Everyday discrimination and physical health: Exploring mental health processes.
Goals of this study were to examine the mental health processes whereby everyday discrimination is associated with physical health outcomes. Data are drawn from a community health survey conducted with 1299 US adults in a low-resource urban area. Frequency of everyday discrimination was associated with overall self-rated health, use of the emergency department, and one or more chronic diseases via stress and depressive symptoms operating in serial mediation. Associations were consistent across members of different racial/ethnic groups and were observed even after controlling for indicators of stressors associated with structural discrimination, including perceived neighborhood unsafety, food insecurity, and financial stress.
Yale School of Public Health, USA Harvard Medical School, USA Boston Children's Hospital, USA valerie.earnshaw@childrens.harvard.edu.
Valerie A
VA
Earnshaw
Yale School of Public Health, USA Pace University, USA.
Lisa
L
Rosenthal
Yale School of Public Health, USA Drexel School of Public Health, USA.
Amy
A
Carroll-Scott
Yale School of Public Health, USA.
Alycia
A
Santilli
Yale School of Public Health, USA.
Kathryn
K
Gilstad-Hayden
Yale School of Public Health, USA.
Jeannette R
JR
Ickovics
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003237:Connecticut / Q000208:ethnology; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology*; D011287:Prejudice / Q000208:ethnology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
depressive symptoms; everyday discrimination; health; stress; structural discrimination