Skip to main content
Log in

Heart Trouble and Racial Group Identity: Exploring Ethnic Heterogeneity Among Black Americans

  • Published:
Race and Social Problems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, and compared to other racial and ethnic groups, Blacks between the ages of 45 and 65 have the highest likelihood of dying from heart disease. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about intragroup variation among the US Black population. In this study, utilizing a nationally representative sample of Black Americans, we examine the relationship between heart trouble and racial group identity for two groups of Blacks: African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. We include two measures of racial group identity: closeness to other Blacks and Black group evaluation. Our results reveal three important patterns. First, closeness to other Blacks is suppressed by Black group evaluation. Second, at low levels of closeness to other Blacks, there is little difference between African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the probability of heart trouble. However, as closeness to other Blacks increases, the probability of heart trouble increases for African Americans, but decreases for Caribbean Blacks. Finally, with respect to positive Black group evaluation, both African Americans and Caribbean Blacks benefit and experience a lower probability of heart trouble.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Heart Association. (2012). What is cardiovascular disease (heart disease)? Available at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Resources/WhatisCardiovascularDisease/What-is-CardiovascularDisease_UCM_301852_Article.jsp#.T4CVDXjyHAM. Accessed March 27, 2012.

  • Antonucci, T. C., & Jackson, J. S. (1983). Physical health and self-esteem. Family and Community Health, 6(2), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharyya, M. R., & Steptoe, A. (2007). Emotional triggers of acute coronary syndromes: Strength of evidence, biological processes, and clinical implications. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 49(5), 353–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boehm, J. K., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2012). The heart’s content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health. Psychological Bulletin. doi:10.1037/a0027448.

  • Borrell, L. N., Kiefe, C. I., Williams, D. R., Diez-Roux, A. V., & Gordon-Larsen, P. (2006). Self-reported health, perceived discrimination, and skin color in African Americans in the CARDIA study. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 1415–1427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boykin, S., Diez-Roux, A. V., Carnethon, M., Shrager, M. S., Ni, H., & Whitt-Glover, M. (2011). Racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the socioeconomic patterning of CVD risk factors in the United States: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 22(1), 111–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Branscombe, N. R., Schmitt, M. T., & Harvey, R. D. (1999). Perceiving pervasive discrimination among African Americans: Implications for group identification and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(1), 135–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broman, C. L., Neighbors, H. W., & Jackson, J. S. (1988). Racial group identification among black adults. Social Forces, 67(1), 146–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broman, C. L., Torres, M., Canady, R. B., Neighbors, H. W., & Jackson, J. S. (2010). Race and ethnic self-identification influences on physical and mental health statuses among blacks. Race and Social Problems, 2, 81–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brotman, D. J., Golden, S. H., & Wittstein, I. S. (2007). The cardiovascular toll of stress. Lancet, 370(9592), 1089–1100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caprio, S., Daniels, S. R., Drewnowski, A., Kaufman, F. R., Palinkas, L. A., Rosenbloom, A. L., et al. (2008). Influence of race, ethnicity, and culture on childhood obesity: Implications for prevention and treatment. Diabetes Care, 31(11), 2211–2221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caputo, R. K. (2003). The effects of socioeconomic status, perceived discrimination and mastery on health status in a young cohort. Social Work in Health Care, 37(2), 17–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, R. T. (1991). Racial identity attitudes and psychological functioning. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 19(3), 105–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Heart disease facts. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm. Accessed on March 27, 2012.

