Cheryl Giscombe | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (original) (raw)
Papers by Cheryl Giscombe
Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports
Meridians, 2018
The Superwoman Schema conceptual framework was developed to support the comprehensive assessment ... more The Superwoman Schema conceptual framework was developed to support the comprehensive assessment and understanding of stress and biopsychosocial factors that influence African America women’s health and health disparities. The present essay presents the factors that influenced the author’s development of the Superwoman Schema framework, and how she combined womanist, intersectional, and other culturally relevant approaches as a foundation for this work.
Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association, 2017
Human milk has widespread health benefits for infants, mothers, and society. However, not all pop... more Human milk has widespread health benefits for infants, mothers, and society. However, not all populations of women, particularly African American women, engage in human milk feeding at high rates. Research aim: The purpose of this integrative literature review is twofold: (a) to examine factors that influence low rates of human milk feeding among African American women and (b) to introduce a need for a methodological paradigm shift to develop culturally relevant and effective interventions. The authors searched four electronic social science databases for peer-reviewed journal articles pertaining to human milk among African American women published from 1990 to 2015. Both coauthors independently assessed these articles using thematic analysis and validation. The database search yielded 47 peer-reviewed articles. Three main themes emerged explaining the human milk feeding disparity: (a) the social characteristics of women likely not to feed human milk (e.g., low socioeconomic status,...
Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 2014
Despite extensive evidence supporting the health benefits of breastfeeding, significant dispariti... more Despite extensive evidence supporting the health benefits of breastfeeding, significant disparities exist between rates of breastfeeding among African American women and women of other races. Increasing rates of breastfeeding among African American women can contribute to the improved health of the African American population by decreasing rates of infant mortality and disease and by enhancing cognitive development. Additionally, higher rates of breastfeeding among African American women could foster maternal–child bonding and could contribute to stronger families, healthier relationships, and emotionally healthier adults. The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to use the social-ecological model to explore the personal, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and cultural factors that affect the infant feeding decision-making processes of African American women and (b) to discuss the implications of these findings for clinical practice and research to eliminate current disparities in rate...
Biological Research For Nursing, 2012
Black American women have among the highest hypertension (HTN) rates in the world. Research sugge... more Black American women have among the highest hypertension (HTN) rates in the world. Research suggests that nighttime might be a critical period of vulnerability for the development of HTN in Blacks. In the present study, personal factors (age, body fat, income, family history), psychological factors (stress, emotions, and John Henryism), and physiological factors (salivary cortisol and blood pressure [BP]) were explored in 30 Black women, ages 26–51 years. Data were collected in participants' homes. BP was monitored while participants were awake and asleep. Cortisol samples were obtained within the first hour after awakening. The usual pattern for BP is a drop or dipping of 10–20% during sleep; however, the BP for about a third of the subjects did not dip adequately during sleep. Though not statistically significant, this nondipping was clinically relevant and was associated with positive family history of HTN, more stress, lower positive and higher negative affect scores, and hi...
Archives of psychiatric nursing, 2021
Public Health Nursing, 2015
Objective: This systematic review of the literature assesses congruency of findings from descript... more Objective: This systematic review of the literature assesses congruency of findings from descriptive, qualitative, and association studies focusing on factors influencing smoking and smoking cessation with findings from smoking cessation interventions that included low-income rural women. Design and Sample: Six databases relevant to the health and social sciences were searched in this systematic review using combinations of select keyword terms, specific inclusion criteria, and studies between 1997 and 2012. Results: Descriptive studies on this population of smokers provide economic, environmental, and social factors related to smoking patterns. Qualitative studies found social support received from an individuals social network was viewed as most beneficial when considering or maintaining smoking cessation while randomized controlled trials included in this review implemented social support through peripheral resources or resources with little personal connection to the sample and failed to produce significant results. Conclusions: Few studies have focused on the specific needs and difficulties of smoking cessation among rural low-income women and interventions have not targeted the complex social network of this population. Incongruence in study findings supports the need for smoking assessment and cessation interventions that incorporates the unique social and cultural meanings of smoking in rural low-income women.
Journal of Nursing Education, 2013
The wide disparities in health by race and ethnicity across the nation underscore the continuing ... more The wide disparities in health by race and ethnicity across the nation underscore the continuing need to increase the number of racial and ethnic minorities in the nursing workforce. In their roles as educators and researchers, minority nursing faculty help to alleviate the current disconnect between health care providers and the population that nurses serve. The authors have developed a program to increase the number of minority students in the baccalaureate nursing program at their university and to prepare them to enroll in doctoral programs within 1 year of graduation. The Careers Beyond the Bedside program offers undergraduates preentry, academic enrichment, and graduate school preparation activities designed to facilitate careers as nursing faculty educators and researchers.
Journal of Nursing Education, 2014
Extensive literature exists that demonstrates the influence of social cues and interpersonal inte... more Extensive literature exists that demonstrates the influence of social cues and interpersonal interactions with influential others on student career choices. This article applies Gramsci's political views of hegemony and counterhegemony to situate student descriptions of their experiences and the goals of a group-mentoring session designed to address the culturally hegemonic symbolic cues and interpersonal interactions that can negatively influence a student's desire to select a career in nursing. Specifics around the development, implementation, and evaluation of the group-mentoring session, as part of a broader school-wide culture to promote diversity and as a larger program to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce, are described.
Circulation, 2013
Introduction: Racial discrimination has been linked with chronic inflammation among African Ameri... more Introduction: Racial discrimination has been linked with chronic inflammation among African American women, and may help explain their heightened risk of coronary artery disease. However, the mechanisms linking the two remain unclear. Objectives: We assessed the hypothesis that cognitive stress appraisals and coping mechanisms modify the association between racial discrimination and chronic inflammation among African American women. Methods: The African American Women’s Heart & Health Study recruited a community sample of African American women ages 30-50 residing in the San Francisco Bay area (n=200). Data collection included interviewer-administered questionnaire, computer assisted self-interview, anthropometric assessment, and venous blood draws. Blood samples were assayed for a variety of biomarkers including pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6) and acute phase proteins (e.g., hsCRP). Ordinary Least Squares regression was used to examine associations between study variables. ...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2019
Racial discrimination has been linked to allostatic load (i.e., cumulative biological stress) amo... more Racial discrimination has been linked to allostatic load (i.e., cumulative biological stress) among African American women. Coping is a central component of the stress response process. However, limited attention has been given to psychosocial processes involved in the stress response-critical for understanding biological pathways to health-in studies examining racial discrimination as a social determinant of health. We examined whether the superwoman schema (SWS), a multidimensional culture-specific framework characterizing psychosocial responses to stress
Stress and Health, 2012
Associations between stress and breast cancer highlight stressful life events as barriers to brea... more Associations between stress and breast cancer highlight stressful life events as barriers to breast cancer screening, increased stress due to a breast cancer scare or diagnosis, or the immunosuppressive properties of stress as a risk factor for breast cancer occurrence. Little is known, however, about how women's reactions to stressful life events impact their breast health trajectory. In this study, we explore how reactions to stressors serve as a potential barrier to breast cancer screening among Black women. We apply a gender-specific, culturally responsive stressprocess framework, the Stress and 'Strength' Hypothesis ("strength hypothesis"), to understand links between the 'Strong Black Woman role' role, Black women's stress reactions and their observed screening delays. We conceptualize strength as a culturally prescribed coping style that conditions resilience, self-reliance and psychological hardiness as a survival response to racerelated and gender-related stressors. Using qualitative methods, we investigate the potential for this coping mechanism to manifest as extraordinary caregiving, emotional suppression and selfcare postponement. These manifestations may result in limited time for scheduling and attending screening appointments, lack of or delay in acknowledgement of breast health symptoms and low prioritization of breast care. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Members of the nursing profession are often challenged by attempts to engage in personal health a... more Members of the nursing profession are often challenged by attempts to engage in personal health and well-being practices because of their dedication, commitment, and passion for improving the lives of others through engagement in practice, research, service, and education. Research reveals disproportionately high rates of emotional distress and depression among nurses (Letvak et al., 2012), coupled with challenges relative to work environment and culture as well as with prioritizing self-care. Distress and burnout among nurses are associated with compassion fatigue, poor sleep, trouble concentrating, limited performance in mental or interpersonal tasks, time management challenges, workplace bullying, lower productivity, chronic absenteeism, increased turnover, and compromised quality of care provision (
