scholarly journals The Association of 5-HTTLPR XLL Genotype with Higher Cortisol Levels in African Americans

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen L. Contreras-Sesvold ◽  
Preetha Abraham ◽  
Joseph M. Devaney ◽  
Brennan T. Harmon ◽  
Patricia A. Deuster
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Serotonin Transporter ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate ◽  
Functional Polymorphism ◽  
Hpa Axis Dysregulation ◽  
The Relationship

Genetic variants of the human serotonin transporter (SERT) may contribute to HPA axis dysregulation. SERT has two promoter region polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR: VNTR and SNP: rs25531), which may alter levels of SERT protein and its function. Combining these polymorphisms creates a functional polymorphism (FN) which may modulate mRNA expression. This study examines the relationship between these genetic variants and morning and evening salivary samples of both cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) concentrations in 269 African American (AA) adults. Resultant allele frequencies for the VNTR, SNP, and FN genotypes were 70% L (2% XLL), 84% A, and 54% LA (2% XLLA), respectively. The XLL genotype was associated with significantly higher concentrations of cortisol (~3X) and DHEAS (~2X) for both VNTR and FN polymorphisms. No significant differences were found for SNP genotypes. Conclusions were that persons with VNTR and FN XLL polymorphisms had significantly higher cortisol and DHEAS concentrations than other genotypes. AAs also appear to have a higher frequency of the rare XL allele than Caucasians. Whether the XLL genotype predisposes AAs to greater health challenges will require further research to determine the implications of these findings.

The Relationship of the −5, −8, and −24 Variant Alleles in African Americans to Triosephosphate Isomerase (TPI) Enzyme Activity and to TPI Deficiency

Blood ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 2959-2962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Schneider ◽  
Linda Forman ◽  
Beryl Westwood ◽  
Catherine Yim ◽  
James Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enzyme Activity ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Triosephosphate Isomerase ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Severe Deficiency ◽  
American Society ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract In 424 African-American and 75 white subjects, we found that the −5 (TPI 592 A→G), −8 (TPI 589 G→A), and −24 (TPI 573 T→G) variants in the triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) gene occurred frequently (41.0%) in the African-American subjects but did not occur in the whites. These data suggest that this set of polymorphisms may turn out to be one of the higher-incidence molecular markers of African lineage, a surprising finding because others had reported that these nucleotide substitutions were restricted to a small subset of African Americans who had been characterized as TPI-deficiency heterozygotes. Additionally, we investigated the relationship of these variants to TPI-enzyme activity. Although the variant substitutions (occurring in three haplotypes: −5 alone, −5 −8, and −5 −8 −24) were associated with moderate reduction in enzyme activity, severe-deficiency heterozygotes could not be identified with certainty, and none of the haplotypes were restricted to subjects with marked reduction of enzyme activity. Three subjects were homozygous for the −5 −8 haplotype, a finding inconsistent with the putative role of this haplotype as the cause of a null variant incompatible with life in homozygotes. Despite these findings, the possibility remains that the −5 −8 or −5 −8 −24 haplotypes may in some instances contribute to compound heterozygosity and clinical TPI deficiency. © 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.

Comparison of Beliefs about Advertising, Attitude toward Advertising, and Materialism Held by African Americans and Caucasians

1995 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kak Yoon
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
General Attitude ◽  
Materialistic Values ◽  
The Relationship

This research investigated the relationship between advertising and materialism across African-American and Caucasian groups (87 students and 79 community adults) as well as general attitude toward advertising and beliefs about advertising. The association between attitude toward advertising and materialism was positive. The African-American respondents held more materialistic values than their Caucasian peers; they exhibited a more favorable general attitude toward advertising and held more favorable beliefs about advertising. These findings are consistent with the criticism that advertising is at least connected with materialistic values in our society.

Asa Hilliard: Conceptualizing and Constructing an African-Centered Pedagogy

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15
Author(s):  
DeReef F. Jamison
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Intelligence Testing ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Black Folk ◽  
African People ◽  
African Centered ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
Educational Potential ◽  
The Relationship

Asa G. Hilliard’s involvement in the education and re-Africanization process of African Americans serves as a prime example of an African-centered praxis that can be used to maximize the educational potential and possibilities of African people. As historian, psychologist, and teacher, Hilliard viewed education as one of the cornerstones in the African American quest for freedom and was committed to employing education as a tool to self-discovery and liberation. Hilliard’s work is explored through examining his perspectives on the relationship between history and psychology, the education of Black folk, the efforts to initiate paradigmatic shifts in intelligence testing, and the culture wars. This analysis of Hilliard highlights his theoretical and conceptual contributions to the formation of an African-centered pedagogy that functions as means for African descended people to affirm and assert their agency.

