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Stress Biomarkers in Black Youth: Exploring Psychological, Behavioral, and Socio-Ecological Correlates

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Abstract

Exposure to chronic stress is a major public health concern. Black youth are vulnerable to chronic stress exposure given their overrepresentation in urban neighborhoods characterized by socio-ecological stressors. We contribute to this emerging body of knowledge by (1) investigating stress-induced variability in cortisol response patterns among Black youth, and (2) examining risk and protective factors associated with physiological stress responses. Salivary cortisol was collected from a community sample of 123 low-income Black youth ages 13 to 21. Latent class analysis (LCA) and logistic regression were utilized to identify discrete groups based on cortisol reactivity, and psychological, behavioral, and socio-ecological correlates of class membership. LCA supported a 2-class model of cortisol reactivity. Youth in class one were indicative of a normative stress response with mean cortisol awakening response of 0.38 μg/dL (SD = 0.19), 0.48 μg/dL (SD = 0.20) at time 2, and 0.44 μg/dL (SD = 0.20) at time 3. Youth in class two exhibited a blunted stress response with mean cortisol awakening response of 0.20 μg/dL (SD = 0.11), 0.21 μg/dL (SD = 0.09) at time 2, and 0.18 μg/dL (SD = 0.08) at time 3. Delinquent peer exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms were negatively associated with blunted stress responses, while greater depressive symptoms were positively associated with blunted stress responses. Black youth displayed distinct physiological stress reactivity patterns. Interventions are needed to assist youth in coping with stress while transforming the upstream factors that give rise to adverse community conditions.

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Data generated and analyzed for the current study are not publicly available.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge our research team for their diligence at building rapport with our community partners, which established a solid foundation for our data collection. They were also critical in debriefing our community partners on the importance of their participation. We would also like to acknowledge the faculty at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago for their assistance in developing the research protocol and their support throughout the IRB process. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation for sponsoring this exploration. This research was presented at the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) 26th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., January 12-16, 2022. This work was made possible by the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation [grant numbers 2010-0297; 2010-2013], 40 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60603-5285.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois Chicago, 1040 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Andrew Foell & Andie Riffer

  2. School of Social Work, Rutgers University-Newark, 360 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Hill Hall 325, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Takashi Amano

  3. School of Social Work, Adelphi University, Social Work Building Room 309, One South Avenue, Garden City, NY, 11530, USA

    Chrisann Newransky

  4. Grace Abbott School of Social Work, University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68182, USA

    Von Nebbitt

  5. School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Margaret Lombe

  6. School of Social Work, Department of Public Health, University of Missouri, 720 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Mansoo Yu

  7. Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Dominique Horton

  8. Department of Social Work, University of New Hampshire, 55 College Road, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    Ngozi Enelamah

  9. Department of Social Work, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Melissa L. Villodas

  10. School of Social Work, Morgan State University, 1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD, 21251, USA

    M. Taki Tirmazi

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  1. Andrew Foell
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  2. Takashi Amano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew Foell.

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The research protocol was approved by the University of Illinois Chicago Institutional Review Board, which was supported by a Certificate of Confidentiality issued by the National Institutes of Health.

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Foell, A., Amano, T., Newransky, C. et al. Stress Biomarkers in Black Youth: Exploring Psychological, Behavioral, and Socio-Ecological Correlates. J Urban Health 100, 892–903 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00776-1

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