Questions that apply to all articles

What role does race play in middle age health?

How might discrimination impact physical or mental health of middle aged adults?

Sellers, S. L., Bonham, V., Neighbors, H. W., & Amell, J. W. (2009). Effects of Racial Discrimination and Health Behaviors on Mental and Physical Health of Middle-Class African American Men. Health Education & Behavior, 36(1): 31-44.

This research is an examination of the effects of racial discrimination and health-promoting behaviors on the physical and mental health of a sample of 399 well-educated African American men. One would think that the attainment of higher education would increase health-promoting behaviors and might decrease discriminatory experiences that impact health. However, regression analysis indicated a more complex picture. Health-promoting behaviors were positively related to mental health, whereas experiences of racial discrimination contributed to poorer mental health. Relationships between health-promoting behaviors and that of racial discrimination to physical health were found to be nonsignificant. In conclusion, the authors discuss the importance of culturally appropriate health-promotion efforts.

• What are the effects of racial discrimination on mental and physical health?

Kieffer, E. C., Sinco, B. R., Rafferty, A., Spencer, M. S., Palmisano, G., Watt, E. E., & Heisler, M. (2006). Chronic Disease— Related Behaviors and Health Among African Americans and Hispanics in the REACH Detroit 2010 Communities, Michigan, and the United States. Health Promotion Practice, 7(3 suppl.): 256S–264S.

Objectives: To compare chronic disease risk factors and their correlates for African American and Hispanic residents of REACH Detroit, Michigan, and the United States. Method: Behavioral Risk Factor Survey data from 2001-2003 were used for comparisons and regression models. Results: Several chronic disease risk factors were more prevalent among REACH Detroit residents than their Michigan and U.S. counterparts. In REACH Detroit, greater fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with more than high school education and older age among Hispanics, and meeting exercise guidelines and older age among African Americans. Less than high school education, smoking, and male gender were associated with lower consumption among African Americans. Greater physical activity was associated with younger age, male gender, and more fruit and vegetable consumption among African Americans, and unemployment among Hispanics. Conclusions: Surveillance of health behaviors in high-risk communities contributes to planning interventions and policies for reducing racial and ethnic disparities.

• How do health risk factors differ among African American and Hispanic adults?

Budziszewska, M., & Dryll, E. (2013). Narratives about Relationships with Parents from the Perspectives of Middle-Aged and Older Adults. Social and Personal Relationships, 30(3): 217-236.

The paper examines narratives about relationships with parents, written by participants in middle and later adulthood. Empirical material was submitted in writing as responses to the cue “Tell me about your parents.” The material was subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis, taking into account the following dimensions: themes, type of text, temporal extension, and decentration (different characters perspective). Each age group displayed a characteristic pattern of themes. The narratives of middle-aged adults typically focused on the narrators’ childhood, including the high intensity and variety of emotion associated with it and multidimensional, equivocal evaluations of parents. The narratives of participants in later adulthood were characterized by wider temporal and historical contexts, idealization of childhood, and predominantly positive evaluation of memories.

• In your own words, explain the differences found in the study. Why do you think the middle-aged adults’ narratives had the focus they did?