Perceived Everyday Racism, Residential Segregation, and HIV Testing Among Patients at a Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic

Objectives. More than one quarter of HIV-infected people are undiagnosed and therefore unaware of their HIV-positive status. Blacks are disproportionately infected. Although perceived racism influences their attitudes toward HIV prevention, how racism influences their behaviors is unknown. We sought to determine whether perceiving everyday racism and racial segregation influence Black HIV testing behavior

The African American Minister as a Source of Help for Serious Personal Crises: Bridge or Barrier to Mental Health Care?

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, this article explores the role of African American ministers in the help seeking of African Americans for serious emotional problems. The authors explore which demographic characteristics and psychosocial factors are related to contacting Black clergy for help, whether certain types of personal problems increase the likelihood of clergy contact, and whether those who go to ministers are also likely to seek help from other professional help sources. Results indicate that women are more likely than men to seek help from ministers. People with economic problems are less likely to contact clergy, while those with death or bereavement problems are more likely to seek help from the clergy. Regardless of the type or severity of the problem, those who contact clergy first are less likely to seek help from other professionals. It is recommended that African American clergy and mental health professionals engage in a mutual exchange of information to increase access to professional care among African Americans with serious personal problems.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67669/2/10.1177_109019819802500606.pd

Race Attribution Modifies the Association Between Daily Discrimination and Major Depressive Disorder Among Blacks: the Role of Gender and Ethnicity

Objective Although the association between discrimination and depression among Blacks is well-known, we do not know if this effect is influenced by race attribution. In this current study, we investigated the effect modification of race attribution on the association between everyday discrimination and major depressive disorder (MDD) among Blacks in the United States, and whether this effect modification is influenced by the intersection of ethnicity and gender. Methods With a cross-sectional design, this study used data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), 2001–2003. The study included a nationally representative sample of Blacks (n=5,008), composed of 3,570 African Americans and 1,438 Caribbean Blacks. Everyday discrimination, two single-item measures of race attribution (race as the major barrier against upward social mobility, and race as the main cause for being discriminated against) and 12-month MDD were measured. In the first step, we fit logistic regressions to the pooled sample. In the next step, we ran regressions specific to the intersections of ethnicity and gender. Interaction between race attribution and discrimination were also entered into the models. Results Among Caribbean Black men, the belief that race is a major barrier against one’s own upward social mobility modified the association between exposure to daily discrimination and MDD. In this group, the association between discrimination and MDD was weaker among those who believed that race is a major barrier against one's own upward social mobility. Race attribution did not modify the association between discrimination and MDD among African American men, African American women, and Caribbean Black women. The other measure of race attribution (race as the main cause of being discriminated against) did not modify the association between discrimination and MDD in any ethnicity by gender subgroups. Conclusions Among Caribbean Black men, the link between everyday discrimination and depression may depend on seeing race as the main barrier against upward social mobility. Among African American men and women, however, the link between discrimination and MDD does not depend on race attribution. Our results suggest that ethnicity, gender, and race attribution may alter the association between discrimination and risk of MDD among Blacks.This was a secondary analysis of the public-access data set, the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). The NSAL was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and was conducted by the Institute of Social Research, at the University of Michigan. The data for the current study were downloaded from the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), University of Michigan.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/171271/1/Assari2015_Article_RaceAttributionModifiesTheAsso.pd