Capturing the Cardiac Effects of Racial Discrimination: Do the Effects "keep Going"?

Overview

Journal Int J Psychophysiol

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2015 May 2

PMID 25931114

Citations 27

Authors

Lori S Hoggard

LaBarron K Hill

DeLeon L Gray

Robert M Sellers

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Racial discrimination negatively impacts cardiac functioning, but few studies examine the more distal cardiac effects of racial discrimination experiences. The present study examined the momentary and prolonged impact of lab-based intergroup and intragroup racial discrimination on heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) in a sample (N = 42) of African American (AA) women across two days. On day one, the women were exposed to simulated racial discrimination from either a European American (EA) or AA confederate in the lab. On day two, the women returned to the lab for additional physiological recording and debriefing. Women insulted by the EA confederate exhibited lower HRV on day one and marginally lower HRV on day two. These women also exhibited marginally higher HR on day two. The HRV and HR effects on day two were not mediated by differences in perseveration about the stressor. The findings indicate that racial discrimination - particularly intergroup racial discrimination - may have both momentary and prolonged effects on cardiac activity in AAs.

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