The Impact of Racist Discourse on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Refugees: A Systematic Review

J Immigr Minor Health. 2026 May 19. doi: 10.1007/s10903-026-01935-7. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Western countries continue to demonstrate increased racism toward refugees, which manifests through discrimination, exclusion, and stigmatization in various social, institutional, and policy contexts. Research shows that racism adversely affects health, potentially undermining the psychosocial well-being of refugees. The objective of this review is to systematically examine and analyze the literature on the impact of racism on the psychosocial well-being of racialized refugees. What is the impact of racism on the psychosocial well-being of refugees? We systematically searched for published original articles across both academic and grey literature sources, employing a comprehensive set of pre-determined search-terms. We employed a two-step screening approach where two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, followed by full texts of selected articles. We then tabulated and extracted data from the final selection of articles. These were: characteristics (i.e., year of publication, country, research design), methods, racism construct, psychosocial well-being construct, and psychosocial outcomes of refugees. The initial search yielded 3,116 articles. After removing duplicates, 2,532 articles remained. we identified 2,448 articles after title and abstract screening, leaving 84 for full-text review. Twenty articles were identified for the final analysis. Sixteen of the 20 articles found an association between racism and mental health or psychosocial outcomes. Notably, eight of the articles focused on racism in the media. Four of the articles did not find an association between racism and mental health. Our analysis revealed that racism significantly impacts refugees’ well-being across five domains: mental health (psychological distress, trauma responses), identity and belonging (self-concept erosion, diminished social cohesion), socioeconomic integration (employment barriers, educational challenges), healthcare access, and coping and resilience strategies. This review found several articles that focused on racism and its impact on refugee mental health. Crucially, several of the articles narrowed their focus to racism in the media. This finding emphasizes the importance of focusing on media-based racism and its impact on refugee psychosocial well-being.

PMID:42154429 | DOI:10.1007/s10903-026-01935-7