Primary Submission Category: Race/Ethnicity
Coping in the context of racism-related stress
Authors: Lindsey Burnside
Presenting Author: Lindsey Burnside*
Racism-related stress is a social stressor found to have deleterious effects on health and well-being, and is implicated in Black/White health disparities (Pascoe and Richman, 2009). There is evidence that racism-related stress is distinct from general stress, and may be coped with using different strategies (Harrell, 2000; Utsey, Ponterotto, Reynolds, & Cancelli, 2000; Hoggard et al., 2012). Still, evidence for antecedents and effects of racism-related stress on well-being, plus potential protective factors remain equivocal. Drawing from the biopsychosocial model of perceived racism, this study examined the effects of several coping strategies on psychological and physical health in the context of racial discrimination. Employing a cross-sectional survey of 504 Black American adults, we found that coping strategies such as avoidance and confrontational approach were negatively associated with health, consistent with previous literature. We also found that non-confrontational approach strategies were positively associated with psychological well-being, but not with physical health. Furthermore, interaction effects between coping and frequency of racial discrimination suggest that some coping strategies may only be protective in high-discrimination contexts– including social and emotional support–for which we found significant gender differences.