Significant racial health disparities persist between Black and White individuals in the United States. Psychological science has contributed much to understanding how the interpersonal consequences of racism shape the short-and long-term health of Black Americans across the lifespan. The field has understood experiences of racism as individual-level psychosocial risk and examined stress and coping processes used to alleviate resulting distress. However, the authors argue that the traditionally ahistorical, acontextual, risk-based, and individual approach of psychological science may hamper its ability to reduce racial health disparities. They discuss ways in which a Critical Race Theory framework may further strengthen psychological science's ability to orient toward equitable practices in the reduction and prevention of racial health disparities. As currently available psychological science approaches are compatible with a Critical Race Theory framework, they discuss the merits and implications of employing this framework. What is the significance of this article for the general public?If psychological science aims to reduce racial health disparities, it must seek to intervene upon racism as a system impacting Black Americans' health rather than merely intervening upon the ways in which individual Black Americans perceive racism. Centering the strengths of the Black community through counter storytelling and capacity building while employing a Critical Race Theory approach in practice, policy, and research provides concrete ways to intervene upon racism and restore power to oppressed communities. Such restorative justice is necessary to eliminate racial health disparities.

Purpose: Racial discrimination has long-term consequences for cardiovascular health, potentially by dysregulating acute physiological responses. However, the role of psychological factors that may be protective or increase vulnerability for dysregulated responses, such as racial identity, remains unclear. This study examines the association between racial discrimination and acute parasympathetic responses, and the role of racial centrality, private regard, public regard in this association. Methods: Black young adults (N = 119, M age = 19.45) recruited from a predominantly White institution in the southeastern United States completed an online survey (in which racial discrimination, racial identity, and control variables were reported) and a laboratory visit, during which they were exposed to a vignette of racial discrimination while their parasympathetic activity (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia) was recorded.

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Although many facets of social status (i.e., socioeconomic status, gender, race) are fairly stable, limited work has assessed how youths' identification with their status changes over time. Subjective social status (SSS) refers to one's perception of standing or rank relative to others, and for youth status is generally in the context of society or school. The current study assessed how adolescents' SSS in American society and in their school changes and predicts health and well-being during and after high school. A total of 336 adolescents (M age ϭ 16.40 at Wave 1) reported their SSS at up to three time points, each 2 years apart, such that youth provided data between the 10th grade and 3 years following the transition from high school. Piecewise multilevel modeling was used, including discontinuities to assess the importance of the transition from high school. Society SSS decreased across the period, especially among youth with lower family income, youth whose parents reported lower SSS, and youth who did not attend college. School SSS was stable during high school, declined after 12th grade, and remained stable thereafter. Moderation analyses revealed that school SSS declines more consistently among female adolescents than male adolescents and Latinos relative to other ethnic groups. Lower society and school SSS were associated with more depressive symptoms and greater likelihood of obesity, highlighting the relevance of SSS for health during this important developmental transition. Results suggest declines in SSS are especially common among disadvantaged groups as they age, and that lower SSS may indicate risk for poorer health.

Subjective social status (SSS) reflects one's perception of one's standing within society. SSS has been linked with health outcomes, over and above socioeconomic status, and is thought to influence health in part by shaping stress responsivity. To test this, the present study examined the links between SSS and psychological, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and cardiovascular responsivity in a sample of 87 ethnically diverse late adolescents (M age = 18.39 years). Participants rated their family's SSS while either in high school (n = 50) or one year afterward (n = 37). Participants completed the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST) and reported their fear during baseline and after task completion, provided six saliva samples throughout the task, and had their heart rate monitored continuously throughout the task. Multilevel models, with time points nested within participants, were conducted to assess reactivity and recovery for each outcome. Results indicated that lower SSS was associated with greater fear reactivity and faster rates of HPA axis reactivity and recovery to baseline. Regarding cardiovascular responses, no differences were observed regarding heart rate. Lower SSS predicted increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia during the stress task only among participants who rated their SSS while in high school; no association was observed for those who rated SSS after high school. Results suggest that perceptions of one's family's standing in society can shape responses to stress and potentially broader health.

Differences in exposure to racial discrimination and in coping mechanisms can shape physiological health among emerging adults. This study, grounded in the Biopsychosocial Model, examines whether John Henryism active coping moderates the relation between exposure to racial discrimination and blood pressure in Black college students ( N = 128, M age = 19.33) attending a predominantly White institution. Analyses showed that John Henryism moderated the relation between racial discrimination and diastolic blood pressure but not systolic blood pressure. When participants reported using mean and high levels of John Henryism, more frequent exposure to racial discrimination was significantly associated with higher diastolic blood pressure, B mean = 1.70, t(92) = 2.11, p = .038; B high = 1.91, t(92) = 2.33, p = .022. Results suggest that more frequent exposure to racial discrimination, in the context of increased use of John Henryism, may be associated with greater cardiovascular risk for Black individuals during the transition to adulthood.

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The current study investigates whether prepregnancy maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depressive symptoms, and stress predict children's cortisol diurnal slopes and cortisol awakening responses (CARs) adjusting for relevant variables. Mothers were enrolled after delivering a baby and followed through their subsequent pregnancy with 5 years of longitudinal data on their subsequent child. This prospective design allowed assessment of PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress prior to pregnancy. Children provided three saliva samples per day on three consecutive days at two timepoints in early childhood (M age = 3.7 years, SD = 0.38; M age = 5.04 years, SD = 0.43). Mothers’ PTSD symptoms prior to pregnancy were significantly associated with flatter child diurnal cortisol slopes at 4 and 5 years, but not with child CAR. Findings at the age of 4 years, but not 5 years, remained statistically significant after adjustment for maternal socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, child age, and other covariates. In contrast, maternal prepregnancy depressive symptoms and perceived stress did not significantly predict cortisol slopes or CAR. Results suggest that maternal prepregnancy PTSD symptoms may contribute to variation in early childhood physiology. This study extends earlier work demonstrating risk of adverse outcomes among children whose mothers experienced trauma but associations cannot be disentangled from effects of prenatal mental health of mothers on children's early childhood.