Social Science & Medicine
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 2022
OBJECTIVES We examined dimensions of Superwoman Schema as predictors of both depression and resil... more OBJECTIVES We examined dimensions of Superwoman Schema as predictors of both depression and resilience. We also investigated if social isolation and gendered racial centrality mediated these relationships. METHOD We used path analysis to investigate the direct and indirect effects of an obligation to display an image of strength, emotional suppression, and resistance to vulnerability on depressive symptoms through social isolation. We also explored the direct and indirect effects of an intense motivation to succeed and an obligation to help others on resilience through gendered racial centrality. RESULTS Emotional suppression and an obligation to help others were directly associated with depression. Emotional suppression, resistance to vulnerability, and an obligation to help others were indirectly associated with depression through social isolation. In contrast, an obligation to display an image of strength and an intense motivation to succeed was associated with resilience and gendered racial centrality. CONCLUSION Findings highlight the unique complexity of Superwoman Schema as suggested within qualitative research. Black women's endorsement of Superwoman Schema may be both adaptive in navigating interlocking systems of oppression and psychologically distressing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Beyond White Mindfulness, 2022
Nursing and Health, 2014
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves a complex constellation of symptoms including suic... more Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves a complex constellation of symptoms including suicidal threats, suicidal gestures, and self-harming behaviors. There are limited effective treatment options for adolescent patients with BDP or BDP traits in the inpatient hospital setting. This paper discusses BPD and BPD traits in adolescents, examines challenges faced by inpatient nurses, summarizes evidence supporting Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) for adolescents with BPD traits, and proposes specific inpatient setting programming to address the needs of this population. This paper suggests that DBT may be successfully implemented to optimize outcomes. DBT has typically been used in adult outpatient settings. However, research suggests that the integration of DBT strategies in inpatient settings serving adolescents could facilitate effective outcomes. Nurses in particular are critical members of the hospital treatment paradigm. Outcomes could be enhanced if nurses have a better understanding of DBT and if they received training to enable them to contribute to DBP programming.
The Gerontologist, 2022
Background and Objectives African American women experience faster telomere shortening (i.e., cel... more Background and Objectives African American women experience faster telomere shortening (i.e., cellular aging) compared with other racial–gender groups. Prior research demonstrates that race and gender interact to influence culturally specific norms for responding to socially-relevant stress and other stress-coping processes, which may affect healthy aging. Research Design and Methods Data are from African American Women’s Heart & Health Study participants who consented to DNA extraction (n = 140). Superwoman Schema (SWS) was measured using 5 validated subscales: presenting strength, emotion suppression, resisting vulnerability, motivation to succeed, and obligation to help others. Racial identity was measured using 3 subscales from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity: racial centrality, private regard, and public regard. Relative telomere length (rTL) was measured using DNA extracted from blood samples. Path analysis tested associations and interactions between SWS and ...
Journal of Urban Health, 2022
the 1612 women, 65% reported experiencing some racism at baseline, and 36.5% had high depressive ... more the 1612 women, 65% reported experiencing some racism at baseline, and 36.5% had high depressive symptoms at follow-up. Those who experienced high frequency of racism before age 20 had an increased risk for high depressive symptoms (RR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.46) compared to participants in the low racism frequency group. We observed similar associations for high vs. low stress from racism (RR = 1.30, 95% CI : 1.06, 1.54) and high vs. low combination of racism frequency and stress (RR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.64). These findings did not hold or were weaker when assessing racism during the 20s. Among women who experienced high racism across the two time periods, the risk of high depressive symptoms was higher than those who experienced low racism during both periods (RR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.86). The slightly stronger associations between racism and depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence than in young adulthood suggest that early life might be a sensitive period for experiencing racism.
Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports
Meridians, 2018
The Superwoman Schema conceptual framework was developed to support the comprehensive assessment ... more The Superwoman Schema conceptual framework was developed to support the comprehensive assessment and understanding of stress and biopsychosocial factors that influence African America women’s health and health disparities. The present essay presents the factors that influenced the author’s development of the Superwoman Schema framework, and how she combined womanist, intersectional, and other culturally relevant approaches as a foundation for this work.
Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association, 2017
Human milk has widespread health benefits for infants, mothers, and society. However, not all pop... more Human milk has widespread health benefits for infants, mothers, and society. However, not all populations of women, particularly African American women, engage in human milk feeding at high rates. Research aim: The purpose of this integrative literature review is twofold: (a) to examine factors that influence low rates of human milk feeding among African American women and (b) to introduce a need for a methodological paradigm shift to develop culturally relevant and effective interventions. The authors searched four electronic social science databases for peer-reviewed journal articles pertaining to human milk among African American women published from 1990 to 2015. Both coauthors independently assessed these articles using thematic analysis and validation. The database search yielded 47 peer-reviewed articles. Three main themes emerged explaining the human milk feeding disparity: (a) the social characteristics of women likely not to feed human milk (e.g., low socioeconomic status,...
Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 2014
Despite extensive evidence supporting the health benefits of breastfeeding, significant dispariti... more Despite extensive evidence supporting the health benefits of breastfeeding, significant disparities exist between rates of breastfeeding among African American women and women of other races. Increasing rates of breastfeeding among African American women can contribute to the improved health of the African American population by decreasing rates of infant mortality and disease and by enhancing cognitive development. Additionally, higher rates of breastfeeding among African American women could foster maternal–child bonding and could contribute to stronger families, healthier relationships, and emotionally healthier adults. The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to use the social-ecological model to explore the personal, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and cultural factors that affect the infant feeding decision-making processes of African American women and (b) to discuss the implications of these findings for clinical practice and research to eliminate current disparities in rate...
Biological Research For Nursing, 2012
Black American women have among the highest hypertension (HTN) rates in the world. Research sugge... more Black American women have among the highest hypertension (HTN) rates in the world. Research suggests that nighttime might be a critical period of vulnerability for the development of HTN in Blacks. In the present study, personal factors (age, body fat, income, family history), psychological factors (stress, emotions, and John Henryism), and physiological factors (salivary cortisol and blood pressure [BP]) were explored in 30 Black women, ages 26–51 years. Data were collected in participants' homes. BP was monitored while participants were awake and asleep. Cortisol samples were obtained within the first hour after awakening. The usual pattern for BP is a drop or dipping of 10–20% during sleep; however, the BP for about a third of the subjects did not dip adequately during sleep. Though not statistically significant, this nondipping was clinically relevant and was associated with positive family history of HTN, more stress, lower positive and higher negative affect scores, and hi...
Archives of psychiatric nursing, 2021
Public Health Nursing, 2015
Objective: This systematic review of the literature assesses congruency of findings from descript... more Objective: This systematic review of the literature assesses congruency of findings from descriptive, qualitative, and association studies focusing on factors influencing smoking and smoking cessation with findings from smoking cessation interventions that included low-income rural women. Design and Sample: Six databases relevant to the health and social sciences were searched in this systematic review using combinations of select keyword terms, specific inclusion criteria, and studies between 1997 and 2012. Results: Descriptive studies on this population of smokers provide economic, environmental, and social factors related to smoking patterns. Qualitative studies found social support received from an individuals social network was viewed as most beneficial when considering or maintaining smoking cessation while randomized controlled trials included in this review implemented social support through peripheral resources or resources with little personal connection to the sample and failed to produce significant results. Conclusions: Few studies have focused on the specific needs and difficulties of smoking cessation among rural low-income women and interventions have not targeted the complex social network of this population. Incongruence in study findings supports the need for smoking assessment and cessation interventions that incorporates the unique social and cultural meanings of smoking in rural low-income women.
