How racial discrimination leads to suicidal thoughts

Research Proposal

Abstract

While the world is drawing near to the globe, many countries have opened their borders to expatriates. This initiative highlights the improvement of working conditions and lifestyles among citizens in various countries (usually third-world countries). The world is constantly using racial discrimination against different people, according to history and earlier literature. This has also contributed to suicides by different people and has also brought financial instability, depression and anxiety on their families. This work will use random sampling methods to achieve reliable results and to check research questions. Selection of people without partiality is a random sampling procedure. This tendency can also help to find a balanced viewpoint by choosing random participants. The survey will include eight closely-ended Likert-scale-based questions.

Introduction

Diversity is one of the most celebrated actions in the world due to its massive outreach and spread across different countries. This is also evident in countries where diversity and inter-cultural mix are highly appreciated. This is mainly because this factor helps the country to sustain a broader image in the world. However, this diversity is also followed by intensive racism towards people belonging from other cultures and tribes. Racism explains the factor of segmenting people on the basis of their colour, creed, religion, and ethnicity as well. This activity marks out people from a broader population and subjects them to harmful activities.

In most cases, racism is mainly found through words or online exploitation. In recent years, while many psychologists have attempted to study the impacts of racism, little has researched its correlation with suicide. This suicide shows how the victims lose their life because of these taunts, segmentations, and disrespect. This research aims to find the impacts of racism and how it generally leads to suicide in different participants. These suicidal thoughts are mainly driven by intense depression, longing, and feeling unwanted in the society or workplace. Suicidal thoughts also show how a person is on the verge of ending their life because of racial discrimination. This research is important to find and target activities which can damage future generations. The research is based on using primary data collection methods to find how racism leads to the development of such thoughts.

Background

While the world is on the verge of becoming a global village, many countries have opened their borders for ex-pats. This movement shows how people from different countries (usually third world countries) for better jobs and lifestyle conditions. This movement has largely escalated due to the rapid spread of political instability in the third world countries as well. A large part of this movement also experiences racial discrimination due to low acceptance. This acceptance rate is low because people fear for their country, spaces, jobs, and culture as well. Many psychologists have dived down to find how racial discrimination impacts the victims. The research analysis by (Assari, 2017), highlights how racism is related to different types of psychological issues. The basic hit of this activity damages the brain and cause feeling related to self-doubt and misery. This causes the participants to experience intensive low emotions, motivations, and they lose productivity. The author has also shown how these feelings further transcend into suicidal thoughts. This is mainly because these people already face issues in their home countries and foreign countries as well. This makes them doubt their abilities and importance in general, which makes them lose hope and confidence in life as well. The research shows how racial discrimination can increase depression, anxiety, and stress in participants. All of these conditions evolve by creating suicidal thoughts and tendencies within the participants.

Literature Review

This literature review is compiled to present an overview of different authors and their contribution to the research issue. These findings and interpretation are important for the research because they help to formulate the entire research paradigm. The theories, findings, and deductions of these kinds of literature are important to compile the research process as well.

According to (Narra, 2015), the suicide rate among Black people increases sharply during young adulthood, exceeding the US general population, which needs prevention efforts to concentrate on Black youth. In the report, the authors explored correlations between the perceived oppression, racism and acculturation with lifelong suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA), which were found throughout dominant cultures, although most of the work on suicidality among Black people concentrated on risk factors in the dominant culture. Apprenticeships recruited 200 Black or African Americans aged 18-24 who were resident in a midnight north-eastern city. Participants completed Self-report questionnaires. The association of every predictor with SI and SA was tested via logistic regressions. In univariate and multivariate models, greater perceived acculturation was correlated with SI.

According to the research by (Verena Kohlbrenner, 2017), Very few researches have explored African American women’s forecasters of suicidal thought. As a consequence, the combination of cultural experiences and psychosocial mechanisms that may pose risk factors and security for the suicide of this population is poorly understood. In a sampled sample of 204 primarily low socio-economic status (SES) of African American women, we study the adverse impact on social disparity theories, medical sociology and the stress mechanism of gender segregation and future mitigation.

Research Problem

Although the world is approaching a worldwide community, several countries have opened their borders to expatriates. This campaign illustrates how people in different countries (usually third world countries) have better working conditions and better lifestyles. This trend also has intensified considerably in third world countries as a result of the rapid expansion of political instability. Much of this campaign is also racially discriminated against because of insufficient acceptance. This is a low acceptance rate since people are also concerned about their country, their places, their employment and culture. Most psychologists went to find out how racial discrimination affects the victims. Intensive low emotions, desires and productivity loss to the participants. The author also showed how these emotions extend into suicidal thinking. This is primarily because they already face problems both in their countries of origin and abroad. It puts them in doubt of their ability and value, which also destroys their hope and trust in life. The research shows how racial discrimination can increase participants ‘ depression, anxiety and stress. All these situations grow by generating participants ‘ suicidal thoughts and patterns.

Research Significance

As stated by the background and previous kinds of literature, the world is on the constant movement of racial discrimination against different people. This has also caused various people to commit suicides and hence burden their families with financial instability, depression, and anxiety as well. This research is important because it aims to determine the correlation between these elements. The research is also important because it aims to find remedial measures as well. These remedial measures will help to establish societies which are built on mutual respect and acceptance.

