User:Nohely VS/sandbox

Much research has been done on the effects of racism on adults, but racism and discrimination also affects children and teens. Previous studies have shown that from infancy to adolescence a growth in understanding occurs that begins with being aware of race to later understanding how race and prejudice affects one’s own life, the life of others’, and society as a whole. The literature review by Benner et al. (2008), “examines whether adolescents’ perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination are linked to their socioemotional distress, academic success, and risky health behaviors” (p. 3). The review focuses in on adolescence from ages 10-20 years old. In addition, the review is composed of 214 studies found via various online databases with key words related to the topic, such as discrimination, racism, and prejudice. These 214 studies were narrowed down from 15,359 through various measures, including removing studies that do not focus on the correct ages or do not utilize quantitative data. Researchers also chose larger sample sized and peer reviewed studies, over smaller sampled and non-peer reviewed studies.

Through meta-analysis, correlations were found between racial discrimination and poor adjustment across all three categories: socioemotional, academics, and behavior. Researchers examined the correlations between discrimination and additional variables, including race, age, and country of residence. When looking at the impact of race/ethnicity, results show that Asian and Latino youth are more impacted socioemotionally, and Latino youth are more impacted academically. As for age, younger teens (10 to 13 years) experience more socioemotional distress than those in middle or late teens. Furthermore, when looking at county of residence, the United States has a much stronger association with socioemotional distress, while other countries demonstrate a negative association with affects on academics. One of the limitations of the review is in its study of correlation rather than causation.