Discrimination in the Workplace Linked to Psychological Distress: A Longitudinal Study in the United States

Objective This study aimed to explore the relationship between workplace discrimination and psychological distress across 9 years using data from the Midlife in the Unites States study. Methods Workplace discrimination was measured with a validated six-item scale at baseline with three categories (low, intermediate, and high), and psychological distress was measured with the Kessler 6 scale at baseline and follow-up. In total, 1,546 workers were analyzed by linear regression. Results High levels of workplace discrimination were significantly associated with increased psychological distress at follow-up (crude β = 0.633; 95% CI, 0.307–0.959). After adjusting for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and health-related behaviors, associations were slightly attenuated (fully adjusted β = 0.447; 95% CI, 0.115–0.780). Conclusions High workplace discrimination was longitudinally associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Organizations should actively prevent discrimination, which may improve workers' mental health consequently.