The effects of race-related stress on cortisol reactivity in the laboratory: implications of the Duke lacrosse scandal.
BACKGROUND
The experience of race-related stressors is associated with physiological stress responses. However, much is unknown still about the complex relationship between how race-related stressors are perceived and experienced and potential moderators such as strength of racial identity.


OBJECTIVE
This research examines the impact of a real-life stressor and strength of race identity on physiological responses to a social evaluative threat induced in the laboratory.


METHODS
Salivary cortisol measures were collected throughout a stressor protocol. African-American participants were also randomized to one of two conditions designed to promote either racial identification or student identification, before the experimental task. Unexpectedly, a highly publicized real-life racial stressor, the Duke Lacrosse (LaX) scandal, occurred during the course of the data collection. This allowed for pre-post LaX comparisons to be made on cortisol levels.


RESULTS
These comparisons showed that across both priming conditions, participants post-LaX had highly elevated cortisol levels that were nonresponsive to the experimental stress task, while their pre-LaX counterparts had lower cortisol levels that exhibited a normal stress response pattern. Furthermore, this effect of LaX was significantly moderated by gender, with women having lower mean cortisol levels pre-LaX but significantly greater cortisol levels than all other groups post-LaX.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that recent exposure to race-related stress can have a sustained impact on physiological stress responses for African Americans.
Richman
Laura Smart
LS
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. lrichman@duke.edu
Jonassaint
Charles
C
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D015865:Racquet Sports; D012016:Reference Values; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D012933:Social Identification; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000378:metabolism
D006854:Hydrocortisone