Lifetime Experiences Of Discrimination Research Articles

Associations of Everyday and Lifetime Experiences of Discrimination With Willingness to Undergo Alzheimer Disease Predictive Testing.

Rapid developments in Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarker research suggest that predictive testing may become widely available. To ensure equal access to AD predictive testing, it is important to understand factors that affect testing interest. Discrimination may influence attitudes toward AD testing, particularly among racially and ethnically minoritized populations, because of structural racism in health care systems. This study examined whether everyday or lifetime discrimination experiences shape interest in AD predictive testing. In the 2010 and 2012 biennial Health and Retirement Study waves, respondents were randomly selected to complete questions on interest in receiving free testing that could determine whether they would develop AD in the future. The exposures were everyday discrimination (6 items) and lifetime discrimination (7 items); both were transformed into a binary variable. Logistic regression models predicting interest in AD testing were controlled for deciles of propensity scores for each discrimination measure. Odds ratios were re-expressed as risk differences (RDs). Our analytic sample included 1,499 respondents. The mean age was 67 (SD = 10.2) years, 57.4% were women, 65.7% were White, and 80% endorsed interest in AD predictive testing. Most of the participants (54.7%) experienced everyday discrimination in at least one domain; 24.1% experienced major lifetime discrimination in at least one domain. Those interested in predictive testing were younger (66 vs 70 years) and more likely to be Black (20% vs 15%) or Latinx (14% vs 8%) than participants uninterested in testing. The probability of wanting an AD test was not associated with discrimination for Black (RD everyday discrimination = -0.026; 95% CI [-0.081 to 0.029]; RD lifetime discrimination = -0.012; 95% CI [-0.085 to 0.063]) or Latinx (RD everyday discrimination = -0.023, 95% CI [-0.082 to 0.039]; RD lifetime discrimination = -0.011; 95% CI [-0.087 to 0.064]) participants. Despite historical and contemporary experiences of discrimination, Black and Latinx individuals express interest in AD testing. However, Black and Latinx individuals remain underrepresented in AD research, including research on AD testing. Interest in personalized information about dementia risk may be a pathway to enhance their inclusion in research and clinical trials.

REIMAGINING AGING: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF LIFETIME DISCRIMINATION EXPERIENCES ON EVERYDAY METAMEMORY

Abstract Lifetime and recent experiences of discrimination (based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc.) contribute to impaired performance on cognitive assessments. However, the underlying mechanism by which discrimination negatively impacts cognition is unclear. Recent research investigating stress-induced impairment of metamemory may address the relationship between discrimination experiences and cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between lifetime experiences of discrimination, especially recent experiences, and everyday metamemory from a lifespan perspective (ages 20–75), using data collected from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS Refresher 1) Daily Diary Project (N = 782). Results from a 2-level multilevel model showed that the relationship between recent experiences of discrimination explained unique variance in impaired metamemory accuracy (25%; β = .377, σ = .052, 95% CI [.275, .479]), suggesting that individuals with recent discrimination experiences reported more cognitive complaints. Furthermore, the relationship between age, recent experiences of discrimination, and impaired metamemory showed that younger individuals reported more complaints after experiencing discrimination than older individuals (β = .192, σ = .092, 95% CI [.011, .373]. Individual differences accounted for 45% of the variance in the number of cognitive complaints. These findings demonstrate the need for more research into understanding metamemory accuracy as an underlying mechanism by which the psychosocial stressor of discrimination impacts cognition across the lifespan. Moreover, understanding the experiences of diverse aging populations, including experiences of discrimination, and their impact on cognition will inform research on interventions to promote positive cognitive health outcomes across the lifespan.

Intergenerational Effects of Discrimination on Black American Children's Sleep Health.

Greater exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination among pregnant Black American women is associated with elevated prenatal depressive symptomatology, poorer prenatal sleep quality, and poorer child health outcomes. Given the transdiagnostic importance of early childhood sleep health, we examined associations between pregnant women’s lifetime exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination and their two-year-old children’s sleep health. We also examined women’s gendered racial stress as a predictor variable. In exploratory analyses, we examined prenatal sleep quality and prenatal depressive symptoms as potential mediators of the prior associations. We utilized data from a sample of Black American women and children (n = 205). Women self-reported their lifetime experiences of discrimination during early pregnancy, their sleep quality and depressive symptoms during mid-pregnancy, and their children’s sleep health at age two. Hierarchical linear multiple regression models were fit to examine direct associations between women’s experiences of discrimination and children’s sleep health. We tested our mediation hypotheses using a parallel mediator model. Higher levels of gendered racial stress, but not racial/ethnic discrimination, were directly associated with poorer sleep health in children. Higher levels of racial/ethnic discrimination were indirectly associated with poorer sleep health in children, via women’s prenatal depressive symptomatology, but not prenatal sleep quality. Clinical efforts to mitigate the effects of discrimination on Black American women may benefit women’s prenatal mental health and their children’s sleep health.

