Optimism and Perceived Stress in Sickle-Cell Disease: The Role of an Afrocultural Social Ethos

Abstract

Given its prevalence among African diasporic populations, sickle-cell disease (SCD) is an individual and global public health issue that is especially relevant to health psychologists. Despite evidence that sociocultural variables generally exert a significant influence on health outcomes, very little is known about the social and cultural contexts of adjustment to SCD. The present study explored whether specific variables representing an Afrocultural social ethos (i.e., spirituality, positive affect, and communalism) indirectly influenced the relation between optimism and perceived stress among individuals coping with SCD. Eighty-three African American adults attending an outpatient clinic completed a demographic profile and a brief survey assessing optimism, pain, stress, and the aforementioned Afrocultural domains. Multiple mediation analyses controlling for age and pain severity indicated that the relation between optimism and stress was unaffected by an Afrocultural ethos. The implications of these findings for research on psychosocial aspects of SCD are discussed.