  • Chae, D. H., Lincoln, K. D., Adler, N. E., & Syme, S. L. (2010). Do experiences of racial discrimination predict cardiovascular disease among African American men? The moderating role of internalized negative racial group attitudes. Social Science and Medicine, 71, 1182–1188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie-Mizell, C. A., & Erickson, R. J. (2007). Mothers and mastery: The consequences of perceived neighborhood disorder. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70, 340–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie-Mizell, C. A., Ida, A. K., & Keith, V. M. (2010). African Americans and physical health: The consequences of self-esteem and happiness. Journal of Black Studies, 40, 1189–1211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, R., Anderson, N. B., Clark, V. R., & Williams, D. R. (1999). Racism as a stressor for African Americans: A biopsychosocial model. American Psychologist, 54(10), 805–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colditz, G. A., Martin, P., Stampfer, M. J., Willett, W. C., Sampson, L., Rosner, B., et al. (1986). Validation of questionnaire information on risk-factors and disease outcomes in a prospective cohort study of women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 123(5), 894–900.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, W. E. (1991). Shades of Black: Diversity in African American identity. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demo, D. H., & Hughes, M. (1990). Socialization and racial identity among black Americans. Social Psychology Quarterly, 53(4), 364–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eaker, E. D., Sullivan, L. M., Kelly-Hayes, M., D’Agostino, R. B., & Benjamin, E. J. (2007). Marital status, marital strain, and risk of coronary heart disease or total mortality: The Framingham Offspring Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69, 509–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang, J., Madhavan, S., & Alderman, M. H. (1996). The association between birthplace and mortality from cardiovascular causes among black and white residents of New York City. The New England Journal of Medicine, 335(21), 1545–1551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feagin, J. R., & McKinney, K. D. (2003). The many costs of Racism. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group. (1999). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for use in health research. Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forbes, D. A. (2001). Enhancing mastery and sense of coherence: Important determinants of health in older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 22, 29–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, E., Williams, D. R., Singer, B. H., & Ryff, C. D. (2009). Chronic discrimination predicts higher circulating levels of e-selectin in a national sample: The MIDUS study. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 23, 684–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geronimus, A. T., Hicken, M., Keene, D., & Bound, J. (2006). “Weathering” and age patterns of allostatic load scores among Blacks and Whites in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 96(5), 826–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gidron, Y., Levy, A., & Cwikel, J. (2006). Psychosocial and reported inflammatory disease correlates of self-reported heart disease in women from south of Israel. Women and Health, 44(4), 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodstein, R., & Ponterotto, J. G. (1997). Racial and ethnic identity: Their relationship and their contribution to self-esteem. Journal of Black Psychology, 23(3), 275–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, D. M., Johnson, J. L., Zhang, R., Neighbors, H. W., & Jackson, J. S. (2011). Ethnicity, nativity, and the health of American blacks. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 22(1), 142–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guyll, M., Matthews, K. A., & Bromberger, J. T. (2001). Discrimination and unfair treatment: Relationship to cardiovascular reactivity among African American and European American women. Health Psychology, 20(5), 315–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harlow, S. D., & Linet, M. S. (1989). Agreement between questionnaire data and medical records: The evidence for accuracy of recall. American Journal of Epidemiology, 129(2), 233–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hummer, R. A., Rogers, R. G., Nam, C. B., & Ellison, C. G. (1999). Religious involvement and US adult mortality. Demography, 36(2), 273–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ida, A. K., & Christie-Mizell, C. A. (2012). Racial group identity, psychosocial resources, and depressive symptoms: Exploring ethnic heterogeneity among black Americans. Sociological Focus, 45(1), 41–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J. S., Neighbors, H. W., Nesse, R. M., Trierweiler, S. J., & Torres, M. (2004a). Methodological innovations in the National Survey of American Life. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13, 289–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J. S., Torres, M., Neighbors, H. W., Nesse, R. M., Taylor, R. J., Trierweiler, S. J., et al. (2004b). The National Survey of American Life: A study of racial, ethnic and cultural influences on mental disorders and mental health. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13(4), 196–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaret, C., & Reitzes, D. C. (1999). The importance of racial-ethnic identity and social setting for blacks, whites, and multiracials. Sociological Perspectives, 42(4), 711–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, C. D. (1976). Recent evidence supporting psychologic and social risk factors for coronary heart disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 294(18), 987–994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, N. J., Backlund, E., Sorlie, P. D., & Loveless, C. A. (2000). Marital status and mortality: The National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Annals of Epidemiology, 10(4), 224–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, M. (1996). The socioeconomic assimilation of Caribbean American blacks. Social Forces, 74(3), 911–930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, N. L., & Shaw, K. M. (2011). Coronary heart disease and stroke deaths—United States, 2006. In R. L. Moolenaar, C. G. Casey, T. F. Rutledge, D. C. Johnson, C. B. Lansdowne, & J. D. Sokolow (Eds.), Morbidity and mortality weekly report: CDC health disparities and inequalities report—United States, 2011 (pp. 62–65). Atlanta GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kent, M. M. (2007). Immigration and America’s black population. Population Bulletin, 62(4), Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.

