Prejudice and discrimination make you sick

Diversity lived as an effective means of prevention

Those who experience prejudice or discrimination are more likely to suffer from eating disorders, migraines, burnout or depression. For prevention purposes, the visibility of diversity in society and companies is an effective tool and should be given greater focus in the future as an important part of health management. This is one of the key findings that rheingold obtained on behalf of IKK classic on the "Effect of prejudice and discrimination in everyday life".

Affected persons tend to self-deprecation

More than every second person in Germany (60 percent) is affected by prejudice and discrimination, for example people with a migration background, LGBTIQ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) or also, for example, people with special characteristics such as being overweight.

The depth-psychological as well as representative-quantitative study analyzes and clarifies for the first time the connections between experiences of discrimination and the effects on health and shows how strongly people unconsciously internalize prejudices and subsequently devalue themselves. In this way, prejudices can restrict or deform the development of the personality and lead to personal potential not being fully exploited.

Supposed ways out of powerlessness

"Prejudice and discrimination are often unconsciously perceived as one's own weakness," says rheingold study author Uwe Hambrock. Many are ashamed of their weakness and even feel guilty. "Guilt is a mental mechanism to get out of powerlessness," explains the psychologist. "It suggests that one has influence over what is happening and can even prevent it in the future." But the resulting self-doubt rather rarely leads to maturity or strength, but rather to sadness, listlessness and the loss of the courage to face life. If no psychological processing takes place, somatizations such as gastrointestinal disorders, migraines or burnout can develop. People who are severely discriminated against are twice as likely to take early retirement as those who are not discriminated against. "Avoiding these risks should be part of companies' health management," says Hambrock.

Diversity lived is the best prevention

The study shows prevention and intervention options to reduce the risk of discriminatory behavior. One way is to clearly show diversity and to cast it by positive role models - those affected should not be shown as victims, but as strong personalities. Mere information and education are of little use, since the reduction of prejudice happens less through a change in cognitive attitudes than through an influence on affective variables. Especially when feelings of fear are involved or there is a sense that society's values and norms are threatened, direct contact and exchange is helpful. The most efficient means of combating prejudice is contact and personal interaction with people from the groups concerned, i.e., lived diversity.

Less prejudice means fewer illnesses. With the depth-psychological as well as representative-quantitative rheingold study and an attitude campaign carried out by the agency Scholz & Friends Düsseldorf, among others, IKK classic wants to draw attention to the health dimensions of prejudice and discrimination and counteract them preventively.

"With this study, we want to raise awareness for healthy coexistence and contribute to education on this important topic," comments Frank Hippler, Chairman of the Board of IKK classic. "Respectful exchange as well as appreciative interaction with other people and social groups are important factors in ensuring that prejudices do not turn into discriminatory behavior in the first place. Our goal is to show attitude - toward our policyholders and our employees."

The study? consists of a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. First, personal experiences of discrimination in everyday life were collected in 40 individual interviews with people aged 18 and older. With a representative sample of 1,527 people, the hypotheses established in the individual interviews were tested.

For more information on the study design and results, please visit www.vorurteile-machen-krank.de.

Those affected suffer more frequently from illnesses:

• Breakdowns / burnout: 3.4 times more frequent
• Migraine / chronic headache: 3 times more frequent
• Anxiety disorders and phobias: 2.8 times more frequent
• Depression: 2.5 times more frequent
• Sleep disorders: 2.3 times more frequent
• Gastrointestinal diseases: 2.3 times more frequent