The LEAVE vote and racial abuse towards Black and Minority Ethnic communities across the UK: the impact on mental health

Brexit, acculturative stress and mental health among EU citizens in Scotland

“…Heralding increasingly anti‐immigration ideology and attitudes (Burnett, 2017; Goodman, 2017; Heald et al, 2018; Home Office, 2016), Brexit represented an important change in the acculturative context of the United Kingdom, marking an increase in structural stigma towards its EU citizens (Frost, 2020). Although our study does not necessarily represent typical experiences, it demonstrates some of the ways in which this change is impacting the mental health of EU citizens in Scotland.…”

“…Widely understood to be predominantly a vote on immigration (Guma & Dafydd Jones, 2019; Tyrrell et al, 2019), Brexit signalled and was associated with anti‐immigration rhetoric and ideology, conveyed in political discourse and the media (Burnett, 2017; Goodman, 2017; Heald et al, 2018). It was also accompanied by a surge of racist abuse, marking increasingly negative attitudes towards EU migrants among some voters (Heald et al, 2018; Home Office, 2016).…”

“…Widely understood to be predominantly a vote on immigration (Guma & Dafydd Jones, 2019; Tyrrell et al, 2019), Brexit signalled and was associated with anti‐immigration rhetoric and ideology, conveyed in political discourse and the media (Burnett, 2017; Goodman, 2017; Heald et al, 2018). It was also accompanied by a surge of racist abuse, marking increasingly negative attitudes towards EU migrants among some voters (Heald et al, 2018; Home Office, 2016). Thus, we understand Brexit as a process rather than a single event, comprising not only the referendum result itself but also the ‘leave’ campaign, associated political and media discourse, and the protracted subsequent political process regarding when, on what terms, and even whether the United Kingdom would leave (McCollum, 2020).…”

“…Firstly, theories of acculturative stress and structural stigma predict that Brexit would harm EU citizens' mental health (Berry, 2006, 2009; Hatzenbuehler, 2016). Although other qualitative studies refer to mental health problems, including anxiety (e.g., Pietka‐Nykaza & McGhee, 2020; Rzepnikowska, 2019) and panic attacks (Trąbka & Pustulka, 2020), as yet, none have examined this issue specifically (Heald et al, 2018). Our first aim was therefore to elicit EU citizens' own accounts of Brexit‐related stressors and mental health.…”

The social and environmental determinants of mental health

“…The harmful effects to mental health are clear, claim the authors, but the issue is ignored in political and media discourse. 2 What's also lacking is high-quality research to help understand and tackle the problem.…”