Cardiovascular Stress Response Differences of Ethnic Minority Individuals in Response to a Psychological Challenge

This research aims to better understand the physiological basis underlying the connection between stress and compromised physical health. Specifically we are interested in cardiovascular stress reactivity differences among college-age ethnic minority students who are likely to have experienced feelings of minority stress and/or racial discrimination. One-hundred and four students and Lawrence, KS community members between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four (45 male, 59 female) took part in this study. Eighty participants were white (87%) and eighteen were of a minority race (5% Black/African American, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander, 6% Hispanic/Latino, 1% Other). All participants completed a public speaking task during which they were instructed to prepare a speech (2 minutes) and deliver it to a blank-faced evaluator (3 minutes). We hypothesized that ethnic minority participants would demonstrate higher cardiovascular stress reactivity than White/Caucasian individuals in response to a psychological stress challenge.  A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to examine the difference between White/Caucasian participants and ethnic minority participants in regards to stress reactivity (cardiovascular response) to the social stress task. During the speech task, there was a significant difference in cardiovascular reactivity between the two groups; however it was the White/Caucasian subjects who appeared to have higher reactivity when compared to subjects who identified as belonging to an ethnic minority group. This study demonstrates that although ethnic minority students are likely to have experienced feelings of minority stress or instances of racial discrimination, they are not more likely to demonstrate heightened cardiovascular response to a psychological challenge.