Teenager Phase, The Most Common Age Of Depression And Anxiety Due To Cultural Racism: Research Proposal

Background and significance of the research

The title of the project is “Teenager Phase, the most common age of Depression and Anxiety”.

The following report will focus on the effect of cultural racism over the teenagers. Discrimination is said to be a differential and unjust treatment of individuals because of different kinds of identities that includes the likes of race, ethnicity, age, gender and many more as such. The adolescent phase between the ages of 16 years to 19 years is nowadays considered to be the most critical time for a human being (Seaton et al. 2014). The main aim of the following research is to find out the main reasons behind the problem with the racism among teenagers and whether racism is the main cause behind severe depression and anxiety among the people of these age group. This is marked as the most sensitive phase of transformation from childhood to adulthood. Different researches have been carried out in this regard has suggested that shows that there have been more than 20% cases of suicide and criminal activities in this age amongst the teenagers mainly due to severe anxiety and depression caused mainly by exposure to severe form of racial discrimination. The following paper provides a brief picture of the effect of racial discrimination on the teenagers and some current trends that are disturbing enough. According to, Seaton et al. (2014) severe forms of discrimination in high schools and colleges leads to the problems with the black youth are responsible for severe anxiety and depression among them and also leads to an increase in their suicidal tendency (Umaña-Taylor et al. 2015). Though there are numerous researches that focus on the negative effect of discrimination on adults, there are fewer studies conducted on similar case considering teenagers. Majority of the report shows that there has been a 50% to 60% rise in the discrimination of the teenagers since the last few years. Therefore the following study is quite significant as it will determine the negative effects and the impacts of racial discrimination as a main case of depression and anxiety.

As seen by, Lambert Robinson and Ialongo (2014) racial discrimination has been perceived as an element of negative period influence that often leads to depression and anxiety among the young teenagers. The increase in the gender discrimination mostly occurs with the students who are black. Nowadays most of the children face negative childhood experience. The presence of racial discrimination demonstrates humiliation of individuals based upon their complexion and cultural background. Racism and discrimination are omnipresenet in almost all the countries of the globe. However the study of Umaña-Taylor et al. (2015) has shown that they are mostly felt in strong conservative regions where there is a large presence of minority community. The discrimination mostly starts from school especially in countries like US and UK and continues till late childhood. Different research conducted has found that in later life such cases led to increased stigmatized attitude among the individuals. As seen by, Yip (2015) this kind of behavior often leads to poor academic performance fear from society and too much sensitiveness to racial abuses. Therefore it can be said that the presence of negative emotional experience elicited feelings of low self worth and poor confidence levels. The individuals who belong to the minority community have often experienced different incidents that have disturbed their normal lives. The survey responses carried amongst the minority group help to detect the behavioral health outcome on being a victim of racial discrimination. Research shows that the victimized adolescence are at much greater risk of developing depression and aggressive behavior. The findings have also highlighted the greater prevalence of destructive nature and the tendency of suicides in individuals who have faced major racial discrimination in their lifetime.

Research Questions and Research Plan

The teenagers who experiences frequent racial discrimination and also do not receive any kind of emotional support from the parents and peers have much higher levels of blood pressure and the higher body mass index than the others at the same age.  In most of the cases the African American problem rises at the top of racial discrimination. It affects the health of a disadvantage population and highly disrespects the human dignity which leads to different kinds of negative physiological consequences. Though there have been many steps taken forward to address the concerns the real picture have not changed much. Most of the research works reviewed have shown the rising incidence is of racial discrimination in High Schools and its negative implication on the mental as well as the physical health of the teenagers. Depression and anxiety were reported to be major implications of a negative childhood experience. According to, Sangalang and Gee (2015) such an experience can make a person quite unpredictable in the future. Research studies have suggested that the negative consequences in later life have increased a stigmatized attitude. The negative experience in relation to the ethnic discrimination encountered in school life can elicit a number of different critical implications.

