Top

Published in:

01-04-2018

Psychological pathways from racial discrimination to cortisol in African American males and females

Authors: Daniel B. Lee, Melissa K. Peckins, Justin E. Heinze, Alison L. Miller, Shervin Assari, Marc A. Zimmerman

Published in: Journal of Behavioral Medicine | Issue 2/2018

Abstract

The association between racial discrimination (discrimination) and stress-related alterations in the neuroendocrine response—namely, cortisol secretion—is well documented in African Americans (AAs). Dysregulation in production of cortisol has been implicated as a contributor to racial health disparities. Guided by Clark et al. (Am Psychol 54(10):805–816, 1999. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.10.805) biopsychosocial model of racism and health, the present study examined the psychological pathways that link discrimination to total cortisol concentrations in AA males and females. In a sample of 312 AA emerging adults (45.5% males; ages 21–23), symptoms of anxiety, but not depression, mediated the relation between discrimination and total concentrations of cortisol. In addition, the results did not reveal sex differences in the direct and indirect pathways. These findings advance our understanding of racial health disparities by suggesting that the psychological consequences of discrimination can uniquely promote physiologic dysregulation in AAs.

Abelson, J. L., Khan, S., Liberzon, I., & Young, E. A. (2007). HPA axis activity in patients with panic disorder: Review and synthesis of four studies. Depression and Anxiety, 24, 66–76. doi:10.1002/da.20220/full CrossRefPubMed

Adam, E. K., Heissel, J. A., Zeiders, K. H., Richeson, J. A., Ross, E. C., Ehrlich, K. B., et al. (2015). Developmental histories of perceived racial discrimination and diurnal cortisol profiles in adulthood: A 20-year prospective study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 62, 279–291. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.08.018 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Aiyer, S. M., Heinze, J. E., Miller, A. L., Stoddard, S. A., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2014). Exposure to violence predicting cortisol response during adolescence and early adulthood: Understanding moderating factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 1066–1079. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0097-8 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Arbuckle, J. L. (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: Issues and techniques. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Arnett, J. J., & Brody, G. H. (2008). A fraught passage: The identity challenges of African American emerging adults. Human Development, 51, 291–293. doi:10.1159/000170891 CrossRef

Assari, S., Smith, J. R., Caldwell, C. H., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2015). Gender differences in longitudinal links between neighborhood fear, parental support, and depression among African American emerging adults. Societies, 5, 151–170. doi:10.3390/soc5010151 CrossRef

Berger, M., & Sarnyai, Z. (2015). “More than skin deep”: Stress neurobiology and mental health consequences of racial discrimination. Stress, 18, 1–10. doi:10.3109/10253890.2014.989204 CrossRefPubMed

Bernard, D. L., Lige, Q. M., Willis, H. A., Sosoo, E. E., & Neblett, E. W. (2017). Impostor phenomenon and mental health: The influence of racial discrimination and gender. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(2), 155–166. doi:10.1037/cou0000197 CrossRefPubMed

Brooks, K. P., & Robles, T. F. (2009). Recent depressive and anxious symptoms predict cortisol responses to stress in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 1041–1049. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.005 CrossRefPubMed

Brown, T. N., Williams, D. R., Jackson, J. S., Neighbors, H. W., Torres, M., Sellers, S. L., & Brown, K. T. (2000). Being black and feeling blue: The mental health consequences of racial discrimination. Race and Society, 2(2), 117–131. doi:10.1016/S1090-9524(00)00010-3 CrossRef

Burke, H. M., Davis, M. C., Otte, C., & Mohr, D. C. (2005). Depression and cortisol responses to psychological stress: A meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30, 846–856. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.02.010 CrossRefPubMed

Bylsma, L. M., Morris, B. H., & Rottenberg, J. (2008). A meta-analysis of emotional reactivity in major depressive disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 676–691. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2007.10.001 CrossRefPubMed

Chae, D. H., Epel, E. S., Nuru-Jeter, A. M., Lincoln, K. D., Taylor, R. J., Lin, J., et al. (2016). Discrimination, mental health, and leukocyte telomere length among african american men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 63, 10–16. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.09.001 CrossRefPubMed

Chrousos, G. P. (2009). Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 5, 374–381. doi:10.1038/nrendo.2009.106 CrossRefPubMed

Clark, R., Anderson, N. B., Clark, V. R., & Williams, D. R. (1999). Racism as a stressor for African Americans: A biopsychosocial model. American Psychologist, 54, 805–816. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.10.805 CrossRefPubMed

Cohen, S., Schwartz, J. E., Epel, E., Kirschbaum, C., Sidney, S., & Seeman, T. (2006). Socioeconomic status, race, and diurnal cortisol decline in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 41–50. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000195967.51768.ea CrossRefPubMed

Dearing, E., & Hamilton, L. C. (2006). V. Contemporary advances and classic advice for analyzing mediating and moderating variables. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 71, 88–104. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5834.2006.00406.x

Derogatis, L. R., & Spencer, P. M. (1982). Administration and procedures: BSI manual I. Baltimore: Clinical Psychometric Research.

DeSantis, A. S., Adam, E. K., Doane, L. D., Mineka, S., Zinbarg, R. E., & Craske, M. G. (2007). Racial/ethnic differences in cortisol diurnal rhythms in a community sample of adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, 3–13. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.03.006 CrossRefPubMed

Dickerson, S. S., & Kemeny, M. E. (2004). Acute stressors and cortisol responses: A theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 355–391. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.355 CrossRefPubMed

English, D., Lambert, S. F., & Ialongo, N. S. (2014). Longitudinal associations between experienced racial discrimination and depressive symptoms in African American adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 50, 1190–1196. doi:10.1037/a0034703 CrossRefPubMed

Fekedulegn, D. B., Andrew, M. E., Burchfiel, C. M., Violanti, J. M., Hartley, T. A., Charles, L. E., & Miller, D. B. (2007). Area under the curve and other summary indicators of repeated waking cortisol measurements. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(7), 651–659. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e31814c405c CrossRefPubMed

Fuller-Rowell, T. E., Evans, G. W., & Ong, A. D. (2012). Poverty and health the mediating role of perceived discrimination. Psychological Science, 23, 734–739. doi:10.1177/0956797612439720 CrossRefPubMed

Geronimus, A. T., Hicken, M., Keene, D., & Bound, J. (2006). “Weathering” and age patterns of allostatic load scores among blacks and whites in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 96, 826–833. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.060749 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Graber, J. A., & Sontag, L. M. (2009). Internalizing problems during adolescence. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Individual bases of adolescent development (3rd ed., Vol. 1). New Jersey: Wiley.

Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2001). Development of gender differences in depression: An elaborated cognitive vulnerability–transactional stress theory. Psychological Bulletin, 127(6), 773–796. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.6.773 CrossRefPubMed

Harrell, S. P. (1997). The racism and life experience scales (RaLES): Self-administration version. Unpublished manuscript.

Hoggard, L. S., Hill, L. K., Gray, D. L., & Sellers, R. M. (2015). Capturing the cardiac effects of racial discrimination: Do the effects “keep going”? International Journal of Psychophysiology, 97, 163–170. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.04.015 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Hope, E. C., Hoggard, L. S., & Thomas, A. (2015). Emerging into adulthood in the face of racial discrimination: Physiological, psychological, and sociopolitical consequences for African American Youth. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 1, 342–351. doi:10.1037/tps0000041 CrossRef

Hudson, D. L., Neighbors, H. W., Geronimus, A. T., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). Racial discrimination, John Henryism, and depression among African Americans. Journal of Black psychology, 42, 221–243. doi:10.1177/0095798414567757 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Hurd, N. M., Varner, F. A., Caldwell, C. H., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2014). Does perceived racial discrimination predict changes in psychological distress and substance use over time? An examination among Black emerging adults. Developmental Psychology, 50, 1910–1918. doi:10.1037/a0036438 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Jackson, J. S., Knight, K. M., & Rafferty, J. A. (2010). Race and unhealthy behaviors: Chronic stress, the HPA axis, and physical and mental health disparities over the life course. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 933–939. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.143446 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Jones, S. C., Lee, D. B., Gaskin, A. L., & Neblett, E. W., Jr. (2014). Emotional response profiles to racial discrimination: Does racial identity predict affective patterns? Journal of Black Psychology, 40, 334–358. doi:10.1177/0095798413488628 CrossRef

