Race, psychosocial vulnerability and social support differences in inner-city women's symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (original) (raw)
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Journal of Black Studies, 2013
Research on mental health inequalities typically focuses on variations in individuals’ stress exposure and coping strategies (i.e., perceptions of support adequacy). This study extends prior research by asking how the stress-support-distress process operates among Black w2omen. Data come from a 2003 survey by the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes at Louisiana State University (LSU). Our findings challenge the prototypic stress-health models that fail to acknowledge social group differences in the stress-support-distress process. More importantly, our research points to the need for health professionals to consider how formal support systems (i.e., health promotion programs) and internal resources (i.e., health education) can positively impact Black women’s mental health.
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2012
Urban, socially disadvantaged individuals are at high risk for traumatic event exposure and its subsequent psychiatric symptomatology. This study examined the association between race/ ethnicity and symptom severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and depression in an urban clinical sample of 170 trauma-exposed adults. In addition, this study investigated the role of socioeconomic position (SEP) and coping style in the relationship between race/ethnicity and posttrauma psychiatric symptom severity. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that Blacks had lower depression symptom severity compared to Whites. No significant relationship was found between racial/ethnic group status and indices of SEP, PTSD, or GAD symptom severity. Adjustment for trauma exposure, gender, positive reframe coping, avoidance coping and negative coping accounted for 3%, 3%, 8%, 4%, and 3% of the variance in depression severity, respectively; however, Black race remained significantly associated with decreased depression symptom severity accounting for a statistically significant 5% of the variance in lower depression symptom severity. These preliminary findings and their clinical implications are discussed.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2014
More than half of the students entering college report a history of potentially traumatic events; however, little is known about the relationship of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology to college students' mental health and access to social support or whether these relationships may show variations as a function of race and gender. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the relationships between PTSD symptoms and both depression and social support were moderated by gender and race. Data were collected from 631 African American (AA) and 299 European American (EA) freshmen students attending 2 universities in the Southeast. The majority of the students (74.3% of the AA and 68.2% of the EA sample) reported lifetime exposure to at least 1 traumatic event. PTSD symptomatology was significantly and positively associated with depression symptoms for all groups (i.e., AA and EA males and females); however, the relationship between these 2 variables was strongest for EA men. Similarly, the relationship between PTSD symptoms on the avoidance cluster and social support was stronger for EA males than other groups; avoidance symptoms did not significantly predict social support for AA men.
2021
The current study investigated the relationship between race-related stress and trauma symptomatology, and the potential for racial identity profiles to mitigate or exacerbate this relationship in a nontreatment-seeking sample of trauma-exposed African American women (N = 222). Bivariate correlation analyses revealed race-related stress was significantly and positively correlated with total PTSD symptoms, hyperarousal symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and reexperiencing symptoms. Racial identity profiles emerged from latent profile analyses and supported a 3-class solution: Undifferentiated, Detached, and Nationalist. The Nationalist profile group experienced significantly higher race-related stress compared to the Detached and Undifferentiated profiles. Moderation analyses revealed racial identity profile type significantly moderated the relationship between race-related stress and total PTSD symptoms and each symptom group, and that the Nationalist profile group buffered the effects o...
Social support, traumatic events, and depressive symptoms among African Americans
Journal of Marriage and …, 2005
Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships among stress, social support, negative interaction, and mental health in a sample of African American men and women between ages 18 and 54 (N = 591) from the National Comorbidity Study. The study findings indicated that social support decreased the number of depressive symptoms, did not mitigate the effects of stress, and was reduced in response to financial strain. Financial strain and traumatic events were associated with increased negative interaction with relatives and depressive symptoms. The findings verify that stressful and traumatic events have direct influences on levels of depressive symptoms and affect the quality of social interactions and suggest how social interaction processes contribute to mental health.
Violence Against Women, 2017
Few studies have assessed the individual symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as separate mental health consequences of intimate partner abuse (IPA). This study examined the role of coping strategies associated with symptoms of PTSD in a community sample of African American women who have experienced abuse ( N = 128). The results revealed that nonphysical abuse was more prevalent than physical abuse. Specific symptoms of PTSD expressed depended on the type of abuse experienced and the type of coping strategies utilized. The findings have multiple implications on how IPA is studied as well as its clinical screening and treatment processes.
