Dawne M. Mouzon

Black Americans have lower rates of depression and anxiety than Whites, despite greater exposure to stressors known to negatively impact mental health, characterized as the Black-White mental health paradox. This study revisited the paradox during the coronavirus pandemic. Drawing on stress process theory, minority stress theory, and the rejection-identification model of discrimination, in-group identity, and well-being, we analyzed original survey data from a quota sample of African American and White adults (N = 594). The survey included a range of stressors and coping resources, including those relevant to the pandemic (e.g., COVID-19 illness) and race (e.g., witnessing anti-Black police violence). Results indicate that despite African Americans’ greater exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination, the Black-White mental health paradox holds, owing in part to protective effects of African American’s higher self-esteem. Directions for future exploration of the paradox are presented based on this study’s findings.

Objectives: African Americans experience relatively low rates of mental disorder despite being disproportionately exposed to psychosocial stressors. Coping is an understudied area that may help explain the mental health resilience among this population. Methods: Using data from the National Survey of American Life, I use negative binomial logistic regression to investigate the relationships between stress exposure/appraisal, ten coping responses, and mental health among older African American adults. Results: Seven of 10 coping responses were predictive of psychological distress. I also found evidence of moderation for six responses. Active coping, instrumental social support, looking for something good in what has happened, and two measures of acceptance were protective against psychological distress associated with high levels of stress. Substance use generally exacerbated the association between stress and psychological distress. Discussion: Problem-focused coping and acceptance responses were effective coping strategies for older African Americans under high levels of stress exposure/appraisal.

Despite research on the dramatic changes in marriage, there is a dearth of research on the correlates of marriage and romantic involvement among older African Americans. This is an important omission because although the marriage decline is universal, African Americans show the steepest decline in marriage rates. Based on data from the National Survey of American Life, multinomial logistic regression analysis is used to identify demographic and health correlates of: 1) being married or cohabiting, 2) having a romantic involvement, 3) not having a romantic involvement but desiring one, and lastly, 4) not having and not desiring a romantic involvement. Four in 10 older African Americans are either married or cohabiting, 11% are unmarried but romantically involved, 9.5% are unmarried and not romantically involved but open to the possibility of a relationship, and 38% neither have nor desire a romantic involvement. More men than women are married or cohabiting, a gap that increases with advanced age. Across all age groups, African American women are more likely than their male counterparts to report that they neither have nor desire a romantic relationship. Almost as many older African Americans do not want a romantic relationship as those who are married/cohabiting. Findings support social exchange theories and the importance of an unbalanced sex ratio. Furthermore, the results suggest that singlehood among older African Americans (especially women) is not necessarily an involuntary status. Nonetheless, this group is at higher risk of economic and health problems as they age.

Discrimination is associated with several negative social, economic, and health consequences. Past research focuses on the impact of discrimination while less is known about both the type and correlates of discrimination, particularly among older adults. Using the National Survey of American Life, we used latent class analysis to identify discrimination typologies (frequency and type) among African Americans aged 55 and older. We then used multinomial logistic regression to identify demographic correlates of discrimination types, including a statistical interaction between gender and educational attainment. We identified three discrimination typologies. Increasing age was associated with lower probability of belonging to the high discrimination and disrespect and condescension subtypes. Men and non-Southern residents were most likely to belong in the high discrimination subtype. Higher levels of education increased the probability of belonging in the high discrimination and disrespect and condescension subtypes for older men, but not women. Older African American men, particularly those with more education, are vulnerable to both high-frequency discrimination and discrimination characterized by disrespect and condescension. This finding suggests that, for men with more years of education, increased exposure to discrimination reflects efforts to maintain social hierarchies (male target hypothesis).

Goal-striving stress refers to the psychological consequences of seeking but failing to reach upward mobility and is more common among low-income and people of color. Intergenerational mobility—or improved socioeconomic standing relative to one’s parents—may be an important predictor of goal-striving stress for Blacks. We used the National Survey of American Life to investigate the association between intergenerational mobility and goal-striving stress among U.S.-born African Americans, U.S.-born Caribbean Blacks, and foreign-born Caribbean Blacks. Intergenerational mobility was associated with lower goal-striving stress and U.S.-born African Americans and Caribbean Blacks reported lower goal-striving stress than foreign-born Caribbean Blacks. Goal-striving stress was relatively high among foreign-born Blacks, regardless of level of intergenerational mobility attained. Goal-striving is an important stressor for foreign-born Caribbean Blacks, regardless of their level of educational success. Given increasing Black migration, future studies should disaggregate the Black racial category based on ethnicity and nativity.

Objectives: Black Caribbeans in the United States have been the victims of major discrimination (e.g. unfairly fired, denied a promotion, denied housing). What is not known is the degree to which they also experience more routine forms of everyday discrimination such as receiving poor restaurant service, being perceived as dishonest, and being followed in stores. This paper investigates the distribution and correlates of everyday discrimination among a national sample of black Caribbeans in the U.S. Design: This analysis used the black Caribbean sub-sample (n = 1,621) of the National Survey of American Life. Demographic and immigration status correlates of ten items from the Everyday Discrimination Scale were investigated: being treated with less courtesy, treated with less respect, receiving poor restaurant service, being perceived as not smart, being perceived as dishonest, being perceived as not as good as others, and being feared, insulted, harassed, or followed in stores. Results: Roughly one out of ten black Caribbeans reported that, on a weekly basis, they were treated with less courtesy and other people acted as if they were better than them, were afraid of them, and as if they were not as smart. Everyday discrimination was more frequent for black Caribbeans who were male, never married, divorced/separated, earned higher incomes, and who were second or third generation immigrants. Black Caribbeans attributed the majority of the discrimination they experienced to their race. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide an in-depth investigation of everyday discrimination among the black Caribbean population. It provides the frequency, types and correlates of everyday discrimination reported by black Caribbeans in the United States. Understanding the frequency and types of discrimination is important because of the documented negative impacts of everyday discrimination on physical and mental health.

Data from the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life are used to investigate the effects of phenotype on everyday experiences with discrimination among African Americans (N = 3343). Latent class analysis is used to identify four classes of discriminatory treatment: (1) low levels of discrimination, (2) disrespect and condescension, (3) character‐based discrimination, and (4) high levels of discrimination. We then employ latent class multinomial logistic regression to evaluate the association between skin tone and body weight and these four classes of discrimination. Designating the low‐level discrimination class as the reference group, findings revealed that respondents with darker skin were more likely to be classified into the disrespect/condescension and the high‐level microaggression types. BMI was unrelated to the discrimination type, although there was a significant interaction effect between gender and BMI. BMI was strongly and positively associated with membership in the disrespect and condescension type among men but not among women. These findings indicate that skin tone and body weight are two phenotypic characteristics that influence the type and frequency of discrimination experienced by African Americans.

Despite their low social standing, there remains a paucity of research on psychological distress among African Americans. We use data from the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life to explore a wide array of social and economic predictors of psychological distress among African American adults aged 18 years and older, including previous incarceration, history of welfare receipt, and having a family member who is either currently incarcerated or homeless. Younger age, lower income, lower educational attainment, and lower self‐rated health and childhood health are associated with higher levels of psychological distress among African Americans. We also find a strong association between higher levels of material hardship, previous incarceration history, and the presence of a family member who is either incarcerated or homeless and higher levels of psychological distress. The findings highlight the importance of considering unique types of social disadvantage experienced by African Americans living in a highly stratified society.