Correlates of discrimination and vigilance severity profiles in a national United States sample

There are long-standing disparities in discrimination and hypervigilance, however there is no research exploring correlates of different severity profiles using a national U.S.

We identified patterns in discrimination and vigilance, and examined sociodemographic, health, and geographic factors associated with severity.

Data was retrieved from 28,202 individuals in the 2023 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative U.S. sample of adults aged 18+. Respondents completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale and Heightened Vigilance Scale, and a latent class analysis (LCA) identified severity subgroups. Weighted multinomial logistic regression analyzed sociodemographic, health, and geographic variables associated with discrimination-vigilance severity.

Three discrimination-vigilance severity latent classes emerged: low (45.6 %), moderate (39.8 %), and high (14.7 %). High severity was significantly associated with Black (Relative Risk Ratio [RRR] = 3.62, 95 % CI = 3.07-4.27) and Asian (RRR = 1.25, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.51) racial groups, female (RRR = 1.14, 95 % CI = 1.03-1.26), higher education such as graduate degree (RRR = 2.48, 95 % CI = 1.92-3.20), U.S. citizenship (RRR = 1.75, 95 % CI = 1.39-2.22), employed (RRR = 1.64, 95 % CI = 1.39-2.22), sexual minoritized groups such as bisexual orientation (RRR = 3.95, 95 % CI = 2.91-5.37), poor health (RRR = 2.14, 95 % CI = 1.54-2.97), disability (RRR = 1.22, 95 % CI = 1.02-1.46), depression (RRR = 3.11, 95 % CI = 2.53-3.84), anxiety (RRR = 4.07, 95 % CI = 3.39-4.87), and West region (RRR = 1.45, 95 % CI = 1.17-1.78).

We identified discrimination-vigilance severity subgroups, with numerous sociodemographic, health, and geographic factors linked to high severity. These results may identify high-risk individuals and guide clinical practice given the influence of discrimination and vigilance on psychological distress and mental health disorders.