Seaton and Douglass (2014) says that discrimination is generally linked with the negative health outcomes amongst the racial minorities that includes the likes of the mental health problems including the panic attacks, depression and many more as such. Racial discrimination has been termed by the doctors as a chronic stress as because it leads to the physiological and psychological stress of the teenagers and as such leads to the development of the negative physical and mental characteristics (Rivas?Drake et al. 2014).  New studies on the subject have confirmed both direct as well as indirect links between discrimination and depression. This effect is mostly seen over the African Americans who mainly are the victims of bullying and discrimination in schools and colleges. Some reports that collected data from African Americans during the age of 16 to 20 years showed shocking results. The results clearly showed that the discrimination suffered by these persons during their teenage resulted in a negative effect in their early 20’s when they showed signs of anxiety, fear and other kind of negative mental and physical health (Lambert Robinson and Ialongo 2014). The individuals belonging to the minority community have experienced acute incidences of racial discrimination that has disrupted their sleep quality and the sleep pattern. The study further states that the symptoms of depression and anxiety increases more as the individuals transition from adolescence phase to adulthood. Therefore, it can be said that there have been ample evidence provided by the scientific literatures to predict a correlation between the existence of a relationship between peer pressure, racial discrimination and prevalence of depression and anxiety. The research has been unable to address the different factors that lead to such kinds of racism and has also not highlighted the main diseases that occur as a result of the racism.

Different types of research design put to use

Though the research has identified and discussed a number of different types of negative effects and impacts that leads to depression and anxiety, a thorough research on the background of racial discrimination and researching on a specific country or a community could have made the research more compact and presentable in nature.

The research is quite significant in nature and will draw attention from a large number of quarters as because linking of depression directly with racial discrimination is a serious matter in the present times and needs to be highlighted in the proper way to find some ways to mitigate the problems. The decrease in the chances of racism will only lead to the mitigation of the different diseases. Therefore the research can show a proper path to the discussion of the related factors.

The research questions are as follows;

1. How is racial discrimination linked with depression and anxiety among individuals?
2. What are the main factors behind the cause of the racial discrimination in schools and colleges?
3. What are the biggest changes in the adulthood for a person suffering from racial discrimination?

The aims of the research are to identify the common means of cultural racism among the teenagers and how does it leads to depression and even fatal cases.

The plan of the research will involve the application of different strategies, designs and plans for the research to complete its analysis. The research plan begins with the design of the study and the setting of the study. The ethical considerations that have to be maintained by the organization have also to be mentioned accordingly. Apart from this the sampling procedure and the number of participants have also been mentioned in this part of the study. Lastly a timeline along with a Gantt chart provided in the chapter highlights the exact timing that will be consumed by the researcher to complete the total process of the study.

The three most common types of research design that are put to use in different kind of researches are namely explanatory, exploratory and descriptive research design. The explanatory research design, as the name suggests provides a clear description of the different phenomenon. This kind of research design also has the ability to predict the future occurrences related to a particular phenomenon (Mackey and Gass 2015). The exploratory research design is most suitable in researches using hypothesis as because such kind of research and also helps to get a clear idea of the research questions. Lastly descriptive research design can be said to be the combination of both the exploratory and explanatory research design. The descriptive research design puts stress on the collection of data from live population and identifies their characteristics accordingly. 

Proposal details, materials, methods and procedures

The formulator of the researcher has selected the descriptive research design in order to clarify the operation of the researcher accordingly. As mentioned earlier, the descriptive research design helps the researcher to put focus on the collection of data from a particular population and stress on the characteristics of the population. The formulator of the study has surveyed a number of teenagers and doctors on the increasing growth of racial discrimination and its serious effect on the mental health of the adolescent people (Lambert Robinson and Ialongo 2014).  The use of the descriptive design was thus quite justified as because it provided a practical idea about the present condition among the teenagers and their effect on racial discrimination. The use of the research design thus helped the researcher to gain a clear understanding of the cause and effect of the research rationale and also predicting some future effects on such kind of serious situation among the teenagers.

