Mechanisms Involved in the Psychological Distress of Black Caribbeans in the United States.

Abstract

The accelerated growth of ethnic minorities implores academics to investigate more deeply health disparities and the factors that exacerbate or minimize such inequalities. This dissertation attends to that concern by using data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), the first survey with a national representative sample of Black Caribbeans. It explores mechanisms involved in the psychological distress of Black Caribbeans in the United States. In three studies, the dissertation investigated the role and consequence of 1) chronic discrimination, immigration factors, and closeness to ethnic and racial groups; 2) personal control and social support; and 3) family relations and social roles in the psychological distress of Black Caribbeans. Study 1 examined how the associations between discrimination and psychological distress were buffered or exacerbated by closeness to ethnic group and closeness to racial group. It also examined how these associations differed depending on immigration factors. Results indicated that the buffering or exacerbating effect of ethnic and racial group closeness varied according to the type of discrimination (subtle or severe) and were more pronounced among those born in the United States. Using the stress process framework, Study 2 tested moderation and mediation models of the effects of social support and personal control in the association between discrimination and distress. Results from a series of analyses on 579 respondents suggested that personal control served as a mediator in this relationship and that emotional support exerted a direct distress deterring function. Study 3 investigated sex differences in the associations between social roles, intergenerational family relationship perceptions and distress. Results suggested that positive relationships with an adult son/daughter and with a father, and negative relationships with a mother increased men’s distress. Few social roles increased the negative effect that women and men’s relationships with an adult son/daughter had on their distress. Multiple roles also increased the negative effect that women’s relationships with an adult son/daughter had on their distress. On the other hand, few social roles decreased the distress associated with men’s high conflict relationships with mothers.