care for black patients in South London. Journal of Mental Health, 13(2), 171–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, M. J. (2005). The role of race and genetics in health disparities research. American Journal of Public Health, 95(12), 2125–2128.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fiscella, K., Franks, P., Doescher, M. P., & Saver, B. G. (2002). Disparities in health care by race, ethnicity, and language among the insured: Findings from a national sample. Medical Care, 40(1), 52–59.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gadalla, T. M. (2008). Comparison of users and non-users of mental health services among depressed women: A national study. Women & Health, 47(1), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gee, G. C., Ryan, A., Laflamme, D. J., & Holt, J. (2006). Self-reported discrimination and mental health status among African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos in the New Hampshire REACH 2010 Initiative: The added dimension of immigration. American Journal of Public Health, 96(10), 1821–1828.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gee, G. C., Spencer, M. S., Chen, J., & Takeuchi, D. (2007). A nationwide study of discrimination and chronic health conditions among Asian Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 97(7), 1275–1282.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haas, J. S., Phillips, K. A., Sonneborn, D., McCulloch, C. E., Baker, L. C., & Kaplan, C. P. (2004). Variation in access to health care for different racial/ethnic groups by the racial/ethnic composition of an individual’s county of residence. Medical Care, 42(7), 707–714.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N., Smith, K., Naishadham, D., Hartman, C., & Barbeau, E. M. (2005). Experiences of discrimination: Validity and reliability of a self-report measure for population health research on racism and health. Social Science & Medicine, 61(7), 1576–1596.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quan, H., Fong, A., De Coster, C., Wang, J., Musto, R., & Noseworthy, T. W. (2006). Variation in health services utilization among ethnic populations. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(6), 787–791.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Suggested Resources

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this entry

Cite this entry

Przybysz, A.M. (2012). Racism. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_634

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_634

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5655-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5659-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics