Ethnic Minority Youth
Being an ethnic minority and the contextual factors that come with it contribute to anxiety disorders among youth. All the disadvantages that come with being a minority interact in a way that produces a stressful environment, furthering feelings of anxiety. The most commonly associated variable with minority status is low socioeconomic status. Both of these factors are related to symptoms of anxiety. From a socio-ecological perspective racial minority status is part of the exosystem, which forms the setting in which a young person lives in. Socioeconomic status belongs to the macrosystem in its relations to social class and the economic system. The connection between minority youth and low SES creates implications such as poverty which can
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(2013) many of the findings were significant. One of the strongest findings is that minority youth live in significantly more disadvantaged contexts than European American youth. Looking at specifics this means that these youth are more likely to live in neighborhoods where fewer houses are occupied by owners, there are fewer educated residents, more residents living below the poverty level, and lower average home value (Beidas et al.,2013). This shows that the circumstances, which ethnic minority youth live under, promote a more stressful environment. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, disadvantaged neighborhoods are linked to higher exposure to community violence (Gaylord- Harden et al., 2011), lack of available services (Newacheck et al., 2003), and a higher prevalence of internalizing disorders, including anxiety and depression (Grant, 2004). Within the main interaction of ethnic miniority (exosystem) and socioeconomic status (macrosystem) additional systems are at play which include two other components of the exosystem (community violence and lack of access to services). The stress created by the cumulative of all contextual systems then begins to leak into individual systems such as family, school, and peer microsystems. The stress experienced by minority youth in each of those contexts is often internalized, increasing the chances for development of an anxiety
(2013) many of the findings were significant. One of the strongest findings is that minority youth live in significantly more disadvantaged contexts than European American youth. Looking at specifics this means that these youth are more likely to live in neighborhoods where fewer houses are occupied by owners, there are fewer educated residents, more residents living below the poverty level, and lower average home value (Beidas et al.,2013). This shows that the circumstances, which ethnic minority youth live under, promote a more stressful environment. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, disadvantaged neighborhoods are linked to higher exposure to community violence (Gaylord- Harden et al., 2011), lack of available services (Newacheck et al., 2003), and a higher prevalence of internalizing disorders, including anxiety and depression (Grant, 2004). Within the main interaction of ethnic miniority (exosystem) and socioeconomic status (macrosystem) additional systems are at play which include two other components of the exosystem (community violence and lack of access to services). The stress created by the cumulative of all contextual systems then begins to leak into individual systems such as family, school, and peer microsystems. The stress experienced by minority youth in each of those contexts is often internalized, increasing the chances for development of an anxiety