Description:

Presentation Title: The Roles of Sleep and Social-Ecological Contexts in the Association between Racial Discrimination and Health in Black Youth and Adults

Presenter: Jelaina Shipman-Lacewell, MA; Health Psychology Doctoral Candidate - Virginia Commonwealth University

Abstract:

Black youth and adults are at a significantly increased risk of both poor short and long-term mental and physical health outcomes, including an increased risk for suicide, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and chronic pain. Black youth and adults are also at an increased risk for poor sleep, which is linked to greater internalizing symptoms, greater pain, and the development of poor cardiometabolic health conditions. Racial discrimination is a significant and common stressor impacting both poor sleep and poor health among individuals of color. It is critical to identify mechanisms through which racial discrimination influences health and protective factors against the influence of racism on health to inform targeted health interventions for Black individuals. However, limited studies have examined sleep as a mediator of the association between racial discrimination and health outcomes, especially among Black youth. Moreover, social contexts impact the availability and use of social resources to cope with stressors on health. Still, there is a gap in our understanding of how these social contexts may impact the relationships of racial discrimination, sleep, and health among Black youth and adults. This presentation will discuss research exploring the roles sleep and social-ecological factors play in the relationship between racial discrimination and health, and implications for interventions to address the impact of racial discrimination on health among Black youth and adults.