title: Getting mad but ending up sad: the mental health consequences for African Americans using anger to cope with racism.
abstract: Anger is a common reaction to stressful life events. However, little is known about anger’s use and efficacy as a coping strategy for racism. Is anger a coping strategy for racism that improves mental health? Or does anger operate in an opposing way, deteriorating mental health? The analyses for this research focused on a probability sample of African Americans who reported experiences of acute (n = 246) or chronic (n = 120) racial discrimination in a survey interview. General linear model results revealed that using anger to cope with racial discrimination negatively affected the general well-being and psychological distress of African Americans. These findings raise concerns about the effectiveness (or lack therefore of) of anger as a common coping mechanism for racism, given the deleterious effects it may have on African Americans’ mental health.
authors.affiliation: Dominican University, River Forest, IL.
authors.forename: Chavella T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Pittman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D000786:Anger; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D011287:Prejudice; D012919:Social Behavior / Q000266:history; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology