The mechanisms responsible for the higher incidence of essential hypertension in blacks than in whites are the object of much research attention. One hypothesis is that the development of hypertension in blacks is associated with exaggerated blood pressure reactivity, particularly those responses mediated by vasoconstriction. Racial differences in blood pressure responses to cold stimulation of the forehead, a known alpha-adrenergic vasoconstrictive stimulus, were examined in health, college-age males. Compared to white subjects, black subjects exhibited significantly greater increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as increases in forearm vascular resistance, in response to cold stimulation. This preliminary evidence of increased peripheral vascular reactivity in blacks suggests that known racial differences in hypertension prevalence might derive in part from physiological differences in sympathetic nervous system reactivity.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Toward understanding the association of socioeconomic status and health: a new challenge for the biopsychosocial approach.

The association of socioeconomic status (SES) with morbidity and mortality is a ubiquitous finding in the health literature. One of the principal challenges for biobehavioral researchers is understanding the mechanisms that link SES with health outcomes. This article highlights possible pathways by which SES may influence health. It also provides a discussion of sociodemographic and geographical modifiers of the SES-health relationship and offers several potentially fruitful directions for future research.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cardiovascular reactivity in Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined the effects of residency and gender on cardiovascular reactivity to a speech stressor in 50 rural Zimbabweans (24 males, 26 females) and 47 urban Zimbabweans (25 males and 22 females). METHODS: Participants were engaged in 4 periods: pre-task rest period, speech preparatory period, speaking task period, and the final recovery period. During each period, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were assessed. RESULTS: There was a significant interaction between area of residence and period for SBP and HR. Urban residents exhibited greater SBP and HR during the speaking phase of the speech task than did rural residents. However, rural residents displayed more exaggerated HR reactivity during the speech preparatory phase as compared to the urban residents. No gender differences were observed on blood pressure or heart rate reactivity. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the more exaggerated SBP and HR reactivity to the speaking phase among urban residents as compared to rural residents may be influenced by factors associated with urbanization.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy of racism-specific coping styles as predictors of cardiovascular functioning.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relationship between racism-specific coping strategies and cardiovascular responses to an ethnically relevant speaking task. METHODS: Fifty-seven African-American females participated in a speaking task during which they discussed their experiences with inter-ethnic group racism. Blood pressure and heart rate responses were measured during a pre-speech, speech, and recovery period. Racism-specific coping strategies were assessed with both the Perceived Racism Scale (PRS) and the Ways of Coping Scale-Revised (WCS-R). RESULTS: Multivariate regression analyses indicated that racism-specific coping strategies assessed via the PRS and WCS-R predicted blood pressure and heart rate changes. Passive coping strategies were generally associated with greater changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate during the pre-speech and speech periods, and with incomplete diastolic blood pressure recovery and heart rate recovery. Unexpectedly, the use of more active roping strategies was also associated with greater changes in diastolic blood pressure, and with incomplete heart rate recovery. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary empirical evidence that racism-specific coping styles may contribute to blood pressure and heart rate variability in African-American females.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The perceived racism scale: a multidimensional assessment of the experience of white racism among African Americans.

The experience of racism is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon. At present, there are few instruments that attempt to capture the experience of racism in all of its complexity. For this study, a new instrument, the Perceived Racism Scale, has been constructed to assess the experience of racism in African Americans in a multidimensional manner. The scale not only provides a measure of the frequency of exposure to many manifestations of racism (including individual and institutional, overt and covert, attitudinal, behavioral, and cultural), but takes a step forward in more comprehensively measuring the experience of racism by assessing emotional and behavioral coping responses to racism. These responses are measured with respect to exposure to racism in three situational domains: on the job, in academic settings, and in the public realm. Measurement of responses to a fourth domain, that of exposure to racist statements, is also included. It is hoped that the Perceived Racism Scale will facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the experience of racism among African Americans and, through its use in research and clinical settings, will ultimately move us closer to reducing the prevalence and potentially untoward effects of racism.

Adaptation, Psychological↗