Racism and Human Development

This book addresses the lifelong effects of racism, covering its social, psychological, family, community and health impacts. The studies brought together in this contributed volume discuss experiences of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion experienced by children, young people, adults, older adults and their families; the processes of socialization, emotional regulation and construction of ethnic-racial identities; and stress-producing events associated with racism.

This volume intends to contribute to a growing international effort to develop an antiracist agenda in developmental psychology by showcasing studies developed mainly in Brazil, the country with the largest black population in the world outside of Africa. Racism as an ideology that structures social relations and attributes superiority to one race over the others have developed in different ways in different countries. As a response to the 2020 social and health crisis, some North American developmental psychologists have started promoting initiatives to openly challenge racism. This book intends to contribute to this movement by bringing together studies conducted mainly in Brazil, but also in Germany and Norway, that adopt a racially informed approach to different topics in developmental psychology.

Racism and Human Development intends to be an inspiration to students, scholars and practitioners who are seeking tools and examples of studies of race and racism from a developmental perspective. The establishment of an antiracist agenda in developmental psychology will never be possible without a commitment to the study of race as an indispensable social marker of human ontogeny in any society. This book is another step towards racial equity and towards a developmental science that leaves no one behind.

1.Opening Chapter.- 2.Race and Gender Relations in Developmental Psychology.- 3.“It is repulsive: there is swearing because of the color of the skin and hair”: Experiences, Psychosocial Effects and Confronting racism by children and adolescents in a capital in northeastern Brazil.- 4.Emotion Socialization and Developmental Outcomes in Black Children: Relations with Ethnic-racial Socialization.- 5.Violence, structural racism and their relation to health outcomes of black Brazilian youth.- 6.Racism in the Family and Constitution of the Subject.- 7.Structural racism and the transition to adulthood of black and white Brazilians.- 8.The Relationship between Racism and the Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Black People.- 9.The cost of looking different: Racism, mental health and human development of migrants of African descent.- 10.Character, Diversity Values and Civic Engagement among Norwegian Youth.- 11.Racism and stressful events among black elderly people.- 12.Intersectionalities and Old Age: ageism in the crossroads of race, gender and age.

Luciana Dutra-Thomé is a Professor at the Psychology Department of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. She holds a PhD in in Psychology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and is Co-Chair of the Latin America Topic Network of Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood. Her main research topics are transition to adulthood; emerging adulthood; Youth and Work; Action Theory; Positive Youth Development; Meaning of life and work 

Dóris Firmino Rabelo is a Professor at the Health Sciences Center of the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB), Brazil, at the Graduate Program in Psychology at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, and at the Professional Master's in Family Health - ProfSaúde/UFRB. She is  a psychologist with a Master's degree in in Gerontology and a PhD in Education. Her main research area is Psychology of Aging.

Dandara Ramos is a Professor at the Collective Health Institute of Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Master's degree in Social Psychology and a PhD in Epidemiology, all from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil. She’s an associate researcher at the Center for Data Integration and Health Knowledge (CIDACS- Fiocruz Bahia) and at the research group Social Interaction and Development (UERJ). Her main research topics are social epidemiology, evolutionary developmental psychology and methodological advances in health research.

Emanuelle Freitas Góes is currently enrolled as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Data Integration and Health Knowledge (CIDACS- Fiocruz Bahia). She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Nursing and a Phd in Public Health from the Institute of Collective Health at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. She’s an associate researcher at the Studies program in Gender and Health (MUSA-ISC/UFBA) and at the Studies program in Noncommunicable Diseases, Life Course and Aging (ELSA Brasil). She’s also a member of the Working Group on Racism and Health at the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (ABRASCO). Creator and blogger at “População Negra e Saúde” (Health and Black populations) website. Her main areas of research are health inequities in access to healthcare, reproductive rights, racism and health information. 

Emanuelle Freitas Góes is currently enrolled as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Data Integration and Health Knowledge (CIDACS- Fiocruz Bahia). She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Nursing and a PhD in Public Health from the Institute of Collective Health at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. She’s an associate researcher at the Studies program in Gender and Health (MUSA-ISC/UFBA) and at the Studies program in Noncommunicable Diseases, Life Course and Aging (ELSA Brasil). She’s also a member of the Working Group on Racism and Health at the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (ABRASCO). Creator and blogger at “População Negra e Saúde” (Health and Black populations) website. Her main areas of research are health inequities in access to healthcare, reproductive rights, racism and health information.