The study will be based on the teenagers and thus will be taking the practical as well as other forms of important data related to the same by means of a proper research design (Taylor Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The descriptive research design will help the researcher to find the practical experience of the teenagers during the years when they faced serious racial discriminations.

The pilot method is described can be termed as a pilot study or a pilot experiment that is conducted in order to evaluate the feasibility, time, events, financial needs that helps to improve upon the design of the study prior to the performance of a full scale research project similar to the one being done here.

The quantitative method in the research emphasizes the objective measurements including the statistical, mathematical and the numerical analysis of a research. The analysis is done upon the gathered information that is quite related to the research (Mackey and Gass 2015). The conduction of a Quantitative method can be performed by means of analysis of the data through the means of conducting pools, surveys, questionnaires and then by statistically analyzing the following responses (Taylor Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The quantitative data will thus involve the inclusion of live participants in the research.

The researcher must maintain a number of ethics to ensure the reliability of the research. The responses and the identity of the research participants will not be disclosed as it may hamper the neutrality of the research and might also hamper the safety of the individuals. The researcher will also not force the participants to provide biased replies and must publish the actual response of the participant. Apart from this the researcher will also take appropriate permissions from all the parties concerned to ensure transparency of the following study.

Impact of cultural racism on teenagers and correlation with depression and anxiety

Lewis (2015) describes in his study of research methodology that in order to conduct a survey and an interview, the formulator of the study has to select the best sampling technique that suits the research. Probability and Non-Probability sampling techniques are generally used to research in studies. The samples are collected generally from a large variety of population who are supposed to be related directly to the study. The samples are thus collected based on a number of factors including age, gender, sex, income, type of work and many more as such. All the participants of a selected population have equal chances of being selected for the data collection process. On the other hand, non-probability sampling technique is defined as the unequal or uneven chances of the participants of a particular population to be selected for the data collection process. In the case of non-probability sampling technique, the researcher selects the participants by judging their suitability in respect to the research topic. As a result, not all the participants of a particular population have equal chances of being a part of the data collection process.

The main reason for selecting the following technique is to consider the viewpoint of the victims of discrimination and also to avoid any form of bias. Another main reason for the avoidance of bias is the sensitivity of the following topic.

Primary and secondary data collection method is two of the most important data collection techniques. Primary data includes the quantitative and qualitative data gathered from conducting survey and interviews (Ledford and Gast 2018). On the other hand secondary data involves the collection of data from sources related to the same topic like books, journals, online articles and many more similar sources.

Both the primary and secondary data collection method has been used in the research to make the research more compact and informative in nature.

The researcher conducted the primary research with the construction of an online questionnaire and then sent it to the selected participants. The responses were then collected and analyzed accordingly. A survey was then conducted using Survey Monkey Tool to get an idea of the common people on racial discrimination and depression among teenagers. Whereas the secondary data was collected at the last step and analyzed to complete the following research.

	75 days	Fri 10/26/18	Thu 2/7/19
	2 days	Fri 10/26/18	Mon 10/29/18
	1 day	Tue 10/30/18	Tue 10/30/18
	10 days	Wed 10/31/18	Tue 11/13/18
	20 days	Wed 11/14/18	Tue 12/11/18
	1 day	Wed 12/12/18	Wed 12/12/18
	20 days	Thu 12/13/18	Wed 1/9/19
	20 days	Thu 1/10/19	Wed 2/6/19
	1 day	Thu 2/7/19	Thu 2/7/19

                                                                    Source: (As created by the author)

Risk of depression and anxiety among teenagers experiencing racial discrimination

                 

                                                                     Source: (As created by the Author)

The estimated budget of the following research is $10,000. The budget has been allocated for performing the research in a phased manner.

Research Approval	$1000
Permissions	$3,000
Data Collection	$1,000
Data Gathering Expense	$2000
Use of Survey Monkey	$1000
Compiling Data	$2000

The research instrument is developed by the researcher in the process of selecting the data design, data collection methods, research instruments to conduct the primary as well as the secondary research in an efficient manner. The theoretical approach is applied during the development of the instrument of the research.

The research tool has provided the timeline and also collected practical response from the research participants regarding their depression and the discrimination they faced in early childhood. The use of the descriptive research design and the systematic sampling technique has been perfectly suitable for the research.

Conclusion

The following research has provided a clear idea of the linkage between depression and discrimination and their effect on the health of the people. The following research has shown the tendency of the teenagers towards the development of negative characteristics that can hamper the growth of the individuals. The experience of discrimination has mainly marginalized the Black Americans. The study has shown that most of the people who have suffered from discrimination are black. Given the sparse research on the associations among discrimination and mental health symptoms in the different community, the present findings clearly provide a great contribution to the knowledge base among the reciprocals of the following variables. The increase in the population of the blacks and immigrants has increased the importance to understand the interplay of different kinds of negative social experiences and mental health behaviors. The following characteristic is particularly important during the adolescent stage which is characterized by significant physical and interpersonal maturation and change. The present research adds to the growing interest in developing strength- and asset-based models of development in U.S. ethnic minority groups. Furthermore, our results suggest that educators and policymakers should focus on reducing discrimination experiences to promote mental health and proper behaviors as a way of helping out in different needs of the immigrant adolescents in the society.

References

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Cook, A., Spinazzola, J., Ford, J., Lanktree, C., Blaustein, M., Cloitre, M., DeRosa, R., Hubbard, R., Kagan, R., Liautaud, J. and Mallah, K., 2017. Complex trauma in children and adolescents. Psychiatric annals, 35(5), pp.390-398.

Davis, A.N., Carlo, G., Schwartz, S.J., Unger, J.B., Zamboanga, B.L., Lorenzo-Blanco, E.I., Cano, M.Á., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., Oshri, A., Streit, C. and Martinez, M.M., 2016. The longitudinal associations between discrimination, depressive symptoms, and prosocial behaviors in US Latino/a recent immigrant adolescents. Journal of youth and adolescence, 45(3), pp.457-470.

English, D., Lambert, S.F. and Ialongo, N.S., 2014.Longitudinal associations between experienced racial discrimination and depressive symptoms in African American adolescents. Developmental psychology, 50(4), p.1190.

Hughes, D., Del Toro, J., Harding, J.F., Way, N. and Rarick, J.R., 2016. Trajectories of discrimination across adolescence: Associations with academic, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. Child development, 87(5), pp.1337-1351.

Lambert, S.F., Robinson, W.L. and Ialongo, N.S., 2014.The role of socially prescribed perfectionism in the link between perceived racial discrimination and African American adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 42(4), pp.577-587.

Ledford, J.R. and Gast, D.L., 2018. Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.

Lewis, S., 2015. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), pp.473-475.

Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.

Rivas?Drake, D., Seaton, E.K., Markstrom, C., Quintana, S., Syed, M., Lee, R.M., Schwartz, S.J., Umaña?Taylor, A.J., French, S., Yip, T. and Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group, 2014. Ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: Implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes. Child development, 85(1), pp.40-57.

Sangalang, C.C. and Gee, G.C., 2015. Racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among Cambodian American adolescents: The role of gender. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(4), pp.447-465.

Seaton, E.K. and Douglass, S., 2014. School diversity and racial discrimination among African-American adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(2), p.156.

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Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Tynes, B.M., Toomey, R.B., Williams, D.R. and Mitchell, K.J., 2015. Latino adolescents’ perceived discrimination in online and offline settings: An examination of cultural risk and protective factors. Developmental psychology, 51(1), p.87.

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