Perceived Racial Discrimination as a Predictor of Health Behaviors: the Moderating Role of Gender

Abstract

Perceived racial discrimination (PRD) has been implicated in undermining the mental and physical health of racial/ethnic minorities. Researchers have begun to explore the indirect role of health behaviors as one factor in helping to explain this relationship. The goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between PRD and a wide range of health behaviors using a prospective, longitudinal design and to explore the role of gender in moderating these relationships. Using data from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study, we examined the relationship between adolescent PRD (accumulated across ages 14–21) and health behaviors (i.e., diet, substance use, exercise) at age 30 in a sample of middle-class black men and women. Using structural equation modeling, results revealed that more cumulative PRD during adolescence was associated with less healthy eating, more substance use (among men), and more exercise (among women) in young adulthood. Implications of these findings for understanding the role of health behaviors in explaining the link between PRD and health outcomes are considered.

Perceived Racial Discrimination and Negative-Mood–Related Drinking Among African American College Students

“…These findings are consistent with evidence that African American men are more responsive to discrimination in terms of substance use than are women (Boynton et al, 2014;Brodish et al, 2011;Brody et al, 2012) and that men, in general, are more likely to drink in response to stress (Armeli et al, 2000;Ayer et al, 2011;Nesic & Duka, 2006). support (Scott, 2004;Swim et al, 2003).…”

“…Little of this work, however, has focused on African Americans, leaving open the question of whether gender differences generalize to this population. In addition, African American men perceive more racial discrimination than do African American women (Seaton et al, 2008), and men also appear more likely to engage in substance use as a response to this treatment (Boynton et al, 2014;Brodish et al, 2011;Brody et al, 2012). Together, these findings suggest that African American men will be more prone to negative-mood-related drinking than women, a difference that will be exacerbated among those who have experienced high levels of lifetime discrimination.…”

Interaction Between Race and Gender and Effect on Implicit Racial Bias Against Blacks

“…62 In another study, discrimination better predicted substance use for Black males, compared to Black females. 39 Recent experience of discrimination increases risk of smoking among Black men, but not Black women. 63 Similar gender differences in the effects of discrimination are reported for other domains of psychopathology including psychological distress, 37 depressive and anxiety symptoms, 23,24 and major depressive disorder.…”

“…17,22,[33][34][35] In addition to exposure, 17 the intersection of race and gender also alters harmful effects of discrimination. 23,[36][37][38][39] In a short cohort, an increase in discrimination was associated with a subsequent increase in depression of male but not female Blacks, 23 a finding which could be replicated over longer periods. 24 All this evidence suggests that exposure and vulnerability to perceived discrimination are not solely a function of race or gender but their intersection.…”

“…24 All this evidence suggests that exposure and vulnerability to perceived discrimination are not solely a function of race or gender but their intersection. 25,36,37,39 This phenomenon may be due to the subordinate male target hypothesis, 40 masculinity ideologies, 41 or traditional gender norms. 41 Most of the research on race by gender differences in bias is focused on explicit, rather than implicit bias.…”