title: Mediators of discrimination and self-rated health among African Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether stress and depressive symptoms mediated relationships of perceived discrimination and self-rated health among African Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nonparametric bootstrapping procedure was used to assess mediation, controlling for sociodemographic variables, among 1406 cohort study adults (age=45.5±12.6, 25.1% male).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Greater discrimination was associated with poorer self-rated health (β =-.010, SE=.003, p = .001). Stress and depressive symptoms were each significant mediators of this relationship in single and multiple mediator models (ps ≤ 05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceived discrimination may contribute to poorer self-rated health among African Americans through heightened levels of stress and depression. Interventions addressing these mechanisms might help reduce the impact of discrimination on health. Definitive results await longitudinal study designs to assess causal pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Disparities Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Adolfo G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Cuevas
authors.forename: Lorraine R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Reitzel
authors.forename: Yumei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Nga
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wetter
authors.forename: Claire E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Kellie L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Seann D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.forename: Lorna H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: McNeill
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D063505:Racism / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States