  • Kessler, R. C., Mickelson, K. D., & Williams, D. R. (1999). The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40(3), 208–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G. (2004). Religion, spirituality, and medicine: Research findings and implications for clinical practice. Southern Medical Journal, 97(12), 1194–1200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koeske, G. F. (1998). Suppression in the study of parenting and adolescent symptoms: Statistical nuisance and nonsense, or scientific explanation. Journal of Social Service Research, 24(1/2), 111–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N., & Sidney, S. (1996). Racial discrimination and blood pressure: The CARDIA study of young black and white women and men. American Journal of Public Health, 86(10), 1370–1378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaVeist, T. A., Seller, R., & Neighbors, H. W. (2001). Perceived racism and self and system of blame attribution: Consequences for longevity. Ethnicity and Disease, 11(4), 711–721.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, T. T. (2011). Self-reported experiences of discrimination and visceral fat in middle-aged African-American and Caucasian women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 173(11), 1223–1231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, M. A., Sandefur, G. D., & Meier, A. (2001, August). Family background and racial and ethnic differences in adolescent weight. Paper presented at the 2001 Add Health User’s Workshop, Washington, DC. Madison, WI: Center for Demography and Ecology.

  • McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease: Allostasis and allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840(1), 33–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mezuk, B. (2010). Epidemiology of diabetes and cardiovascular disease: The emergence of health disparities over the life span. In T. C. Antonucci & J. S. Jackson (Eds.), Health inequalities: Life course perspectives on late life outcomes (pp. 77–97). New York: Springer Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nerem, R. M., Levesque, M. J., & Cornhill, J. F. (1980). Social environment as a factor in diet-induced atherosclerosis. Science, 208(4451), 1475–1476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, K. H., Subramanian, S. V., Sorensen, G., Tsang, K., & Wright, R. J. (2010). Influence of experiences of racial discrimination and ethnic identity on prenatal smoking among urban black and Hispanic women. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66, 315–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, V., Sussman, S., Crippens, D., Elder, P., & Scholl, D. (1998). The relation of ethnic identification with cigarette smoking among US urban African American and Latino youth: A pilot study. Ethnicity & Health, 3(1–2), 135–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascoe, E., & Richman, L. S. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 531–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearlin, L. I. (1989). The sociological study of stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30(3), 241–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearlin, L. I., Liberman, M. A., Menaghan, E. G., & Mullan, J. T. (1981). The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2, 337–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S. (1996). Understanding ethnic diversity: The role of ethnic identity. The American Behavioral Scientist, 40(2), 143–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, T. (1999). Cardiovascular pathways: Socioeconomic status and stress effects on hypertension and cardiovascular function. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896, 262–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell, L. H., Shahabi, L., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Religion and spirituality: Linkages to physical health. American Psychologist, 58(1), 36–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pudrovska, T., Schieman, S., Pearlin, L. I., & Nguyen, K. (2005). The sense of mastery as a mediator and moderator in the association between economic hardship and health in late life. Journal of Aging and Health, 17, 634–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Emerson, M. O. (2005). Racial context, black immigration and US black/white health disparity. Social Forces, 84(1), 181–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rozanksi, A., Blumenthal, J. A., & Kaplan, J. (1999). Impact of psychological factors on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and implications for therapy. Circulation, 99, 2192–2217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russek, L. G., King, S. H., Russek, S. J., & Russek, H. I. (1990). The Harvard Mastery of Stress Study 35-year follow-up: Prognostic-significant patterns of psychophysiological arousal and adaptation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 52(3), 271–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seaton, E. K., Caldwell, C. H., Sellers, R. M., & Jackson, J. S. (2008). The prevalence of perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black youth. Developmental Psychology, 44(5), 1288–1297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seeman, T. E., Crimmins, E., Huang, M. H., Singer, B., Bucur, A., Gruenewald, T., et al. (2004). Cumulative biological risk and socio-economic differences in mortality: MacArthur studies of successful aging. Social Science and Medicine, 58(10), 1985–1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seller, R. M., & Shelton, J. N. (2003). The role of racial identity in perceived racial discrimination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(5), 1079–1092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw-Taylor, Y. (2007). The intersection of assimilation, race, presentation of self, and transnationalism in America. In Y. Shaw-Taylor & S. A. Tuch (Eds.), The other African Americans: Contemporary African and Caribbean immigrants in the United States (pp. 1–47). