Esquemas iniciais desadaptativos e estresse racial em universitários brasileiros

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the difference of Early Maladapitive Schemas (EMS) among undergraduate students self-identified Afro-Brazilians and Whites and the relationship between EMS and Racial Stress in undergraduate students self-identified Afro-Brazilians. This is a quantitative, descriptive and correlational study. Furthermore, this is a cross-sectional study, conducted with 263 undergraduate students, whose data was collected online from March 4th to June 14th of 2024. Of this sample, 159 auto-identified as Afro-Brazilians, 101 as White, 2 as Asians and 1 as Indigenous and enrolled in college, either public or private. The sample analysis followed three stages: testing of the factorial structure of the items (AFC) of the instruments, analysis of comparison among groups and correlation of the factors. This thesis is part of the Human Development and Educational Practices in Health research line, because the Racial Stress has repercussions in health that goes throughout the whole life in non-white individuals. From this research it was possible to elaborate an integrative review article, two book chapters, an empirical article and a psychoeducational manual. The review article aimed to investigate how Brazilian scientific literature approaches mental health care to adults who suffered of racial discrimination. The first book chapter describes the repercussions of racism in the Brazilian context, considering the ethno-raciality context and racism in Brazil and its illnesses, furthermore it develops care practices in psychology to assure the principles and values of the Unified Health System (SUS). Meanwhile, the second chapter investigated how literature approaches mental health care practices of the Afro-Brazilian population in a national context and discussed the results based on Psychology Health. The empirical article demonstrated that students with greater experiences of Cultural Discrimination tend to present greater vulnerability, negativity and mistrust perception. Finally, the Educational Manual, in interactive e-Book format, Technical and Technological Product required by the Professional Master's Program in Health Psychology, sought to deal with emotional discomfort triggered when answering to the survey and to be used as a guide for daily life, as well as a therapeutic material and as a support for future researches. Among the limitations of this study highlights the size and type of the sample. The research has been conducted only among undergraduate students and the sample size makes it impossible to calculate the invariance of the measurements used. This makes it impossible to generalize the data. Furthermore, the data collection through retrospective self-reported instruments, which are subject to emotional biases and mnemonic coding, is also a limitation. In this regard, it is suggested that future research investigate a more diverse population, considering other variables, and using multimethods. Finally, it is emphasized that this research highlights vulnerabilities that are reinforced by the mechanisms that sustain racism and exacerbate illnesses, which could provide support for sensitive practices and interventions.