Racism-Related Experiences and Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Ethnoracially Minoritized Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Despite growing evidence demonstrating the association between racial and ethnic discrimination and traumatic stress symptoms in adult populations, the research among youth remains sparse. Drawing upon race-based traumatic stress models, and following the PRISMA-2020 guidelines, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify the state of the empirical evidence in the association between racism-related experiences and traumatic stress symptoms in ethnoracially minoritized youth. METHOD: Scientific databases were searched to identify articles with ethnoracially minoritized youth participants under age 18 years old that examined the association between racial and/or ethnic discrimination and traumatic stress symptoms. RESULTS: = .356, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.27, 0.44, between racism-related experiences and traumatic stress symptoms. No evidence of moderation by age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, country, or recruitment setting was detected. CONCLUSION: Racism-related experiences may confer risk for traumatic stress symptoms in ethnoracially minoritized youth. Attending to racism-related experiences is critical to improve the cultural responsiveness of trauma-informed services.