CW: This article discusses violence against racial/ethnic minorities.
According to the American Psychological Association, discrimination is “the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.” Various types of discrimination exist including discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and disability. Discrimination is a significant issue within our school system and has shown to negatively affect a student’s academic performance and well-being. A study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that “Greater perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination were linked to more depressive and internalizing symptoms; greater psychological distress; poorer self-esteem; lower academic achievement and engagement; less academic motivation; greater engagement in externalizing behaviors, risky sexual behaviors, and
substance use; and more associations with deviant peers.”
Regardless of the type of discrimination, a student experiences feelings of inferiority and anxiety. According to the National Institute of Health, “discrimination can contribute to adverse developmental outcomes, including worse mental health, negative behaviors, and weak social competence.”
The harmful effects of racial discrimination have negatively impacted Latinx children in educational settings. On Aug. 3, 2019, Patrick Crusius walked into a Walmart in El Paso, Texas with the sole intention of killing Latinos. This horrific tragedy resulted in the death of 23 innocent people and the mass shooting continues to negatively impact Latinx children at school. Studies show that after the devastating hate crime, Latino kids and teenagers were at a greater risk of suffering from mental health problems. The higher incidence of stress and anxiety amongst the Latinx students lead to a decline in academic performance in school. What’s more alarming is that in 2017, the CDC published that Latino high school students were more likely to consider suicide than any other ethnicity. This is unacceptable and it’s time that we raise awareness and educate children at a young age about the detrimental effects of discrimination.
Although we have progressed as a society in regards to gender equality, discrimination based on sex and gender is a substantial problem and leads to a decline in a person’s well-being. According to a 2020 fact sheet by the World Health Organization fact sheet, women are more likely to experience generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorders. The emotional stress caused by gender bias can lead girls to isolate themselves from their peers and socially exclude themselves from extracurricular activities due to a fear of being targeted or bullied. Moreover, higher levels of stress and anxiety due to gender inequality can lead to an inability to focus and lower academic performance in school.
ResearchGate mentions a study which proposes that girls who experience gender inequality might believe that “since there is inequality in school there will also be inequality in society as a whole, which would mean that there aren’t many opportunities for them to be successful in life.”
Discrimination remains a significant issue in our society and I believe that schools need to raise awareness on the harmful effects of intolerance. We need to start educating children from a young age so that we can progress towards a society who is inclusive and accepting.
