Heterogeneity in racist events and posttraumatic mental health among Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) first responders

Background: Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) first responders in Canada report experiencing racism and an increased risk of trauma-related mental health symptoms.

Objective: Using a BIPOC first responder sample in Canada, the present study examined subgroups of BIPOC first responders based on the frequency of different types of racist events, and their relations with mental health symptoms (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptom clusters of intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood [NACM], and alterations in arousal and reactivity [AAR]; depression severity; anxiety severity).

Method: The sample included 196 BIPOC first responders who reported more than one traumatic experience (Mage = 35.30; 71.4% men).

Results: Latent profile analyses indicated a best-fitting 3-profile solution: Low (Profile 1), Moderate (Profile 2), and High (Profile 3) Frequency of Racist Events. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that BIPOC first responders reporting more frequent racist events endorsed greater depression severity, anxiety severity, and PTSD’s NACM symptom severity.

Conclusions: Findings improve our understanding of subgroups of BIPOC first responders based on the frequency and types of racist events they experience. Results highlight the need to incorporate assessments of racism-related experiences into therapeutic work, and to target depression, anxiety, and NACM symptoms among those who encounter more racist events.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Three distinct subgroups of BIPOC first responders were identified based on the frequency of experienced racist events.
• Those experiencing more racist events tend to report more mental health symptoms.
• Findings highlight the need to assess racism and mental health correlates.