Citation

Himmelstein MS, Young DM, Sanchez DT, Jackson JS. Psychol. Health 2014; 30(3): 253-267.

Affiliation

Psychology , Rutgers University , Piscataway , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/08870446.2014.966104

PMID

25247925

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Daily events of discrimination are important factors in understanding health disparities. Vigilant coping, or protecting against anticipated discrimination by monitoring and modifying behavior, is an understudied mechanism that may link discrimination and health outcomes. This study investigates how responding to everyday discrimination with anticipatory vigilance relates to the health of Black men and women.

METHODS: Black adults (N=221) from the Detroit area completed measures of discrimination, adverse life events, vigilance coping, stress, depressive symptoms, and self-reported health.

RESULTS: Vigilance coping strategies mediated the relationship between discrimination and stress. Multi-group path analysis revealed that stress in turn was associated with increased depression in men and women. Self-reported health consequences of stress differed between men and women.

CONCLUSIONS: Vigilance-coping mediates the link between discrimination and stress, and stress has consequences for health outcomes resulting from discrimination. More research is needed to understand other underlying contributors to discrimination, stress and poor health outcomes as well as potential interventions to ameliorate health outcomes in the face of discrimination-related stress.

Language: en