The Association Between Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among Older African Americans: The Role of Psychological and Social Factors

Abstract

Background Several studies have demonstrated a link between perceived discrimination and depression in ethnic minority groups, yet most have focused on younger or middle-aged African Americans and little is known about factors that may moderate the relationship. Methods Participants were 487 older African Americans (60-98) enrolled in the Minority Aging Research Study. Discrimination, depressive symptoms, and psychological and social resources were assessed via interview using validated measures. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to assess (1) the main relationship between discrimination and depression and (2) resilience, purpose in life, social isolation, and social networks as potential moderators of this relationship. Results In models adjusted for age, sex, education, and income, perceived discrimination was positively associated with depressive symptoms (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.31, p < .001). However, there was no evidence of effect modification by resilience, purpose in life, social isolation, or social networks (all ps ≤ .05). Conclusion and Implications Findings provide support for accumulating evidence on the adverse mental health effects of discrimination among older African Americans. Because the association was not modified by psychological or social factors, these findings do not support a role for a buffering effect of resources on discrimination and depressive symptoms. Further studies are needed to examine a wider range of coping resources among older adults.

Understanding the association between discrimination and depression among sexual minority people of color: Evidence for diminishing returns of socioeconomic advantage

“…In addition to sexual minority identities, the association between racial/ethnic discrimination and depression has been well studied. Studies of various racial/ethnic minority groups such as adults of Mexican‐origin living in California (Finch, Kolody, & Vega, ), Korean immigrants living in North America (Noh & Kaspar, ), and Black/African Americans (Landrine & Klonofl, ; Molina & James, ; Nadimpalli, James, Yu, Cothran, & Barnes, ; Schulz et al., ) have found an association between perceived racial discrimination and depression. Compared to Asian women who immigrated to the United States, Asian American women born in the United States have been over 2 times more likely to experience depression, which was partially explained by reports of perceived racial discrimination (Lau et al., ).…”

Effects of Discrimination on HIV-Related Symptoms in Heterosexual Men of Color

“…Social support may act as a moderator of the relationship between discrimination and physical health as well as of the mediating role of anxiety. Studies have demonstrated mixed evidence regarding the buffering effects of social support on the relationship between discrimination and mental (e.g., depression, anxiety) and physical health (e.g., self-rated health, cardiovascular reactivity to stress) among men and women of color ( Ajrouch, Reisine, Lim, Sohn, & Ismail, 2010 ; Brondolo, Ver Halen, Pencille, Beatty, & Contrada, 2009 ; Gerrard, Gibbons, Fleischli, Cutrona, & Stock, 2018 ; McNeil, Fincham, & Beach, 2014 ; Nadimpalli, James, Yu, Cothran, & Barnes, 2015 ); however, no studies have explored these associations in regard to HIV symptom burden.…”

The role of hardiness in the relation between perceived daily discrimination and depressive symptoms in community college students.

“…Additionally, they found no statistically significant differences in the relation between PDD and mental health due to ethnicity (comparing Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and White groups) or gender. All nine of the studies in their meta-analysis which more specifically examined the relation between PDD and depressive symptoms demonstrated a consistent positive relation (e.g., Nadimpalli et al, 2015).…”

“…Khoshaba and Maddi (1999) Altogether, the benefits of hardiness as a potential moderator of the relation between PDD and mental health appear likely. However, very few researchers have tested the hypothesis that hardiness may play a role in the relation between PDD and mental health in general, even fewer have looked at depressive symptoms or depression specifically (e.g., Nadimpalli et al, 2015), and none have examined this relation in a sample of heterogeneous identities that may be targets of discrimination.…”

“…The relation between perceived daily discrimination (PDD) and negative mental health outcomes exists across groups of individuals with various target identities for discrimination (e.g., Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009). However, research on the relation between PDD and depressive symptoms specifically occurs less frequently (e.g., Nadimpalli, James, Yu, Cothran, & Barnes, 2015), and is completely lacking for heterogeneous groups of individuals who may have experienced discrimination based on multiple target identities and their intersections. In this study, PDD is conceptualized as a chronic stressor, which is hypothesized to be a positive predictor of depressive symptoms after experiences of discrimination pile up over time (Grzywacz, Almeida, & McDonald, 2002;Hammen, 2005).…”