Discrimination Experienced by Latinx American College Students is Associated with Enhanced Temporal Summation of Pain.

The majority of Latinx Americans have experienced race-based discrimination, and many report that the frequency of these experiences is increasing. Prior studies suggest that race-based discrimination may have unique effects on pain facilitation above and beyond general stress, anxiety, or depression; yet this work has primarily focused on discrimination experienced by Black Americans. Although the pain of Latinx Americans is underrepresented in the literature, laboratory studies reveal enhanced pain and markers of pain facilitation among Latinx relative to White Americans and a few recent studies indicate a link between experiences of race-based discrimination and clinical pain. Thus, facilitation of experimental pain among Latinx Americans may be partly driven by greater lifetime experiences of discrimination. In this study, 180 (67.8% f, Mage=19.70 ±3.29) Latinx American participants completed measures of discrimination and temporal summation of mechanical pain. The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version (PEDQ-CV) was used to probe experienced frequency of different dimensions of discrimination (i.e., experiences of race-based exclusion or rejection, stigmatization, discrimination in the workplace/school, and race-related threat and aggression) as well as total lifetime exposure to discrimination. Almost all participants (94.4%) reported experiences of race-based discrimination. Increased frequency of lifetime discrimination and each of the dimensions of discrimination was associated with greater temporal summation (total lifetime exposure: r=.261, p=.004; race-based exclusion/rejection: r=.181, p = .046; stigmatization: r=.21, p=.021; workplace/school discrimination r=.233, p=.010 and race-related threat/aggression r=.279, p=.002). This suggests race-based discrimination is commonly experienced by Latinx Americans and may be contributing to enhanced pain via pain facilitation. In the current climate, race-based discrimination may represent an increasingly important social determinant of pain among Latinx Americans.

Physiological Significance of Discrimination on Stress Markers, Obesity, and LDL Oxidation among a European American and African American Cohort of Females

Factors underlying physiological reactions from perceived discrimination and its relation to adverse health outcomes are not completely understood. The main purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that experiences of discrimination (recent and lifetime) correlate with biomarkers of stress, oxidative stress, and obesity among adult females. Data on 62 females who self-identify as African American (AA; n = 31) or European American (EA; n = 31) aged 21-45years were included. Discrimination experiences (recent and lifetime) were evaluated based on a validated instrument. Stress was assessed based on hair cortisol (HC) and salivary cortisol (SC), hsC-reactive protein (hsCRP), cardiovascular markers, and LDL-cholesterol oxidation. Obesity was measured based on BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percent. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the influence of experiences of discrimination. Significant differences in experiences of discrimination were observed by race (p < 0.05) and were higher in AA females. Results for the multiple regression models assessing the contribution of discrimination indicate that hsCRP and pulse were significantly associated with recent experiences of discrimination, and SC, HC, hsCRP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse were significantly associated with lifetime experiences of discrimination when adjusted for BMI and race (p < 0.05). Finally, oxidation of LDL-cholesterol was significantly associated with salivary cortisol (p =0.0420) when adjusted by lifetime experiences of discrimination (p = 0.0366) but not for BMI (p = 0.6252). In this cross-sectional study, AA females experienced more discrimination compared to EA females. Levels of recent and lifetime experiences of discrimination were associated with some stress biomarkers. Salivary cortisol was associated with oxidation of LDL-cholesterol with shorter lag times and increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Recent versus lifetime experiences of discrimination and the mental and physical health of older lesbian women and gay men

AbstractThis study examines the potential health-related impact of recent versus lifetime experiences of sexual orientation discrimination among older Australian lesbian women and gay men. In a nationwide survey, a sample of 243 lesbian women and 513 gay men aged 60 years and over reported on their experiences of sexual orientation discrimination and their mental and physical health, including psychological distress, positive mental health and self-rated health. Among both lesbian women and gay men, recent discrimination uniquely predicted lower positive mental health after adjusting for experiences of discrimination across the lifetime and socio-demographic variables. In addition, recent discrimination uniquely predicted higher psychological distress among gay men. Experiences of discrimination over the lifetime further predicted higher psychological distress and poorer self-rated health among gay men after adjusting for recent experiences of discrimination and socio-demographic variables. However, there were no associations between lifetime discrimination and any of the outcome variables among lesbian women. Overall, recent and lifetime experiences of sexual orientation discrimination were related to mental and physical health in different ways, especially among the men. These findings have potential implications for policy/practice, and suggest that distinguishing between recent and lifetime experiences of discrimination may be useful when assessing potential health-related impacts of sexual orientation discrimination among older lesbian women and gay men, while also taking account of differences between these two groups.