Racist Incident–Based Trauma

Abstract

Racist incidents are potentially traumatizing forms of victimization that may lead to increased psychiatric and psychophysiological symptoms in targets. The magnitude of the problem of racist incidents in the United States is difficult to estimate; however, data from several sources permit the inference that the prevalence of racist incidents, particularly among people of color, is high. This article (a) distinguishes traumatic stress from nontraumatic stress and (b) draws parallels between experiences of racist incidents and experiences that are acknowledged to be traumatic, such as rape or domestic violence. Conceptualizing the symptoms of some survivors of racist incidents as trauma responses may help inform treatment when these individuals are clients in psychotherapy.