Incidents of discrimination are part of the everyday life experiences of adolescents of color, and although many studies document the negative psychological and academic repercussions of discrimination, we know almost nothing about how discrimination gets under the skin to influence adolescent health. Yet it is precisely these processes that could initiate racial/ethnic health disparities observed in adult populations, and adolescence is the key time to study these processes since the social-cognitive ability to recognize discriminatory treatment emerges in the second decade of life. My proposed project targets biodemography and the biopsychosocial pathways by which discrimination influences adolescent health and well-being. I have two primary aims for my K01 award: 1) gain extensive training in biodemography that will build my expertise as a population dynamics scholar and 2) test a biopsychosocial model of racial/ethnic discrimination using secondary data from three population-based studies with young adult samples and primary data from collected from adolescents.
These aims will allow me to achieve my long-term career goals of a) enhancing interdisciplinary training of graduate and undergraduate students in my department around population dynamics and biomarkers across the lifespan and b) developing an R01 grant that tests a larger biopsychosocial model that integrates what I learn in my K01 award with an examination of potential buffers that might protect adolescents from the pernicious effects of discrimination. My primary mentor for the K01 award is demographer Mark Hayward, with biobehavioral psychologist Elizabeth Susman, adolescent health nursing professor Lynn Rew, and health psychologist Velma McBride Murry serving as co-mentors. My career development plan includes frequent mentoring meetings, off- site training sessions and conferences, on-site coursework, biomarker and health field and lab experiences, and R01 application preparation. This training plan is critical for my research study that focuses on three aims: 1) investigate the biopsychosocial pathways linking perceptions of discrimination to mental and physical health, 2) examine how SES and SES marginalization contribute to the biopsychosocial pathways of interest, and 3) assess the degree to which gender and pubertal development condition the biopsychosocial pathways. The research study includes analyses of population data from the NSAL, NLAAS, and Add Health along with primary data collected from 100 participants (drawn from a larger study that I am conducting) who report experiencing various constellations of racial/ethnic discrimination. This training and research agenda fits squarely within the growing subfield of biodemography, where biological insights are being integrated into models of population health and health dynamics. My training and my foundation of empirical research leave me well-situated to pursue this critical line of inquiry, but I can only do so with the career development provided by this K01 award. Receiving the K01 award would contribute substantially to my intellectual development, my research skills, and my ability to become an independent biodemographer and population dynamics scholar.
Investigation of biopsychosocial processes, particularly those revolving around discrimination, are crucial to developing a well-rounded understanding of the etiology of racial/ethnic health disparities and to identifying new and innovative policy interventions. This study examines the biopsychosocial pathways that link experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination to adolescents' mental and physical health and well-being, and career development in biodemography and population dynamics is critical for undertaking this research. Capturing the vulnerability that Americans of color face in a more multifaceted and comprehensive way than in past research is important to both theorizing about and taking action on racial/ethnic health disparities in the population.
