Disentangling the Stress Process: Race/Ethnic Differences in the Exposure and Appraisal of Chronic Stressors Among Older Adults

Author:

Brown Lauren L1,Mitchell Uchechi A2,Ailshire Jennifer A1

Affiliation:

1. Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

2. Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Exposure to stressors is differentially distributed by race/ethnicity with minority groups reporting a higher stress burden than their white counterparts. However, to really understand the extent to which some groups bear a disproportionate stress burden, we need to consider race/ethnic differences in stress appraisal, specifically how upsetting stressors may be, in addition to stress exposure. We examine racial/ethnic differences in both the number of reported chronic stressors across five domains (health, financial, residential, relationship, and caregiving) and their appraised stressfulness among a diverse sample of older adults. Method Data come from 6,567 adults ages 52+ from the 2006 Health and Retirement Study. Results Results show older blacks, U.S. and foreign-born Hispanics report more chronic stress exposure than whites and are two to three times as likely to experience financial strain and housing-related stress. Socioeconomic factors fully explain the Hispanic–white difference in stress exposure, but black–white differences remain. Despite experiencing a greater number of stressors, blacks and U.S.-born Hispanics are less likely to be upset by exposure to stressors than whites. U.S.-born Hispanics are less upset by relationship-based stressors specifically, while blacks are less upset across all stress domains in fully-adjusted models. Foreign-born Hispanics are only less upset by caregiving strain. Discussion The distinction between exposure and appraisal-based measures of stress may shed light on important pathways that differentially contribute to race/ethnic physical and mental health disparities.

Funder

National Institute on Aging

National Institutes of Health

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Geriatrics and Gerontology,Gerontology,Clinical Psychology,Social Psychology

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4. Psychosocial mechanisms underlying older black men’s health;Brown;The Journals of Gerontology: Series B,2018

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