Racial trauma is quite similar to stress disorders while having unique and distinct features. An example is the historical trauma of American Indians who suffered a lot from the White people in the United States (Comas-Díaz et al., 2019). The history of deportations, open aggression, microaggressions in everyday life, limited access to welfare, and loss of cultural traditions was devastating for their populations. While in modern days the discrimination is much lower than in the past, new generations are still traumatized by those hard memories. African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin populations are also subjects of such hardships, while each of those races has a different story. For example, I think that African Americans have similar historical trauma connected with their infamous history of slavery. Children and adolescents are victims of such a situation, too: the general amount of stress is much higher than White youth (Saleem et al., 2019). They tend to have mental issues and stress disorders much more often, creating an arduous burden on their lives.
While racial trauma in adults of color is a common subject for studies, this issue is understudied in children. I think it is essential to close this gap, as children are the foundation for future generations, and solving those problems would ensure that society will be healthier in the future. Children of color are subjects of posttraumatic disorder (PTSD) much more often, and the concept of racial stress and trauma (RST) was developed to show how the burden of their race influences them negatively (Saleem et al., 2019). It can lead to emotional closeness, deficit of attention, and anxiety, as they used to feel insecure. The approach of showing how racial traumas negatively influence people is helpful, as it educates people about racial traumas, indicating that the problem is real and hurts people and how to stop doing that (Comas-Díaz et al., 2019). Thus, I can conclude that racial and ethnic minorities have a condition similar to PTSD from the beginning of their lives; this problem is widespread and should be addressed by psychological support and education.
References
Comas-Díaz, L., Hall, G. N., & Neville, H. A. (2019). Racial trauma: Theory, research, and healing: Introduction to the special issue. American Psychologist, 74(1), 1–5. Web.
Saleem, F. T., Anderson, R. E., & Williams, M. (2019). Addressing the “Myth” of racial trauma: Developmental and ecological considerations for youth of color. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 1–14. Web.