Journal of Nursing Education, 2013
The wide disparities in health by race and ethnicity across the nation underscore the continuing ... more The wide disparities in health by race and ethnicity across the nation underscore the continuing need to increase the number of racial and ethnic minorities in the nursing workforce. In their roles as educators and researchers, minority nursing faculty help to alleviate the current disconnect between health care providers and the population that nurses serve. The authors have developed a program to increase the number of minority students in the baccalaureate nursing program at their university and to prepare them to enroll in doctoral programs within 1 year of graduation. The Careers Beyond the Bedside program offers undergraduates preentry, academic enrichment, and graduate school preparation activities designed to facilitate careers as nursing faculty educators and researchers.
Journal of Nursing Education, 2014
Extensive literature exists that demonstrates the influence of social cues and interpersonal inte... more Extensive literature exists that demonstrates the influence of social cues and interpersonal interactions with influential others on student career choices. This article applies Gramsci's political views of hegemony and counterhegemony to situate student descriptions of their experiences and the goals of a group-mentoring session designed to address the culturally hegemonic symbolic cues and interpersonal interactions that can negatively influence a student's desire to select a career in nursing. Specifics around the development, implementation, and evaluation of the group-mentoring session, as part of a broader school-wide culture to promote diversity and as a larger program to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce, are described.
Circulation, 2013
Introduction: Racial discrimination has been linked with chronic inflammation among African Ameri... more Introduction: Racial discrimination has been linked with chronic inflammation among African American women, and may help explain their heightened risk of coronary artery disease. However, the mechanisms linking the two remain unclear. Objectives: We assessed the hypothesis that cognitive stress appraisals and coping mechanisms modify the association between racial discrimination and chronic inflammation among African American women. Methods: The African American Women’s Heart & Health Study recruited a community sample of African American women ages 30-50 residing in the San Francisco Bay area (n=200). Data collection included interviewer-administered questionnaire, computer assisted self-interview, anthropometric assessment, and venous blood draws. Blood samples were assayed for a variety of biomarkers including pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6) and acute phase proteins (e.g., hsCRP). Ordinary Least Squares regression was used to examine associations between study variables. ...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2019
Racial discrimination has been linked to allostatic load (i.e., cumulative biological stress) amo... more Racial discrimination has been linked to allostatic load (i.e., cumulative biological stress) among African American women. Coping is a central component of the stress response process. However, limited attention has been given to psychosocial processes involved in the stress response-critical for understanding biological pathways to health-in studies examining racial discrimination as a social determinant of health. We examined whether the superwoman schema (SWS), a multidimensional culture-specific framework characterizing psychosocial responses to stress
Stress and Health, 2012
Associations between stress and breast cancer highlight stressful life events as barriers to brea... more Associations between stress and breast cancer highlight stressful life events as barriers to breast cancer screening, increased stress due to a breast cancer scare or diagnosis, or the immunosuppressive properties of stress as a risk factor for breast cancer occurrence. Little is known, however, about how women's reactions to stressful life events impact their breast health trajectory. In this study, we explore how reactions to stressors serve as a potential barrier to breast cancer screening among Black women. We apply a gender-specific, culturally responsive stressprocess framework, the Stress and 'Strength' Hypothesis ("strength hypothesis"), to understand links between the 'Strong Black Woman role' role, Black women's stress reactions and their observed screening delays. We conceptualize strength as a culturally prescribed coping style that conditions resilience, self-reliance and psychological hardiness as a survival response to racerelated and gender-related stressors. Using qualitative methods, we investigate the potential for this coping mechanism to manifest as extraordinary caregiving, emotional suppression and selfcare postponement. These manifestations may result in limited time for scheduling and attending screening appointments, lack of or delay in acknowledgement of breast health symptoms and low prioritization of breast care. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Members of the nursing profession are often challenged by attempts to engage in personal health a... more Members of the nursing profession are often challenged by attempts to engage in personal health and well-being practices because of their dedication, commitment, and passion for improving the lives of others through engagement in practice, research, service, and education. Research reveals disproportionately high rates of emotional distress and depression among nurses (Letvak et al., 2012), coupled with challenges relative to work environment and culture as well as with prioritizing self-care. Distress and burnout among nurses are associated with compassion fatigue, poor sleep, trouble concentrating, limited performance in mental or interpersonal tasks, time management challenges, workplace bullying, lower productivity, chronic absenteeism, increased turnover, and compromised quality of care provision (