Mass Imprisonment and Trust in the Law

2013 ◽  
Vol 651 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Muller ◽  
Daniel Schrage
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Close Friend ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Incarceration Rate ◽  
Mass Imprisonment ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the relationship between two facets of mass imprisonment—its novel comparative and historical scale and its pervasiveness in the lives of African Americans—and surveys respondents’ beliefs about the harshness of the courts, and bias in the courts or among police. Analyses of national survey data show that as states’ incarceration rates increased, so too did the probability that residents believed that courts were too harsh. However, while white Americans’ opinions about the courts were sensitive to changes in the white incarceration rate, African Americans’ opinions were not sensitive to changes in the African American incarceration rate. African American respondents who had been to prison or who had a close friend or family member who had been to prison were more likely to attribute racial disparities in incarceration to police bias and bias in the courts. The article concludes with a discussion of the possible consequences of declining trust in the law for the future of American punishment.

scholarly journals “What’s Happened to the People?” Gentrification and Racial Segregation in Brooklyn

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-572
Author(s):  
Themis Chronopoulos
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Racial Segregation ◽  
Black Neighborhoods ◽  
The People ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Racial Desegregation ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article explores the relationship between gentrification and racial segregation in Brooklyn, New York with an emphasis on Black Brooklyn. With more than 2.6 million residents, if Brooklyn was a city, it would be the fourth largest in the USA. Brooklyn is the home of approximately 788,000 Blacks with almost 692,000 of them living in an area that historian Harold X. Connolly has called Black Brooklyn. In recent decades, large portions of Brooklyn, including parts of Black Brooklyn have been gentrifying with sizable numbers of whites moving to traditionally Black neighborhoods. One would anticipate racial segregation to be declining in Brooklyn and especially in the areas that are gentrifying. However, this expectation of racial desegregation appears to be false. While there are declines in indices of racial segregation, these declines are frequently marginal, especially when the increase in the number of whites in Black neighborhoods is taken into consideration. At the same time, gentrification has contributed to the displacement or replacement of thousands of long-term African American residents from their homes. This persistence of racial segregation in a time of gentrification raises many questions about the two processes and the effects that they have on African Americans.

Whither the Republican Party

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey D. Fields
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Black Identity ◽  
Racial Diversity ◽  
Specific Kind ◽  
Black Republicans ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter addresses how the tensions between the different factions of African American Republicans structure relations with white Republicans. White Republicans provide the platform upon which black Republicans gain election, notoriety, and resources. The relationship is symmetrically beneficial since black Republicans provide tangible proof of racial diversity within the GOP. To maintain support among white Republicans, African Americans must talk about black identity in a way that is consistent with what white Republicans want to hear. When African-Americans call on white Republicans to speak to black interests specifically and treat conservative social policy as a basis for black advancement, relations with white Republicans are contentious and adversarial. As a consequence, a very specific kind of African American Republican rises to prominence within the GOP.

Racial Identity, Self-Esteem, and the Impostor Phenomenon Among African American College Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quiera M. Lige ◽  
Bridgette J. Peteet ◽  
Carrie M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
African American ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Impostor Phenomenon ◽  
African American College Students ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
The Relationship

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is marked by an individual’s persistent perception of incompetency despite contrary evidence. The presence of IP has been found to negatively affect many college students, but literature on IP among African American college students, specifically, is limited. Previous literature has emphasized a positive association between racial identity and self-esteem for African Americans, and an inverse association between self-esteem and IP among non-African American samples. However, few studies have examined these variables in African American undergraduate samples. Objectives: The current study examined the relationships between racial identity, self-esteem, and IP among African American undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that self-esteem would mediate the relationship between racial identity and IP. Method: The participants were 112 (74% female) self-identified African American undergraduate students who completed an online survey. Results: Mediation testing via bootstrapping revealed support for the hypothesis—self-esteem mediated the relationship between racial identity and IP. Conclusion: University initiatives should focus on creating inclusive environments that foster racial identity development and self-esteem for African Americans to reduce experiences of IP.

scholarly journals Maltreatment timing, HPA axis functioning, multigenic risk, and depressive symptoms in African American youth: Differential associations without moderated mediation

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 1838-1853
Author(s):  
Adrienne A. VanZomeren ◽  
Jingchen Zhang ◽  
Sun-Kyung Lee ◽  
Meredith Gunlicks-Stoessel ◽  
Timothy Piehler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
Future Research ◽  
American Children ◽  
Risk Processes ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractUtilizing a large (N = 739), ancestrally homogenous sample, the current study aimed to better understand biological risk processes involved in the development of depressive symptoms in maltreated, African American children age 8-12 years. Maltreatment was independently coded from Child Protective Services records and maternal report. Self-reported depressive symptoms were attained in the context of a week-long, summer research camp. DNA was acquired from buccal cell or saliva samples and genotyped for nine polymorphisms in four hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis-related genes: FKBP5, NR3C1, NR3C2, and CRHR1. Salivary cortisol samples were collected each morning (9 a.m.) and late afternoon (4 p.m.) throughout the week to assess HPA functioning. Results revealed that experiences of maltreatment beginning prior to age 5 were most predictive of depressive symptoms, whereas maltreatment onset after age 5 was most predictive of HPA axis dysregulation (blunted daytime cortisol patterns). Multigenic risk did not relate to HPA functioning, nor did it moderate the relationship between maltreatment and HPA activity. There was no mediation of the relationship between maltreatment and depressive symptoms by HPA dysfunction. Results are interpreted through a developmental psychopathology lens, emphasizing the principle of equifinality while carefully appraising racial differences. Implications for future research, particularly the need for longitudinal studies, and important methodological considerations are discussed.

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