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This study examines relationships among financial strain, unfair treatment, and martial satisfaction among African Americans. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, findings indicated that social stressors that occur inside of the home (i.e., financial strain) as well as those experienced outside of the home (i.e., unfair treatment) have negative consequences for marital quality and psychological distress. Furthermore, the combination of experiencing unfair treatment and financial strain has particularly deleterious mental health consequences for married African Americans. Results also highlight the protective effect of marital satisfaction on psychological distress as well as its potential to buffer the negative effects of unfair treatment and financial strain on psychological distress. Implications for policy to improve marital quality and promote the mental health of African Americans are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

Objectives. We examined associations between racial discrimination and actualization, defined as the degree of positive integration between self-identity and racial group identity, and self-rated health and physical pain and impairment. Methods. We used logistic regressions to analyze data from 447 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual-minority American Indians/Alaska Natives. Results. Greater self-reported discrimination was associated with higher odds of physical pain and impairment (odds ratio [OR]=1.42; 95% confidence interval [Cl]=1.13, 1.78); high levels of actualization were associated with lower odds of physical pain and impairment (OR=0.59; 95% Cl=0.35, 0.99) and self-rated fair or poor health (OR=0.54; 95% Cl=0.32, 0.90). Actualization also moderated the influence of discrimination on self-rated health (t=-2.33; P=.020). Discrimination was positively associated with fair or poor health among participants with low levels of actualization, but this association was weak among those with high levels of actualization. Conclusions. Among two-spirit American Indians/Alaska Natives, discrimination may be a risk factor for physical pain and impairment and for fair or poor self-rated health among those with low levels of actualization. Actualization may protect against physical pain and impairment and poor self-rated health and buffer the negative influence of discrimination. (doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.126003)

Objectives. We examined the relations of self-report of general unfair treatment and self-report of race/ethnicity-specific discrimination with current smoking among Asian Americans. We investigated whether ethnic identification moderated either association. Methods. Weighted logistic regressions were performed among 1977 Asian Americans recruited to the National Latino and Asian American Study (2002-2003). Results. In weighted multivariate logistic regression models including both general unfair treatment and racial/ethnic discrimination, odds of current smoking were higher among Asian Americans who reported high levels of unfair treatment (odds ratio [OR]=2.80; 95% confidence interval [CI]= 1.13, 6.95) and high levels of racial/ethnic discrimination (OR=2.40; 95% CI=0.94, 6.12) compared with those who reported no unfair treatment and discrimination, respectively. High levels of ethnic identification moderated racial/ethnic discrimination ([F.sub.3]=3.25; P=.03). High levels of ethnic identification were associated with lower probability of current smoking among participants reporting high levels of racial/ethnic discrimination. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that experiences of unfair treatment and racial/ethnic discrimination are risk factors for smoking among Asian Americans. Efforts to promote ethnic identification may be effective in mitigating the influence of racial/ethnic discrimination on smoking in this population. (doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.102012)

Objectives. We examined lifetime and 12-month rates of any depressive, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders in a national sample of Asian Americans. We focused on factors related to nativity and immigration as possible correlates of mental disorders. Methods. Data were derived from the National Latino and Asian American Study, the first national epidemiological survey of Asian Americans in the United States. Results. The relationships between immigration-related factors and mental disorders were different for men and women. Among women, nativity was strongly associated with lifetime disorders, with immigrant women having lower rates of most disorders compared with US-born women. Conversely, English proficiency was associated with mental disorders for Asian men. Asian men who spoke English proficiently generally had lower rates of lifetime and 12-month disorders compared with nonproficient speakers. Conclusions. For Asian Americans, immigration-related factors were associated with mental disorders, but in different ways for men and women. Future studies will need to examine gender as an important factor in specifying the association between immigration and mental health. (doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.088401)

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Vicarious racism—witnessing or hearing about other individuals of one's ethnic/racial group being the target of racism—has been salient among Asian Americans during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. There is emerging evidence that such experiences adversely impact several health-related outcomes, including sleep. The present study examines associations between vicarious racism and subjective sleep duration and quality, and the potential moderating role of ethnic/racial identity (ERI). Method: Multivariable regression models assessed the association between vicarious racism, private regard, and centrality on self-reported sleep disturbance and duration. The sample consisted of an online sample of 600 Asian American adults (Mage = 38.55, SDage = 17.11; 65.17% female; 60% ≥ Bachelor's degree) recruited from May to June 2020. Results: Vicarious racism was associated with compromised sleep quality and duration, including after adjustment for sociodemographic variables that have been linked to sleep. Private regard toward one's own ethnic/racial group and centrality of ethnicity/race to self-identity buffered the association between vicarious racism and sleep quality and duration. Adverse effects of high vicarious racism on sleep quality and duration were lessened among respondents reporting high levels of ERI private regard and centrality. Conclusions: Findings from this study extend research on racism and sleep by examining vicarious racism, an understudied facet of racism, and by focusing specifically on Asian Americans and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research and practice should consider expanding research on discrimination to include a broader range of unjust experiences. Vicarious racism contributes to health hazards experienced by Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Significance Statement: This study suggests that among Asian Americans in the United States, experiences of vicarious racism during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had detrimental impacts on sleep quality and duration. Two facets of ethnic/racial identity—private regard and centrality—may serve to buffer the negative effects of vicarious racism on sleep. These findings demonstrate the importance of addressing racism as a public health threat and provide greater understanding of the role that ethnic/racial identity may play in protecting against the negative impacts of this unique, and increasingly salient, form of racism on sleep outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines relationships among financial strain, unfair treatment, and martial satisfaction among African Americans. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, findings indicated that social stressors that occur inside of the home (i.e., financial strain) as well as those experienced outside of the home (i.e., unfair treatment) have negative consequences for marital quality and psychological distress. Furthermore, the combination of experiencing unfair treatment and financial strain has particularly deleterious mental health consequences for married African Americans. Results also highlight the protective effect of marital satisfaction on psychological distress as well as its potential to buffer the negative effects of unfair treatment and financial strain on psychological distress. Implications for policy to improve marital quality and promote the mental health of African Americans are discussed.

Objectives: Black Caribbeans in the United States have been the victims of major discrimination (e.g. unfairly fired, denied a promotion, denied housing). What is not known is the degree to which they also experience more routine forms of everyday discrimination such as receiving poor restaurant service, being perceived as dishonest, and being followed in stores. This paper investigates the distribution and correlates of everyday discrimination among a national sample of black Caribbeans in the U.S. Design: This analysis used the black Caribbean sub-sample (n = 1,621) of the National Survey of American Life. Demographic and immigration status correlates of ten items from the Everyday Discrimination Scale were investigated: being treated with less courtesy, treated with less respect, receiving poor restaurant service, being perceived as not smart, being perceived as dishonest, being perceived as not as good as others, and being feared, insulted, harassed, or followed in stores. Results: Roughly one out of ten black Caribbeans reported that, on a weekly basis, they were treated with less courtesy and other people acted as if they were better than them, were afraid of them, and as if they were not as smart. Everyday discrimination was more frequent for black Caribbeans who were male, never married, divorced/separated, earned higher incomes, and who were second or third generation immigrants. Black Caribbeans attributed the majority of the discrimination they experienced to their race. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide an in-depth investigation of everyday discrimination among the black Caribbean population. It provides the frequency, types and correlates of everyday discrimination reported by black Caribbeans in the United States. Understanding the frequency and types of discrimination is important because of the documented negative impacts of everyday discrimination on physical and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the Study: This study examined whether the relation between perceived racial discrimination and psychiatric disorders varied by large geographic region among Black older adults in the United States. Design and Methods: Black adults aged 55 or older who had experienced racial/ethnic-specific discrimination were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine main and interaction effects. Results: Results show that there was a significant main effect of perceived racial discrimination, indicating that greater perceived discrimination was significantly associated with increased odds of having any past-year psychiatric disorder. The interaction of region by perceived racial discrimination was significant: The effect of perceived racial discrimination on any past-year psychiatric disorder was stronger among Blacks in the West than those in the South. Implications: Findings suggest that whereas, in general, perceived racial discrimination is a risk factor for poor mental health among older Blacks, this association may differ by geographic region. Additional research examining reasons for this variation is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]