Research Objectives

The research objectives are focused on streamlining the research outcomes and directives for the main analysis.

• To find the correlation between racial discrimination and suicidal thoughts in participants

This objective aims to find the correlation and dependence of these two variables and how they accumulate within different people

• To explore the feelings of participants because of racial discrimination

This objective aims to dive into the participant’s feelings and how they formulate suicidal thoughts during their depression phases.

• To determine different types of racial discrimination faced by people

This research objective aims to explore different types of racial discrimination which includes both through words and actions.

• To determine methods which can help to prevent these suicidal thoughts due to racism

This research objective aims to establish and find preventive and remedial measures which can be used to eradicate these suicidal thoughts.

Research Questions

• What is the correlation between racial discrimination and suicidal thoughts in participants?
• What are the feelings of participants because of racial discrimination?
• What are the different types of racial discrimination faced by people?
• What are the methods which can help to prevent these suicidal thoughts due to racism?

Research Design and Methodology

The research design and methodology part explain the data collection process, along with sampling and data analysis techniques. This section is important because it formulates the entire base of the research, discussion, and deductions as well.

Research Paradigm

The research paradigm represents the shared and mutual values of the research, which is common in different researchers. This research topic is quite common, and the kinds of literature show a positive correlation between racial discrimination and suicidal thoughts. This evidence shows how the research paradigm is also stimulated around this belief. The entire research is compiled and drawn on the evidence of racial discrimination and its impacts. These impacts include severe depression, anxiety, and loneliness within participants. All of these aspects motivate the victims to think about suicide, whereas in some cases, these suicides also happen.

Research Data Collection Techniques

The research data collection technique explains the process of using different tools and methods to find appropriate responses and deductions. The data collection process is also very comprehensive and compiled using the primary method. This method represents the use of survey forms to collect different types of responses. The survey analysis is a useful technique because it physically records all the answers and eradicates research bias. The primary data collection method is also selected because it allows deductive analysis. The theories collected from the literature section can be tested by compiling different questions. The survey will be compiled on an online website known as monkey survey. This online medium is highly accurate because it improves the data collection process and records.

Sample size and Sampling Method  

The samples represent a select group of people which is usually segmented from a larger population having similar traits. This is the basic step towards conducting a primary data analysis because the survey cannot be sampled to every person. To compile accurate results and to test the research questions, this research will use random sampling techniques. The random sampling technique involves the selection of people without bias. This bias also allows the selection of random participants which helps to find a neutral analysis. The survey will contain eight closed-ended questions based on the Likert Scale. The questions will be answered by 40 different respondents who will be segmented from a larger audience of diverse people who have experienced racial discrimination.

Expected Results

This section of the research proposal is organized to present the expected results of the survey by using primary data analysis. The expected results will show how racial discrimination causes severe depression and anxiety within people. This anxiety further transcends into negative thoughts and social isolation within the victims. All of these traits are powerful to motivate people into having suicidal thoughts because of self-loathing. The results are also expected to show how all of these factors ultimately result in the accumulation of these thoughts.

Conclusion

The research aims to find the relation between racial discrimination and suicidal thoughts in different participants. For countries with high acceptance of diversity and intercultural blends, this is also apparent. This is primarily because this aspect contributes to the country’s global image. This diversity, however, is also accompanied by extreme segregation towards people from others. Racism also explains the fact that people are segmented according to colour, opinion, religion and ethnicity. It practices defines and exposes individuals from a wider population to negative practices.

References

Arshanapally, S. (2015). The Association between Racial Discrimination and Suicidality among African American Adolescents and Young Adults. From NCBI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5943189/

Assari, S. (2017). Discrimination Increases Suicidal Ideation in Black Adolescents Regardless of Ethnicity and Gender. From ncbi: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746684/

Castle, K. (2016). Perceived Racism, Discrimination, and Acculturation in Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts among Black Young Adults. From researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51091167_Perceived_Racism_Discrimination_and_Acculturation_in_Suicidal_Ideation_and_Suicide_Attempts_among_Black_Young_Adults

Cheref, S. (2016). PERCEIVED DISCRIMINATION AND SUICIDE IDEATION: MODERATING ROLES. From University of Houston: https://uh-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/10657/1760/CHEREF-THESIS-2016.pdf?sequence=1

Narra, P. T. (2015). Perceived Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among. From apa: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/cdp-19-3-257.pdf

Perry, B. L. (2018). Too Much of a Good Thing? Psychosocial Resources, Gendered Racism, and Suicidal. From journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0190272512455932

Verena Kohlbrenner. (2017). Perceived Discrimination Is an Independent Risk Factor for Suicidal Ideation among Sexual and Gender Minorities in Nepal. From journals: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0159359

Walker, R. L. (2015). A Longitudinal Study of Racial Discrimination and Risk for Death Ideation in African American Youth. From lib: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/psychology_pubs/58/

Walker, R. L. (2016). Perceived Racism and Suicide Ideation: Mediating Role of Depression but Moderating Role of Religiosity among African American Adults. From online library: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sltb.12089

Wang, L. (2016). Perceived racial discrimination on the change of suicide risk among ethnic minorities. From researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329565160_Perceived_racial_discrimination_on_the_change_of_suicide_risk_among_ethnic_minorities_in_the_United_States