Abstract
This study investigated the associations among goal-striving stress, racial related stressors, and mental health. Goal-striving
stress was defined as the discrepancy between aspiration for and achievement of a better way of life, weighted by the subjective
probability of success, and the level of disappointment experienced if those life goals were not realized. Data are from the
National Survey of American Life’s African American (N = 3,570) and non-Hispanic white (N = 891) adult samples. Regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between goal-striving stress and five mental
health outcomes: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, psychological distress, and depressive symptoms. After controlling
for socio-demographic factors, a personal problems checklist, and racial discrimination, goal-striving stress was significantly
related to all mental health measures such that as goal-striving stress increased, mental health worsened. Additionally, the
relationship of goal-striving stress to mental health was found to be conditional upon race. Specifically, goal-striving stress
had a stronger effect among white Americans than African Americans. Goal-striving stress was associated differentially with
lower levels of mental health for black and white Americans. Racial differences in the impact of goal-striving stress suggest
a need for analyses exploring resilience and coping in relation to the impact of goal-striving stress on black–white differences
in mental health.
stress was defined as the discrepancy between aspiration for and achievement of a better way of life, weighted by the subjective
probability of success, and the level of disappointment experienced if those life goals were not realized. Data are from the
National Survey of American Life’s African American (N = 3,570) and non-Hispanic white (N = 891) adult samples. Regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between goal-striving stress and five mental
health outcomes: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, psychological distress, and depressive symptoms. After controlling
for socio-demographic factors, a personal problems checklist, and racial discrimination, goal-striving stress was significantly
related to all mental health measures such that as goal-striving stress increased, mental health worsened. Additionally, the
relationship of goal-striving stress to mental health was found to be conditional upon race. Specifically, goal-striving stress
had a stronger effect among white Americans than African Americans. Goal-striving stress was associated differentially with
lower levels of mental health for black and white Americans. Racial differences in the impact of goal-striving stress suggest
a need for analyses exploring resilience and coping in relation to the impact of goal-striving stress on black–white differences
in mental health.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-12
- DOI 10.1007/s12552-011-9042-6
- Authors
- Harold W. Neighbors, The Program for Research on Black Americans, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Sherrill L. Sellers, Department of Family Studies and Social Work, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
- Rong Zhang, The Program for Research on Black Americans, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- James S. Jackson, The Program for Research on Black Americans, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Journal Race and Social Problems
- Online ISSN 1867-1756
- Print ISSN 1867-1748