Project

"The Myth of the non-Western ethnic other": Exploring structural and cultural racism in mental health care

Code
1136025N
Duration
01 November 2024 → 31 October 2028
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Social sciences
    • Cultural and cross-cultural psychology
    • Psychopathology
    • Clinical and counselling psychology not elsewhere classified
    • Race and ethnic relations
Keywords
Qualitative Methodology Structural and cultural racism research Ethnic Minority mental health
 
Project description

Migrants and ethnic minorities are often confronted with racism and racial stratification in Western countries which increases their probability of developing mental health problems significantly. Yet, studies show that they receive far less or inadequate mental health care than the dominant ethnic group. Recent studies have illustrated the importance of micro-level factors like negative attitudes and interpersonal racism. However, up until now, the impact of structural factors like structural and cultural racism on mental health care have hardly been studied. Building on a theoretical framework developed by Fanon and Hook, this PhD study aims to discern structural and cultural racism within current mental health care institutions, by conducting a series of qualitative in-depth studies. These studies focus on the subjective experience of both professionals (often part of the dominant ethnic group) and patients who belong to ethnic minorities. The project will address 3 research questions. First, we will address how the Myth of the non-Western ethnic other is constructed in mental health care professionals (cultural racism). In a second step, we will investigate how this Myth informs institutional practices within mental health care (structural racism). Lastly, we will uncover the extent to which and how this Myth is internalized by ethnic minority patients.