Getting mad but ending up sad: the mental health consequences for African Americans using anger to cope with racism.

Anger is a common reaction to stressful life events. However, little is known about anger's use and efficacy as a coping strategy for racism. Is anger a coping strategy for racism that improves mental health? Or does anger operate in an opposing way, deteriorating mental health? The analyses for this research focused on a probability sample of African Americans who reported experiences of acute (n = 246) or chronic (n = 120) racial discrimination in a survey interview. General linear model results revealed that using anger to cope with racial discrimination negatively affected the general well-being and psychological distress of African Americans. These findings raise concerns about the effectiveness (or lack therefore of) of anger as a common coping mechanism for racism, given the deleterious effects it may have on African Americans' mental health.

Workplace stress and discrimination effects on the physical and depressive symptoms of underrepresented minority faculty.

Evidence-based research and interventions to address systemic institutional racism have never been more urgent. Yet, underrepresented minority (URM) professionals in research institutions who primarily produce that evidence have remained abysmally low for decades. This unique study of URM university professors assesses factors-vocational strain, role overload, discrimination, coping strategies-that contribute to health and well-being, research productivity, and ultimately their retention in high impact research positions. We administered a web-based survey assessing demographics, workplace stressors, perceived discrimination, life events, coping strategies, and physical and depressive symptoms. Study participants include 404 faculty of whom 254 are African Americans, 99 are Mexican Americans, and 51 are Puerto Ricans. Hierarchical regression analyses were employed to assess the associations between workplace stress, coping strategies, and symptoms. Results show that perceived discrimination, vocational strain, role overload, and life events directly affected physical symptoms, with self-care (p < 0.001) moderating these effects. Vocational strain and life events had direct effects on depressive symptoms with self-care (p < 0.05) and social support (p < 0.001) moderating these effects. Findings inform health care providers and university leaders about work stress and health conditions that may explain early morbidity and premature departures of URM faculty, and proffer institutional interventions to retain these faculty.