Racism Trauma Health Theory
Moving Beyond a Single Factor to Explain How Racism Harms Health
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9002009 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Raja Staggers-Hakim (0009-0000-1771-4227, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 243-264 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Black Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9347 • E-ISSN: 1552-4566 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00219347251397421 |
| OpenAlex | W4417419678 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 54 |
Research on racism as a fundamental cause of adverse health requires further theoretical guidance. The current article proposes a novel approach to address racial ethnic health disparities that incorporates theories of racism. Racism trauma health theory (RTHT) centers racism as a primary factor in health disparities among African Americans. It analyzes racism as a dynamic and multi-stage process and accounts for levels and domains of racism, types of exposure, specific racist treatment, and stress responses. RTHT addresses limitations of current explanations of racism predicting adverse health by exploring impact beyond economics, to include social, physical, legal, and emotional pathways. The multiplicative effect, at the core of RTHT, assesses compounded experiences of racism that intersect across levels and domains affecting health
Ethnic group · Health equity · Institutional racism · Prejudice (legal term · Psychometrics of racism · Race and health · Racism · Cultural Competency in Health Care · Migration, Health and Trauma · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Fundamental Cause Theory
Understanding Everyday Racism
The biopsychosocial model of illness
Identity Processes among Racial and Ethnic Minority Children in America
Stress, coping, and health outcomes among African-Americans
The Wisdom of the Body
Structural racism and health inequities in the USA
Discrimination and racial disparities in health
The Social Determinants of Health
Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America
Structural racism theory, measurement, and methods
Systemic Racism
Racial Formation in the United States
US Socioeconomic and Racial Differences in Health
John Henryism and the health of African-Americans
Racism, Covid-19, and Health Inequity in the USA
Racial Discrimination, Inflammation, and Chronic Illness Among African American Women at Midlife
The enduring effects of racism on health
Multiple Disadvantage and Discrimination
Weathering” and Age Patterns of Allostatic Load Scores Among Blacks and Whites in the United States
Life-Course Accumulation of Neighborhood Disadvantage and Allostatic Load
Cumulative Structural Disadvantage and Racial Health Disparities
Slavery, Race and Ideology in the United States of America
Racism Exposure and Trauma Accumulation Perpetuate Pain Inequities—advocating for Change (Restorative)
The Role of Racial Identity in Perceived Racism and Psychological Stress Among Black American Adults
The Associations Between Internalized Racism, Racial Identity, and Psychological Distress
Critical Race Theory, Race Equity, and Public Health
The Influence of Implicit Bias on Treatment Recommendations for 4 Common Pediatric Conditions
The Trauma of Racism
Cumulative Effect of Racial Discrimination on the Mental Health of Ethnic Minorities in the United Kingdom
Discrimination and Health Inequities
Racism and Mental Health
Perceived Race as Variable
Racial attitudes or racial ideology? An alternative paradigm for examining actors' racial views
Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity
Superwoman Schema and John Henryism among African American women
Tackling racism as a "wicked" public health problem
Cumulative Disadvantage and Health
Racism and Health I
Interethnic Group and Intraethnic Group Racism
Is Racism a Fundamental Cause of Inequalities in Health
Structural Racism and Health Inequities
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |