Ethnic-racial stigma and health disparities: From psychological theory and evidence to public policy solutions

The presence of diverse ethnic-racial groups in the United States today is a source of national pride. However, this cultural sentiment is overshadowed by the reality that stigmatized ethnic-racial groups carry a disproportionate burden of negative physical health outcomes. These systematic differences are referred to as health disparities. Although this phenomenon is fairly well documented, relatively little is understood about the social contexts and the psychological processes they activate that contribute to poor health. Equally important, to demonstrate the processes underlying health disparities does not single-handedly address the issue of social injustice in the health of disadvantaged people. Scientists must assume the burden of facilitating the translation of their laboratory and community-based research to public policy recommendations. This volume of the Journal of Social Issues brings together social, developmental, cognitive, and clinical psychological research on the physical health of ethnic-racial stigmatized individuals in the United States. Each contribution explicitly discusses the implications of research for public health policy.