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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Discrimination and mental health problems among homeless minority young people
Norweeta G Milburn1, Philip Batterham, George Ayala
1Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Center for Community Health, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Objective:
We examined the associations among perceived discrimination, racial/ethnic identification, and emotional distress in newly homeless adolescents.
Methods:
We assessed a sample of newly homeless adolescents (n=254) in Los Angeles, California, with measures of perceived discrimination and racial/ethnic identification. We assessed emotional distress using the Brief Symptom Inventory and used multivariate linear regression modeling to gauge the impact of discrimination and racial identity on emotional distress.
Results:
Controlling for race and immigration status, gender, and age, young people with a greater sense of ethnic identification experienced less emotional distress. Young people with a history of racial/ethnic discrimination experienced more emotional distress.
Conclusion:
Intervention programs that contextualize discrimination and enhance racial/ethnic identification and pride among homeless young people are needed.
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