Racism, mental illness and social support in the UK

Purpose The difference in risk of mental illness in UK ethnic minorities may be related to a balance between specific risk factors such as racial discrimination and mediating factors such as social support. We investigated whether social support from friends or relatives reduces the cross-sectional association between perceived racism and the risk of mental illness in an ethnic minority group. Methods We conducted secondary analyses of nationally representative community samples of five UK ethnic minority groups (EMPIRIC dataset; n = 4,281) using multiple regression techniques. Results We found that the associations between perceived racism, common mental disorder and potentially psychotic symptoms were mainly independent of social support as measured by the number of close persons and their proximity to the individual. Conclusion Social support when measured in this way does not mediate the associations between perceived racism and mental ill health in this population-based sample.