Various authors have noted that interethnic group and intraethnic group racism are significant stressors for many African Americans. As such, intergroup and intragroup racism may play a role in the high rates of morbidity and mortality in this population. Yet, although scientific examinations of the effects of stress have proliferated, few researchers have explored the psychological, social, and physiological effects of perceived racism among African Americans. The purpose of this article was to outline a biopsychosocial model for perceived racism as a guide for future research. The first section of this article provides a brief overview of how racism has been conceptualized in the scientific literature. The second section reviews research exploring the existence of intergroup and intragroup racism. A contextual model for systematic studies of the biopsychosocial effects of perceived racism is then presented, along with recommendations for future research.

The "activities of daily living," or ADLs, are the basic tasks of everyday life, such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and transferring. Reported estimates of the size of the elderly population with ADL disabilities differ substantially across national surveys. Differences in which ADL items are being measured and in what constitutes a disability account for much of the variation. Other likely explanations are differences in sample design, sample size, survey methodology, and age structure of the population to which the sample refers. When essentially equivalent ADL measures are compared, estimates for the community-based population vary by up to 3.1 percentage points; and for the institutionalized population, with the exception of toileting, by no more than 3.2 percentage points. As small as these differences are in absolute terms, they can be large in percent differences across surveys. For example, the National Medical Expenditure Survey estimates that there are 60 percent more elderly people with ADL problems than does the Supplement on Aging.

This study explored select psychometric properties of the Everyday Discrimination Scale in 120 Black adolescents (65 males and 55 females). Youth completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale and the Child Behaviour Checklist‐Youth Self‐Report Form. A t‐test analysis revealed that Everyday Discrimination Scale scores were not significantly different for males and females (p>0.18). The alpha reliability coefficient was 0.87, with item‐total correlations that ranged from 0.50 to 0.70 (mean=0.61). The split‐half reliability was 0.83 (p<0.0001). A principal component analysis yielded one factor, which accounted for approximately 49% of the standardized variance. Correlation analyses indicated that the Everyday Discrimination Scale score was significantly related to internalizing and externalizing symptoms (ps<0.0002).

Examined the relations among family protective factors, stressful events, and behavioral adjustment of 64 African American 6th graders. The youths reported on family stressors, father-figure involvement, and kin support. Their primary caregivers reported on parenting, father-figure involvement, and family stressors. Teachers reported on child social skill deficits, acting out, and shy or anxious behavior. Based on regression analyses, stress exposure associated positively with child social skill deficits, acting out, and shy or anxious behavior. Parental warmth was associated negatively with shy or anxious behavior. Parental use of corporal punishment was associated positively with child acting out. For youth exposed to high numbers of family stressors, parental demandingness was associated negatively with child acting out and kin support was associated negatively with acting out and shy or anxious behavior, suggesting that these family factors partially shield children from the negative effects of stress.

This study explored the effects of perceived racism and social support (quantity and quality) on blood pressure reactivity. In a college sample of 64 Blacks (M age = 22.69 years, SD =6.60), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were assessed before and during a standardized serial subtraction task. Perceptions of racism and the quantity and quality of social support were measured by self-report. Separate multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived racism and social support (neither quantity nor quality) were not independent predictors of SBP or DBP changes (ps >.05). These analyses did indicate that perceived racism interacted with the quantity of social support (p <.002, partial R2 =.175) and with the quality of social support (p <.0007, partial R2 =.195) to predict DBP changes. Perceived racism also interacted with the quantity of social support to predict changes in SBP (p <.02, partial R2 =.11). In general, whereas high social support was related to less marked blood pressure changes under conditions of low perceived racism, high social support was associated with exaggerated blood pressure changes under conditions of high perceived racism. These significant interaction effects persisted after statistically controlling for potential confounders. The findings highlight the importance of examining the joint contribution of real-world experiences and coping resources to blood pressure reactivity in Blacks.