Kaholokula, J. K. A., Grandinetti, A., Keller, S., Nacapoy, A. H., & Mau, M. K. (2012). Association between perceived racism and physiological stress indices in Native Hawaiians. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 35, 27–37. doi:10.1007/s10865-011-9330-z CrossRefPubMed

Kirschbaum, C., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1989). Salivary cortisol in psychobiological research: An overview. Neuropsychobiology, 22(3), 150–169. doi:10.1159/000118611 CrossRefPubMed

Klimes-Dougan, B., Hastings, P. D., Granger, D. A., Usher, B. A., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2001). Adrenocortical activity in at-risk and normally developing adolescents: Individual differences in salivary cortisol basal levels, diurnal variation, and responses to social challenges. Development and Psychopathology, 13(3), 695–719. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/E6C5B640AD399B3192827D375E0F8919/S0954579401003157a.pdf/adrenocortical_activity_in_atrisk_and_normally_developing_adolescents_individual_differences_in_salivary_cortisol_basal_levels_diurnal_variation_and_responses_to_social_challenges.pdf.CrossRefPubMed

Lee, D. B., & Neblett, E. W. (2017). Religious development in African American adolescents: Growth patterns that offer protection. Child Development. doi:10.1111/cdev.12896

Lee, D. B., Neblett, E. W., Jr., & Jackson, V. (2014). The role of optimism and religious involvement in the association between race-related stress and anxiety symptomatology. Journal of Black Psychology, 41, 221–246. doi:10.1177/0095798414522297 CrossRef

Lewis, T. T., Cogburn, C. D., & Williams, D. R. (2015). Self-reported experiences of discrimination and health: Scientific advances, ongoing controversies, and emerging issues. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 11, 407–440. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032814-112728 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Loesch, D. Z., Hopper, J. L., Rogucka, E., & Huggins, R. M. (1995). Timing and genetic rapport between growth in skeletal maturity and height around puberty: similarities and differences between girls and boys. American Journal of Human Genetics, 56(3), 753. Retrieved from https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih.gov.proxy.lib.umich.edu/pmc/articles/PMC1801156/

McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease: Allostasis and allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840, 33–44. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09546.x CrossRefPubMed

McLaughlin, K. A., Hatzenbuehler, M. L., & Keyes, K. M. (2010). Responses to discrimination and psychiatric disorders among Black, Hispanic, female, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 1477–1484. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.181586 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Muthén, L. K. & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

Neblett, E. W., & Carter, S. E. (2012). The protective role of racial identity and africentric worldview in the association between racial discrimination and blood pressure. Psychosomatic Medicine, 74, 509–516. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182583a50 CrossRefPubMed

Pager, D., & Shepherd, H. (2008). The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 181–209. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.131740 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Pieterse, A. L., Todd, N. R., Neville, H. A., & Carter, R. T. (2012). Perceived racism and mental health among Black American adults: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 1–9. doi:10.1037/a0026208 CrossRefPubMed

Polanco-Roman, L., Danies, A., & Anglin, D. M. (2016). Racial discrimination as race-based trauma, coping strategies, and dissociative symptoms among emerging adults. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 8, 609. doi:10.1037/tra0000125 CrossRef

Powers, S. I., Laurent, H. K., Gunlicks-Stoessel, M., Balaban, S., & Bent, E. (2016). Depression and anxiety predict sex-specific cortisol responses to interpersonal stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 69, 172–179. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.007 CrossRefPubMed

Richman, L. S., & Jonassaint, C. (2008). The effects of race-related stress on cortisol reactivity in the laboratory: Implications of the Duke lacrosse scandal. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 35, 105–110. doi:10.1007/s12160-007-9013-8 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Rockett, I. R., Samora, J. B., & Coben, J. H. (2006). The black–white suicide paradox: Possible effects of misclassification. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 2165–2175. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.05.017 CrossRefPubMed

