Adolescent Voices on Global Racisms: Lived Experiences, Health Impacts and Demands Across Six Countries
This multi-country study of 93 minoritised adolescents reveals how racism manifests through context-specific social markers to harm mental and physical health, while highlighting the urgent need for a health justice approach that addresses structural inequities and incorporates youth voices into policy.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of a preprint that has not been peer-reviewed. It is not medical advice. Do not make health decisions based on this content. Read full disclaimer
Racism is not merely a matter of personal prejudice or unkind words; it is a powerful force that shapes the physical and mental world in which people live. It operates through systems that sort people into groups, granting some access to resources like good schools, safe neighborhoods, and quality healthcare while denying those same things to others. For young people, whose identities and sense of self are still forming, these barriers can be especially damaging. When a teenager is treated as less than, or is pushed into a corner with fewer opportunities, the stress of that experience can settle into their body and mind, affecting how they feel about themselves and their future. While much research has looked at how racism hurts people in specific places, such as the United States, less is known about how these patterns play out across the entire globe, where cultures and histories differ. Understanding whether the wounds of racism look the same in different countries, and how young people make sense of them, is essential for finding ways to heal.
A team of researchers from six countries set out to listen directly to the voices of adolescents who face these challenges. They interviewed 93 young people, aged 15 to 17, from Brazil, Peru, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. These were not random groups of teenagers; the researchers specifically sought out those from communities that have been historically marginalized or treated as outsiders, such as Quilombola communities in Brazil, Indigenous Quechua youth in Peru, and migrant families in the UK. To help the teenagers talk about difficult topics, the researchers used a tool called a vignette, which is a short story about two characters facing different situations. By asking the young people to imagine how these characters felt and why they were treated differently, the researchers could open a conversation about racism without forcing the teenagers to immediately share their own painful memories. The interviews were conducted in local languages, and the team analyzed the stories to find common threads and unique differences in how racism is lived and felt.
The young people described racism in ways that went far beyond simple insults. They explained that it shows up through the way they look, the languages they speak, and where they live. In many of the countries studied, being from a marginalized group meant growing up in areas with poor sanitation, limited access to nutritious food, and schools that lacked resources. In Brazil, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Uganda, this often meant living in segregated communities where the environment itself was a barrier to health. In the United Kingdom, the barriers were often about language and accent, which could lead to being excluded from social groups or treated with suspicion in public spaces. In South Korea, where the society often prides itself on being ethnically uniform, young people with foreign parents described a deep sense of confusion and insecurity, feeling that they did not truly belong even though they were citizens.
The most immediate impact of these experiences was on mental health. Across all six countries, the teenagers spoke of the heavy emotional toll of racism. They described feeling constant pressure to succeed to prove their worth, which led to anxiety and exhaustion. Many said they felt invisible, as if people looked right through them, or they felt they had to hide parts of their identity to avoid trouble. Some internalized the negative messages they received, beginning to believe the harmful stereotypes about their own communities. This psychological strain was not just a feeling; the young people linked it directly to their physical well-being. In places like Uganda and Sri Lanka, they connected the lack of resources in their neighborhoods to poor nutrition and the spread of disease. In Brazil and the UK, some described the fear of physical violence or the actual experience of being harmed because of their race. The stress of navigating a world that often treated them as less than human seemed to wear down their bodies and minds simultaneously.
Despite the heavy burden, the young people were not passive victims; they offered clear and powerful ideas for how to fix these problems. They called for stronger support networks, not just from family, but from teachers and community leaders who could stand up against discrimination. They demanded that schools and workplaces become places where everyone is treated fairly, with strict consequences for those who act on prejudice. They asked for better access to education and jobs, recognizing that economic security is a shield against many of the harms of racism. Perhaps most importantly, they insisted that their own voices be heard when making decisions about policies that affect their lives. They did not want to be the subjects of research or the recipients of charity; they wanted to be partners in building a world where their health and dignity are protected.
The study suggests that while the specific ways racism appears change from country to country, the core mechanism remains the same: it is a system that uses differences in appearance, language, or background to justify unequal treatment and limit opportunities. This inequality then creates a cycle where the stress of being marginalized leads to poorer health, which in turn makes it harder to escape the conditions that caused the stress in the first place. The researchers found that in some places, living in a community of people who share the same background offered a kind of protection, a safe space where the young people could be themselves. In other places, living in diverse cities offered a buffer against daily discrimination, but only if the environment was truly inclusive. The findings do not present a simple solution, but they do provide a clear map of the problem as seen by those living it. The path forward, according to these young people, requires more than just kindness; it requires a fundamental shift in how societies distribute resources and power, ensuring that every adolescent has the chance to grow up healthy and whole.
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