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Seeing Discrimination: How Different Definitions of Discrimination Relate to Health in U.S. Adults
Lauren Valentino1, Evangeline Warren2
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
|November 24, 2025
Summary
How individuals define discrimination impacts their health. Those who label intentional acts as discrimination report worse health, while those who label discrimination against powerful groups report better health, influencing health disparity research.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Health Disparities Research
- Sociology
Background:
- Perceived discrimination is linked to negative health outcomes.
- Conflicting evidence exists on how personal definitions of discrimination, beyond experiences, affect health disparities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between how individuals define discrimination and their self-rated health.
- To explore whether labeling discrimination in specific contexts (intentionality, powerful groups) correlates with health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A nationally representative survey experiment with 2,000 U.S. adults.
- Participants evaluated nine scenarios of potential discrimination.
- Statistical analyses controlled for sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- An individual's labeling of discrimination scenarios significantly relates to self-rated health.
- Labeling intentional acts as discrimination correlated with worse self-rated health.
- Labeling discrimination affecting powerful groups correlated with better self-rated health, irrespective of personal experience.
Conclusions:
- Personal definitions of discrimination are associated with health disparities.
- Findings suggest current measures of discrimination's health effects may need refinement.
- Understanding definitional aspects of discrimination is crucial for health equity research.
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