Discrimination harms health through stress hormones and coping behaviors

Evidence

Discrimination and Health. Research on minority populations in the United States has demonstrated the acute and chronic effects of discrimination, ranging from distress, health risk behaviors, to poor mental health and adverse maternal and child outcomes (Lewis et al., 2015). Stress arising from discrimination has been linked to harmful coping mechanisms, such as alcohol consumption, tobacco use, and low physical activity (Brady et al., 2004). Along with these behavioral responses, stress elicits a physiological response in the body, specifically the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenocortical axis leading to the release of stress hormones, which have been implicated in poor mental health and medical outcomes (Berger & Sarnyai, 2015). — Naheed Ahmed, Measurement of Perceived Interpersonal…, 14

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on embodiment and social determinants of health — e.g. work on allostatic load and weathering in African American populations.