Due to the significant lack of research on the mental health costs of racial discrimination at the time of Elias and Paradies' (2016) study, several controls and aspects could not be accurately addressed. While their study separated surveys by gender, further separating the data by ethnic background, sexuality, and socioeconomic status may have revealed different associations. Additionally, the researchers were unable to address co-morbid mental illnesses among people of color (POC) due to limited data.