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Background: African Americans experience more severe and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms compared to other racial groups, and thus it is important to examine factors that are relevant for the aetiology of PTSD in this population. Although racial discrimination has been implicated as an exacerbating factor in the development and maintenance of PTSD, relatively less is known about mechanisms through which this process may occur. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine one such mechanism, emotion dysregulation, in two independent samples of African American adults. Method: Trauma-exposed participants were recruited in a large, urban community hospital setting (initial sample n = 1,841; replication sample n = 294). In the initial sample, participants completed a unidimensional measure of emotion dysregulation and self-reported PTSD symptoms based on the DSM-IV. In the replication sample, participants completed a multidimensional measure of emotion dysregulation and a diagnostic interview of PTSD symptoms based on the DSM-5. Mediation analyses were used to test our hypotheses. Results: Across both samples, results indicated that racial discrimination was indirectly associated with PTSD symptoms through emotion dysregulation (even when trauma load was added as a covariate). Conclusions: Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that the association between racial discrimination and PTSD symptoms may be partially explained by the association between racial discrimination and worse emotion dysregulation. These findings elucidate the impact of racist incidents on mental health and identify modifiable emotion regulatory processes that can be intervened upon to enhance the psychological and social wellbeing of African Americans. Discriminación racial y estrés postraumático: examinando la desregulación emocional como mediador en una muestra de la comunidad afroamericana Antecedentes: Los afroamericanos experimentan síntomas de trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) en forma más severa y crónica en comparación con otros grupos raciales y, por lo tanto, es importante examinar los factores que son relevantes para la etiología del TEPT en esta población. Aunque la discriminación racial ha sido implicada como un factor agravante en el desarrollo y mantenimiento del TEPT, se sabe relativamente poco acerca de los mecanismos por los cuales este proceso puede ocurrir. Objetivo: El propósito de este estudio fue examinar uno de tales mecanismos, la desregulación emocional, en dos muestras independientes de adultos afroamericanos. Método: Los participantes expuestos a trauma fueron reclutados en un gran hospital comunitario urbano (Muestra 1 n= 1.841; Muestra 2 n= 294).Todos los participantes completaron una medida de discriminación racial, pero para la muestra 1, los participantes completaron una medida unidimensional de desregulación emocional y síntomas de TEPT auto-informados y para la Muestra 2, los participantes completaron una medida multidimensional de desregulación emocional y una entrevista diagnostica de síntomas de TEPT. Para probar nuestra hipótesis se utilizaron análisis de mediación. Resultados: En ambas muestras, los resultados indicaron que la discriminación racial estuvo asociada indirectamente con síntomas de TEPT a través de la desregulación emocional (incluso cuando la carga del trauma se agregó como una covariable). Conclusiones: En conjunto, estos resultados proveen una fuerte evidencia que la asociación entre discriminación racial y síntomas de TEPT puede explicarse en parte por la asociación entre discriminación racial y una peor desregulación emocional. Estos hallazgos dilucidan el impacto de los incidentes racistas en la salud mental e identifican procesos reguladores de emociones modificables que pueden intervenirse para mejorar el bienestar psicológico y social de los afroamericanos.
PTSD, Depressive Symptoms, and Suicidal Ideation in African American Women: A Mediated Model
Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 2013
Although research has shown positive associations among post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation, the nature of these relations is unclear, especially in African American women. This study examined the associations among these comorbid psychological difficulties in a sample of 136 low-income, African American women. Specifically, the goal of this investigation was to ascertain if overall depressive symptoms, as well as both the cognitive-affective and somatic components of depression, mediated the PTSD-suicidal ideation link. Results from bootstrapping analyses revealed that overall depressive symptoms and the cognitive-affective components of depression, but not the somatic components, mediated the PTSD-suicidal ideation link.
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
This study employs multi-level and mixed-methods approaches to examine how structural violence affects the health of lowincome, single Black mothers. We use multilevel regression models to examine how feeling "trapped" in racially segregated neighborhoods with high levels of violence on the South Side of Chicago affects mothers' (N = 69) reports of posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms. The relationship between feeling "trapped" and variations in expression of mRNA for the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 using microarray assays was also examined. The regression models revealed that feeling "trapped" significantly predicted increased mental distress in the form of PTSD, depressive symptoms, and glucocorticoid receptor gene regulation. The mothers' voices revealed a nuanced understanding about how a lack of financial resources to move out of the neighborhood creates feelings of being "trapped" in dangerous situations.