Reported Racial Discrimination, Trust in Physicians, and Medication Adherence Among Inner-City African Americans With Hypertension

Though considerable empirical work has documented the ways in which African Americans are dehumanized by other racial groups, there is no research examining how perceiving dehumanization (i.e., metadehumanization) is associated with the mental health of African Americans. In this study, we examined the indirect effect of racial discrimination on depressive symptoms through metadehumanization and explored whether this indirect effect was contingent on racial identity (i.e., centrality, private regard). African American students completed measures in a university lab located in the Midwestern region of the United States ( N = 326; Mage = 19.7, 72.4% women). We found that the degree to which racial discrimination was indirectly associated with depressive symptoms through metadehumanization was contingent on racial identity dimensions. Specifically, the indirect effect of racial discrimination on depressive symptoms through metadehumanization was only significant for individuals who were relatively higher on centrality and private regard. This research suggests that the role of metadehumanization is stronger among African Americans who strongly identify with and have positive views of their racial group. We discuss these results in the context of social cognitive theories.

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Racial Discrimination Predicts Mental Health Outcomes Beyond the Role of Personality Traits in a Community Sample of African Americans

Clinical Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/2167702620957318 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 216770262095731

Author(s):

Yara Mekawi ◽

Courtland S. Hyatt ◽

Jessica Maples-Keller ◽

Sierra Carter ◽

Vasiliki Michopoulos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

African Americans ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Racial Discrimination ◽

Community Sample ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Hierarchical Regression

Despite a consistent body of work documenting associations between racial discrimination and negative mental health outcomes, the utility and validity of these findings have recently been questioned because some authors have posited that personality traits may account for these associations. To test this hypothesis in a community sample of African Americans ( n = 419, age: M = 43.96 years), we used bivariate relations and hierarchical regression analyses to determine whether racial discrimination accounted for additional variance in depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms beyond the role of personality. Bivariate relations between personality traits and racial discrimination were small and positive (i.e., rs ≈ .10). Regression results demonstrated that racial discrimination accounted for variance in depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress independent of personality traits ( ps < .01). These results suggest that personality traits do not fully explain associations between racial discrimination and negative mental health outcomes, further supporting the detrimental impact of racial discrimination on the mental health of African Americans.

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Quantifying the Influence of Individual, Community, and Health System Factors on Quality of Life Among Inner-City African Americans With Type 2 Diabetes

The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care ◽

10.1177/0145721721996287 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 014572172199628

Author(s):

Jennifer A. Campbell ◽

Alice Yan ◽

Renee E. Walker ◽

Lance Weinhardt ◽

Yang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

African Americans ◽

Inner City ◽

Health System ◽

Community Sample ◽

Primary Data ◽

System Factors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the association of individual, community, and health system factors on quality of life among inner-city African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Methods Primary data from a cross-sectional study with a community sample of 241 inner-city African Americans with type 2 diabetes were analyzed. Paper-based surveys were administered in which the SF-12 was used to capture the physical component (PCS) and mental component (MCS) of quality of life. Four regression approaches (sequential, stepwise with backward and forward selection, and all possible subsets regression) were used to examine the influence of individual, community, and health system factors on PCS and MCS after adjusting for relevant covariates using a conceptual framework. Results In fully adjusted models, having less than a high school education and having major depression were associated with lower quality-of-life scores for MCS across all 4 regression approaches. Being employed was positively associated with better quality-of-life scores for PCS across all 4 regression approaches. PCS was higher across all 4 regression approaches for those reporting a history of trauma. At the health systems level, usual source of care was associated with better PCS across 3 regression approaches. Conclusions These results highlight key factors that influence quality of life among inner-city African Americans with type 2 diabetes that could be targets for interventions in this population. However, additional research is needed to understand existing pathways that may be driving many of these relationships.

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