Stress caused by racism may play a role in high illness and mortality rates for African Americans, according to a team of researchers headed by Rodney Clark, assistant professor and director of the Bio-behavioral Research Laboratory in the psychology department at Wayne State University.

In a journal article published in the October issue of American Psychologist magazine, the researchers examine the psychological, social, and physiological effects of perceived racism among African Americans.

Although there is a scarcity of prior research on perceived racism as a stressor, Clark and his team found that the studies they reviewed were generally consistent in demonstrating that the perception of racism usually resulted in psychological and physiological stress responses, which over time may lead to negative health consequences.

Other members of the investigatory team were Norman Anderson, director of the Behavioral and Social Science Research Office at the National Institutes of Health; Vernessa Clark, a researcher and professor at Morehouse College; and David Williams, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan. All are authorities on the effects of certain stress factors on health.

In the journal article, they cite one study -- done in the metropolitan Detroit area by D.R. Williams, Y. Yu and J. Jackson in 1997 -- that found that unfair treatment attributed to racial or ethnic discrimination over a lifetime predicted psychological distress, well-being, number of bed days and chronic health conditions for African Americans. More than 1,100 African-American and Caucasian adults were included in the sample survey population.

Clark and his colleagues indicate that the Williams-Yu-Jackson study and another conducted earlier by N. Krieger in 1990, point up that African Americans report greater exposure to stressors like racism and unfair treatment. As a result, they may have to use coping responses more often than Caucasians, thereby increasing the likelihood of psychological and physiological distress.

Clark notes that racism can come from within the African-American community as well as from other ethnic groups and that perceptions of racism by non-African Americans may also adversely affect their psychological well being.

While calling for further interdisciplinary research, Clark's team presents a contextual model to serve as a guide for future investigation. "On the basis of the proposed model, research examining the effects of ethnically-relevant stressors like racism may contribute to a better understanding about inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic group health disparities," Clark points out.