Lack of Representation in Psychiatric Research: A Data-Driven Example From Scientific Articles Published in 2019 and 2020 in the American Journal of Psychiatry

Objective:

The authors examined representation and accuracy of descriptions of sociodemographic identities in psychiatric research through quantifying data contained in recently published articles from a high-impact psychiatry journal.

Methods:

Sociodemographic data were aggregated from articles (i.e., studies that provide information on individual samples) published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2019 and 2020 (N=125). Articles were coded by two raters for sociodemographic data, acknowledgment of lack of representation as a limitation, and focus on health disparities or inequities.

Results:

While 90% of studies provided the age of participants and 84% provided information about the sex/gender of participants, only 43% presented information about the racial or ethnicity identities of participants. One study reported the sexual identity of participants. Lack of representation relative to 2019 U.S. Census data was found for multiple racial groups, Latino/Hispanic individuals, and women (genetic studies only). Only 25% of studies acknowledged lack of representation as a limitation, and two studies focused on health disparities or inequities.

Conclusions:

These findings highlight a need to increase representation in psychiatric research and improve accuracy of language when describing the sociodemographic characteristics of participants.