Pruessner, J. C., Kirschbaum, C., Meinlschmid, G., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2003). Two formulas for computation of the area under the curve represent measures of total hormone concentration versus time-dependent change. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 28(7), 916–931. doi:10.1016/S0306-4530(02)00108-7 CrossRefPubMed

Schmeelk-Cone, K. H., Zimmerman, M. A., & Abelson, J. L. (2003). The buffering effects of active coping on the relationship between SES and cortisol among African American young adults. Behavioral Medicine, 29(2), 85–94. doi:10.1080/08964280309596061 CrossRefPubMed

Shin, L. M., & Liberzon, I. (2010). The neurocircuitry of fear, stress, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35, 169–191. doi:10.1038/npp.2009.83 CrossRefPubMed

Soto, J. A., Dawson-Andoh, N. A., & BeLue, R. (2011). The relationship between perceived discrimination and generalized anxiety disorder among African Americans, Afro Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic Whites. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 258–265. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.09.011 CrossRefPubMed

Stewart, E. A., Baumer, E. P., Brunson, R. K., & Simons, R. L. (2009). Neighborhood racial context and perceptions of police-based racial discrimination among black youth. Criminology, 47(3), 847–887. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00159.x CrossRef

Susman, E. J. (2006). Psychobiology of persistent antisocial behavior: Stress, early vulnerabilities and the attenuation hypothesis. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 30, 376–389. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.08.002 CrossRefPubMed

Vreeburg, S. A., Zitman, F. G., van Pelt, J., DeRijk, R. H., Verhagen, J. C., van Dyck, R., et al. (2010). Salivary cortisol levels in persons with and without different anxiety disorders. Psychosomatic Medicine, 72, 340–347. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181d2f0c8 CrossRefPubMed

Williams, M. T., Chapman, L. K., Wong, J., & Turkheimer, E. (2012). The role of ethnic identity in symptoms of anxiety and depression in African Americans. Psychiatry Research, 199, 31–36. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2012.03.049 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and racial disparities in health: Evidence and needed research. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32, 20–47. doi:10.1007/s10865-008-9185-0 CrossRefPubMed

Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2013). Racism and health I: Pathways and scientific evidence. American Behavioral Scientist. doi:10.1177/0002764213487340

Zeiders, K. H., Doane, L. D., & Roosa, M. W. (2012). Perceived discrimination and diurnal cortisol: Examining relations among Mexican American adolescents. Hormones and Behavior, 61, 541–548. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.01.018 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Zeiders, K. H., Hoyt, L. T., & Adam, E. K. (2014). Associations between self-reported discrimination and diurnal cortisol rhythms among young adults: The moderating role of racial–ethnic minority status. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 50, 280–288. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.08.023 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Zhao, X., Lynch, J. G., & Chen, Q. (2010). Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and truths about mediation analysis. Journal of consumer research, 37, 197–206. doi:10.1086/651257 CrossRef

Zimmerman, M. A., & Schmeelk-Cone, K. H. (2003). A longitudinal analysis of adolescent substance use and school motivation among African American youth. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 185–210.CrossRef

Title: Psychological pathways from racial discrimination to cortisol in African American males and females
Authors: Daniel B. Lee
Melissa K. Peckins
Justin E. Heinze
Alison L. Miller
Shervin Assari
Marc A. Zimmerman
Publication date: 01-04-2018
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Behavioral Medicine / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 0160-7715
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3521
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-017-9887-2

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Psychological pathways from racial discrimination to cortisol in African American males and females

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2018

Racial (vs. self) affirmation as a protective mechanism against the effects of racial exclusion on negative affect and substance use vulnerability among black young adults

Cancer-related loneliness mediates the relationships between social constraints and symptoms among cancer patients

The association between previous success with weight loss through dietary change and success in a lifestyle modification program

The longitudinal, bidirectional relationships between parent reports of child secondhand smoke exposure and child smoking trajectories

Episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting and cigarette demand: an investigation of the good-subject effect

Testing a mobile mindful eating intervention targeting craving-related eating: feasibility and proof of concept