Racial Trauma Research
Clinical Assessment of Racial Trauma
Many clinicians only recognize racism as trauma when an individual experiences a discrete racist event, such as a violent hate crime. This is limiting given that many people of colo experience cumulative experiences of racism as traumatic, with perhaps a minor event acting as “the last straw” in triggering trauma reactions. Additionally, minority patients may not link current PTSD symptoms to cumulative experiences of discrimination if queried about a single event. Thus, the conceptualization of trauma as a discrete event may be inadequate for diverse populations. For these reasons, it is crucial for clinicians and researchers to develop a more comprehensive understanding of trauma in ethnic and racial minorities. Our work in this area is focused on improved assessment of racial stress and trauma and culturally-informed treatment approaches.
Related Papers
Williams, M. T., Printz, D., Ching, T., & Wetterneck, C. T. (2018). Assessing PTSD in ethnic and racial minorities: Trauma and racial trauma. Directions in Psychiatry, 38(3), 179-196.
Williams, M. T., Printz, D., & DeLapp, R. C. T. (2018). Assessing racial trauma in African Americans with the Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale. Psychology of Violence. doi: 10.1037/vio0000212
Malcoun, E., Williams, M. T., & Bahojb-Nouri, L. V. (2015). Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in African Americans. In L. T. Benuto & B. D. Leany (Eds.), Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans, New York: Springer. ISBN: 978-1-4939-1003-8.
Measuring the Impact of Racism
Racial Trauma Scale (RTS)
Our lab aims to raise awareness about racial trauma and to quantify the distress experienced by those affected through the use of our newly developed Racial Trauma Scale (RTS), a proposed clinical tool for the measurement of trauma-related symptoms arising from racial maltreatment of people of color (POC). Racism-related PTSD diagnoses have been collected using the UnRESTS, a semi-structured interview offering deeper insight into racial trauma, and data entry is complete. Recruitment for the RTS study was conducted in the United States, online through Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk) and CloudResearch (formally TurkPrime). Eligibility criteria included: over 18 years of age; identified as African American/Black, European American/White, Asian American, or Latino American/Hispanic; spent most of childhood in the US; and able to read and speak English. Over 1000 diverse participants completed the online survey, and 107 of these participated in the UnRESTS post-interview. The RTS is intended to be a valid means of quantifying racial trauma symptoms in POC for clinical or research settings. The ultimate goal of this scale is to identify racial trauma and improve the mental health of underrepresented cultural groups. Our lab is currently collecting data in the Canadian population, both in English and in French, to extend its validity.