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelton, J. E. (2008). The investment in blackness hypothesis: Toward greater understanding of who teaches what during racial socialization. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 5, 235–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shelton, J. N., & Sellers, R. M. (2000). Situational stability and variability in African American racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology, 26(1), 27–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, G. K., & Siahpush, M. (2002). Ethnic-immigrant differentials in health behaviors, morbidity, and cause-specific mortality in the United States: An analysis of two national data bases. Human Biology, 74(1), 83–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smedley, A., & Smedley, B. D. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real. American Psychologist, 60(1), 16–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi, D. T., Alegria, M., Jackson, J. S., & Williams, D. R. (2007). Immigration and mental health: Diverse findings in Asian, black, and Latino populations. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 11–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, A. J., & Speight, S. L. (1999). Racial identity and racial socialization attitudes of African American parents. Journal of Black Psychology, 25(2), 152–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R. J. (2010). Understanding health disparities: The promise of the stress process model. In W. R. Avison, C. S. Aneshensel, S. Schieman, & B. Wheaton (Eds.), Advances in the conceptualization of the stress process: Essays in Honor of Leonard I. Pearlin (pp. 3–19). New York: Spring Science and Business Media, LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R. J., & Avison, W. R. (2003). Status variations in stress exposure: Implications for the interpretation of research on race, socioeconomic status, and gender. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(4), 488–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R. J., & Lloyd, D. L. (1999). The stress process and the social distribution of depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40(4), 374–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119(3), 488–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Utsey, S. O., Chae, M. H., Brown, C. F., & Kelly, D. (2002). Effect of ethnic group membership on ethnic identity, race-related stress and quality of life. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8(4), 366–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaliano, P. P., Scanlan, J. M., Zhang, J., Savage, M. V., Hirsch, I. B., & Siegler, I. C. (2002). A path model of chronic stress, the metabolic syndrome and coronary heart disease. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 418–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, M. C. (1991). The role of lineage in identity formation among black Americans. Qualitative Sociology, 14, 57–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, M. C. (1999). Black identities: West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R. (1996). Racism and health: A research agenda. Ethnicity and Disease, 6(1–2), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., González, H. M., Neighbors, H., Nesse, R., Abelson, J. M., Sweetman, J., et al. (2007a). Prevalence and distribution of major depressive disorder in African Americans, Caribbean blacks, and non-Hispanic whites: Results from the National Survey of American Life. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 305–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Haile, R., González, H. M., Neighbors, H., Baser, R., & Jackson, J. S. (2007b). The mental health of black Caribbean immigrants: Results from the National Survey of American Life. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 52–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., & Jackson, J. S. (2000). Race/ethnicity and the 2000 Census: Recommendations for African American and other black populations in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 90(11), 1728–1730.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and racial disparities in health: Evidence and needed research. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32, 20–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Mohammed, S. A., Leavell, J., & Collins, C. (2010). Race, socioeconomic status, and health: Complexities, ongoing challenges, and research opportunities. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 1186, 69–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Neighbors, H. W., & Jackson, J. S. (2003). Race/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 200–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Yu, Y., Jackson, J. S., & Anderson, N. R. (1997). Racial differences in physical and mental health: Socioeconomic status, stress and discrimination. Journal of Health Psychology, 2(3), 335–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkleby, M. A., Cubbin, C., Ahn, D. K., & Kraemer, H. C. (1999). Pathways by which SES and ethnicity influence cardiovascular disease risk factors. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 896, 191–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research is supported in part by grant #68146 to the first author from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Address all correspondence to Helena E. Dagadu, Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University (email: helena.dagadu@vanderbilt.edu).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helena E. Dagadu.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4.

Table 4 Correlations of study variables, National Survey of American life sample of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks (N = 2,137)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dagadu, H.E., Christie-Mizell, C.A. Heart Trouble and Racial Group Identity: Exploring Ethnic Heterogeneity Among Black Americans. Race Soc Probl 6, 143–160 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-013-9109-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-013-9109-7

Keywords

Navigation