Everyday Unfair Treatment and Multisystem Biological Dysregulation in African American Adults

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2017-01, Vol.23 (1), p.27-35
• Main Authors: Ong, Anthony D., Williams, David R., Nwizu, Ujuonu, Gruenewald, Tara L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans - psychology; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Allostasis; Black People; Female; Health; Health Disparities; Human; Humans; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Male; Middle Aged; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Prejudice; Race and Ethnic Discrimination; Risk Factors; Social Discrimination; Social Equality; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000087

Objective: Increasing evidence suggests that chronic exposure to unfair treatment or day-to-day discrimination increases risk for poor health, but data on biological stress mechanisms are limited. This study examined chronic experiences of unfair treatment in relation to allostatic load (AL), a multisystem index of biological dysregulation. Method: Data are from a sample of 233 African-American adults (37-85 years; 64% women). Perceptions of everyday unfair treatment were measured by questionnaire. An AL index was computed as the sum of 7 separate physiological system risk indices (cardiovascular regulation, lipid, glucose, inflammation, sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis). Results: Adjusting for sociodemographics, medication use, smoking status, alcohol consumption, depressive symptoms, lifetime discrimination, and global perceived stress, everyday mistreatment was associated with higher AL. Conclusions: The results add to a growing literature on the effects of chronic bias and discrimination by demonstrating how such experiences are instantiated in downstream physiological systems.