Lori S. Hoggard

Objective: African American women experience disproportionate cardiovascular disease risk, and altered central hemodynamics signal early vascular aging. For African American mothers, concern about their children’s exposure to racism represents a salient psychosocial stressor, but its vascular consequences are unclear. We examined whether greater racism‑related Concern for Children (CFC) was associated with adverse longitudinal changes in central hemodynamics. Methods: African American mothers aged 30-46 years ( n =236) underwent assessments of central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), augmentation index (AIx), pulse pressure amplification (PPA), and pulse wave velocity (PWV; n =205) at baseline and 4±1 years later. CFC was measured continuously (range 0-24) and categorically (high vs. low). Multivariable linear regression models examined associations between CFC and changes in central hemodynamics, adjusting for baseline values and sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial covariates. Logistic regression evaluated CFC and odds of newly developed high‑risk PPA (PPAP =0.002). At follow‑up, women with high CFC had AIx values 3.9 percentage points higher than those with low CFC ( P =0.005). CFC was also associated with declining PPA (b=‑0.003, 95% CI [‑0.005, ‑0.001]; P =0.024) and greater odds of newly developed high‑risk PPA (OR=1.08, 95% CI [1.01, 1.15]; P =0.033). No associations were observed for cSBP or PWV. Conclusions: Greater racism‑related concern for children is associated with signs of early vascular aging in African American mothers, highlighting the cardiovascular consequences of racism‑related maternal stress.

Objective: Anti-black police violence and harassment have been identified as public health issues. However, studies have primarily focused on direct and/or vicarious police encounters. A dearth of studies has also examined vigilance related to future police encounters, and to our knowledge, no studies have examined all 3 kinds of police-related stress among African American women. Methods: We employed a latent class analysis (LCA) approach to identify classes of African American women ( N = 422), aged 30 to 46, based on the patterning of various forms of self-reported police-related stress: direct, vicarious, police-related vigilance for self, and police-related vigilance for children. We then examined associations between latent class membership and carotid intima media thickness (IMT), a marker of cardiovascular risk. Results: We identified 3 latent classes of police-related stress: (1) high child vigilance-high personal exposure, (2) no child vigilance-high personal exposure, and (3) moderate child vigilance-low self vigilance-low personal exposure class. Findings from the fully adjusted model reveal that the no child vigilance-high personal exposure class had lower common carotid artery (CCA) IMT than the high child vigilance-high personal exposure and moderate child vigilance-low self vigilance-low personal exposure classes. Conclusions: Vigilance for children’s future police encounters may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk in African American women. Agency, system, and policy-level solutions may be needed to reduce anti-black police violence and improve the cardiovascular health of this high-risk population.

This brief review article focuses on police‐perpetrated racism against African American and Black (AAB) communities, typically in the form of police brutality, police violence, and aggressive policing. We assert that police‐perpetrated racism constitutes a racial justice and public health problem. A growing body of literature supports this assertion, with the consequences and correlates of direct police contact, vicarious police contact, and place‐based exposure to aggressive policing including mental health (e.g., anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, trauma) and physical health (e.g., poorer self‐rated health, hypertension) sequelae. We assert that eradicating police‐perpetrated racism requires acknowledgement of the historical landscape of policing as well as the ways in which police‐perpetrated racism maintains racial hierarchies. We conclude by making recommendations for promoting racial equity in policing.

Robert M. Sellers, PhD, most known for his influential and highly cited Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI), is one of the most prolific and foundational Black scholars in psychology. From racial identity theory development and measurement to conceptual and methodological innovations in studying the lived experiences of Black people, Sellers' scholarship centers on the lives of Black communities. Sellers' mentorship and contributions to the professional development of scholars and professionals of color have supported and catalyzed new intergenerational knowledge building by these scholars, ensuring a perpetuating and far-reaching legacy in psychology. In this article, we: (a) celebrate Sellers' enduring contribution to the racial identity literature and its profound impact on psychology as a discipline as well as numerous subfields of psychology, (b) outline his contributions to the racial socialization literature, (c) describe methodological innovations in racial identity and racial socialization research advanced through his scholarship, and (d) summarize his contributions in professional development and mentorship and his leadership roles. Sellers' scholarly contributions and mentorship have transformed the discipline of psychology and the social sciences broadly speaking, making him one of the most influential psychologists in the modern era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Anti-Black racism is an established social determinant of racial health disparities in the United States. Although the majority of research on racism examines in-person individual-level experiences, a majority of Americans engage online and may therefore be exposed to racism directly or indirectly in online contexts. Research suggests that the structural technological features of online contexts may be especially power­ful in perpetuating and enacting racism, often in inconspicuous or automated ways. However, there is a paucity of literature that articulates how structural online racism may be an important catalyst for racial health disparities, despite emerging evidence of racism embedded in our technological infra­structures. Therefore, the purpose of this ar­ticle is to articulate the basis for investigating online racism as a form of structural racism with growing implications for racial health disparities in the digital age. We first define the structural features of online settings that generate and reinforce inequities among racial groups in the United States. Next, we propose a conceptual model detailing potential mechanisms through which struc­tural online racism may translate into racial health disparities. Finally, we discuss ways in which exposures to online racism could be measured in order to capture their structural nature. Implications and future directions for research on online racism as a form of structural racism and corresponding policy for the reduction of racial health disparities are highlighted.Ethn Dis. 2021;31(Suppl 1):311-318; doi:10.18865/ed.31.S1.311

Mounting evidence indicates that racial discrimination is a risk factor for depression among African American men. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptomatology remain unclear. The present study investigated the mediating capacity of personal growth initiative (PGI) in the relation between racial discrimination experiences and depressive symptomatology, as well as whether the proposed mediating relation was moderated by age, education, and income. Participants included 649 African American men recruited from barbershops in the North, South, West, and Midwest regions of the United States and from academic institutions-events. Results revealed significant associations between racial discrimination and a combined latent factor representing depressed affect, interpersonal problems, and somatic complaints but not the latent factor representing positive affect. PGI mediated the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptomatology; however, the mediational pathway was not moderated by age, education, and income. Interventions designed to mitigate the mental health consequences of racial discrimination among African American men might focus on enhancing PGI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).