Race-related stress and smoking among pregnant African-American women

The present study tested gender as a moderator of the relationship between race-related stress and mental health symptoms among African American adults. Because African American women are exposed to stressors associated with race and gender, we hypothesized that African American women would have higher levels of race-related stress and more severe mental health outcomes related to experiences of race-related stress compared to African American men. Multivariate analyses revealed that African American men had higher stress appraisals for institutional racism than did women. No significant gender differences were found for cultural and individual racism. Moderated regression analyses revealed that increases in stress appraisals for individual racism were associated with increases in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms for African American women. Race-related stress had no significant effects on mental health symptoms for African American men. The findings suggest that gender is an important factor in determining the impact of race-related stress on mental health.

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Active coping moderates associations among race-related stress, rumination, and depressive symptoms in emerging adult African American women

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579418001268 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 1817-1835 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Labarron K. Hill ◽

Lori S. Hoggard

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

African American ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

African American Women ◽

Active Coping ◽

John Henryism ◽

American Women ◽

Related Stress ◽

Race Related Stress

AbstractCross-sectional and longitudinal research has shown that race-related stress is associated with increased depressive symptoms among racial/ethnic minorities. Rumination has long been considered a maladaptive self-regulatory response to race-related stress, and growing evidence suggests that it may be an important link in the relation between race-related stress and depression. More adaptive forms of self-regulation, such as active coping, may counteract the negative impact of rumination. We examined the influence of rumination on the relation between race-related stress and depressive symptoms in a sample (N= 69) of young adult (mean age = 20 ± 1.5 years) African American women. We also considered the possible moderating effects of John Henryism, a form of persistent and determined goal striving, and vagally mediated heart rate variability, a purported biomarker of coping. Anticipatory race-related stress was indirectly associated with depressive symptoms through rumination: estimate = 0.07, 95% confidence interval [0.01, 0.16]. Both John Henryism and vagally mediated heart rate variability moderated the relationship between race-related stress and rumination; however, only John Henryism reliably influenced the indirect association between race-related stress and depression through rumination. We discuss these findings in the context of growing research examining the interplay between cultural and biological factors in the risk for poorer mental health.

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Coping Strategies as Moderators of the Relation Between Individual Race-Related Stress and Mental Health Symptoms for African American Women

Psychology of Women Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0361684311399388 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 215-226 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Tawanda M. Greer

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

African American ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

African American Women ◽

Mental Health Symptoms ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

American Women ◽

Related Stress ◽

Race Related Stress

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Shifting Can Be Stressful for African American Women: A Structural Mediation Model

Journal of Black Psychology ◽

10.1177/0095798420939721 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (5) ◽

pp. 364-387

Author(s):

Glenn Gamst ◽

Leticia Arellano-Morales ◽

Lawrence S. Meyers ◽

Dylan G. Serpas ◽

Jessica Balla ◽

...

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African American Women ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Structural Model ◽

Clinical Work ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Future Research ◽

American Women ◽

Related Stress ◽

Race Related Stress

The present study was designed to examine shifting, the phenomenon of altering or modifying one’s self-presentation in different social contexts, as a mediator of the predictive effects of African American women’s acculturation on their perceived race-related stress. To explore this issue, measures of African American acculturation, shifting, and race-related stress were examined within a structural model. The current study quantitatively examined the relationships of these variables among a sample of 366 African American women. Results of a structural equation model indicated full mediation; greater levels of immersion in African American acculturation resulted in greater levels of shifting, which, in turn, generated increased levels of race-related stress. These data extend previous work and expand the literature regarding African American women’s shifting. Implications for clinical work and future research with African American women are also discussed.

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Stress and African American Women’s Smoking/Drinking to Cope

Journal of Black Psychology ◽

10.1177/0095798410396087 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 452-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Mia Budescu ◽

Ronald D. Taylor ◽

Rebecca Kang McGill

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

African American ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

African American Women ◽

Neighborhood Crime ◽

Drinking To Cope ◽

American Women ◽

Kin Support ◽

Relationship Stress ◽

Related Stress

Associations of urban poverty-related stress with smoking and drinking to cope and the moderating role of kin social support were assessed in African American women. Findings revealed that among a sample of 101 poor African American women residing in economically and socially disadvantaged neighborhoods, depressive symptoms and relationship stress were significantly associated with smoking. Similarly, perceptions of neighborhood crime were marginally associated with alcohol use. Kinship support was hypothesized to buffer women from the deleterious impacts of stress. The results revealed that kin social support moderated the association of poverty-related stress with smoking and drinking. For women with higher levels of kin support, the positive association of neighborhood crime and drinking was less apparent compared with women with low support. Also, the links between relationship stress, depressive symptoms, and smoking were less apparent for women with higher kin support compared with those with lower support. Findings are discussed in terms of the need for additional research on the social networks available to economically disadvantaged African American families and the manner in which networks operate.

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Racism-related stress and psychological distress: Black Women’s Experiences Living with Lupus study

Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1177/1359105320913085 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 135910532091308

Author(s):

Evelyn A Hunter ◽

Erica C Spears ◽

Connor D Martz ◽

Kara Chung ◽

Thomas E Fuller-Rowell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus ◽

African American ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Disease Activity ◽

African American Women ◽

Lupus Erythematosus ◽

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease ◽

Systemic Lupus ◽

American Women ◽

Related Stress

Disparate health consequences in African American women with systemic lupus erythematosus include greater severity of physical and psychological distress. Racism-related stress is also related to psychological distress correlates in this population. This study examined the relationships between racism-related experiences, psychological distress, and systemic lupus erythematosus activity in 430 African American women from the Black Women’s Experiences Living with Lupus study. The structural equation model suggests that psychological distress mediates the relationship between racism-related stress and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity. The impact of racism-related stress on systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity may occur primarily through their impact on psychological health variables. Implications for clinical care and future directions are explored.

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