Black Americans face disproportionately high rates of chronic illness and mental health challenges compared to White Americans. A new study by Institute for Diversity Science (IDS) affiliate Morgan Jerald and colleague Milena Berestko suggests that stress surrounding interracial interactions may play a previously overlooked role in health disparities.
Jerald and Berestko, with support from an IDS seed grant, tested a model that incorporates methods from psychology and public health, examining how perceived discrimination shapes expectations about interracial encounters and, ultimately, health outcomes. Across two studies involving more than 800 Black American participants, the researchers found that experiences of discrimination led to more negative expectations about interacting with White individuals, which increased anxiety about those encounters. That anxiety was linked to higher stress, feelings of hostility toward those interactions, and a stronger desire to avoid them.
“Public health research has documented the toll of discrimination on Black Americans’ health for decades. But an examination of interracial interactions, a part of daily life for Black Americans, specifically, had largely been overlooked,” says Dr. Jerald.
The first study, involving 395 Black adults, found that when participants felt they were subject to discrimination during interactions, it increased stress and anxiety, which in turn led to negative coping behaviors such as self-blame or substance use. Jerald and Berestko say that these negative coping behaviors show a clear connection between stress from interracial interactions and health problems experienced by Black Americans. Additionally, study participants who relied more on negative coping strategies reported worse physical and mental health overall.
A second study involved 448 Black women and measured participants’ awareness of gendered racial stereotypes to help better understand how perceptions of discrimination around race and gender intersect. While the pathways between discrimination and health were similar—awareness of stereotype predicted anxiety, stress, and negative coping—the health effects differed. Negative coping was linked to worse physical health, but not worse mental health, and positive coping strategies showed no protective effect. This was an unexpected result that suggests psychological models about coping may not entirely capture Black women’s experiences.
“These findings show the need to better understand the gender-specific health disparities Black women face, and the role of distinct mechanisms, from an intersectional perspective,” says Dr. Jerald.
The authors caution that these studies are cross-sectional, meaning they cannot prove cause and effect. Still, the results point to an important takeaway: everyday social experiences, especially those shaped by structural inequality, can accumulate over time to influence long-term health.
Jerald and Berestko say the research has implications when it comes to health policy and practice. By identifying interracial interactions as a bridge connecting discrimination and health, interventions that reduce bias, improve intergroup relations, and support healthier coping strategies can help reduce health disparities.