Social Science & Medicine
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 2022
OBJECTIVES We examined dimensions of Superwoman Schema as predictors of both depression and resil... more OBJECTIVES We examined dimensions of Superwoman Schema as predictors of both depression and resilience. We also investigated if social isolation and gendered racial centrality mediated these relationships. METHOD We used path analysis to investigate the direct and indirect effects of an obligation to display an image of strength, emotional suppression, and resistance to vulnerability on depressive symptoms through social isolation. We also explored the direct and indirect effects of an intense motivation to succeed and an obligation to help others on resilience through gendered racial centrality. RESULTS Emotional suppression and an obligation to help others were directly associated with depression. Emotional suppression, resistance to vulnerability, and an obligation to help others were indirectly associated with depression through social isolation. In contrast, an obligation to display an image of strength and an intense motivation to succeed was associated with resilience and gendered racial centrality. CONCLUSION Findings highlight the unique complexity of Superwoman Schema as suggested within qualitative research. Black women's endorsement of Superwoman Schema may be both adaptive in navigating interlocking systems of oppression and psychologically distressing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Beyond White Mindfulness, 2022
Nursing and Health, 2014
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves a complex constellation of symptoms including suic... more Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves a complex constellation of symptoms including suicidal threats, suicidal gestures, and self-harming behaviors. There are limited effective treatment options for adolescent patients with BDP or BDP traits in the inpatient hospital setting. This paper discusses BPD and BPD traits in adolescents, examines challenges faced by inpatient nurses, summarizes evidence supporting Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) for adolescents with BPD traits, and proposes specific inpatient setting programming to address the needs of this population. This paper suggests that DBT may be successfully implemented to optimize outcomes. DBT has typically been used in adult outpatient settings. However, research suggests that the integration of DBT strategies in inpatient settings serving adolescents could facilitate effective outcomes. Nurses in particular are critical members of the hospital treatment paradigm. Outcomes could be enhanced if nurses have a better understanding of DBT and if they received training to enable them to contribute to DBP programming.
The Gerontologist, 2022
Background and Objectives African American women experience faster telomere shortening (i.e., cel... more Background and Objectives African American women experience faster telomere shortening (i.e., cellular aging) compared with other racial–gender groups. Prior research demonstrates that race and gender interact to influence culturally specific norms for responding to socially-relevant stress and other stress-coping processes, which may affect healthy aging. Research Design and Methods Data are from African American Women’s Heart & Health Study participants who consented to DNA extraction (n = 140). Superwoman Schema (SWS) was measured using 5 validated subscales: presenting strength, emotion suppression, resisting vulnerability, motivation to succeed, and obligation to help others. Racial identity was measured using 3 subscales from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity: racial centrality, private regard, and public regard. Relative telomere length (rTL) was measured using DNA extracted from blood samples. Path analysis tested associations and interactions between SWS and ...
Journal of Urban Health, 2022
the 1612 women, 65% reported experiencing some racism at baseline, and 36.5% had high depressive ... more the 1612 women, 65% reported experiencing some racism at baseline, and 36.5% had high depressive symptoms at follow-up. Those who experienced high frequency of racism before age 20 had an increased risk for high depressive symptoms (RR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.46) compared to participants in the low racism frequency group. We observed similar associations for high vs. low stress from racism (RR = 1.30, 95% CI : 1.06, 1.54) and high vs. low combination of racism frequency and stress (RR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.64). These findings did not hold or were weaker when assessing racism during the 20s. Among women who experienced high racism across the two time periods, the risk of high depressive symptoms was higher than those who experienced low racism during both periods (RR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.86). The slightly stronger associations between racism and depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence than in young adulthood suggest that early life might be a sensitive period for experiencing racism.