Publications [#140293] of Laura Smart Richman
Journal Articles
- Smart Richman, L. & Jonassaint, C. (2008).
The Effects of Race-related Stress on Cortisol Reactivity in the Laboratory: Implications of the Duke Lacrosse Scandal. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 35, 105-110.
(last updated on 2009/02/23)Abstract:
Background: This research examines the impact of a real-life stressor on physiological responses to a social evaluative threat induced in the laboratory. Methods: Salivary cortisol measures were collected throughout a stressor protocol. Participants were also randomized to one of two conditions designed to promote either racial identification or student identification, prior to the experimental task. Unexpectedly, a highly publicized real-life racial stressor, the Duke Lacrosse (LaX) scandal, occurred during the course of the data collection. This allowed for pre-post LaX comparisons to be made on cortisol levels. Results: These comparisons showed that, across both priming conditions, participants post-LaX had highly elevated cortisol levels that were nonresponsive to the experimental stress task, while their pre-LaX counterparts had lower cortisol levels that exhibited a normal stress response pattern. Furthermore, this effect of LaX was significantly moderated by gender, with women having lower mean cortisol levels pre-LaX but significantly greater cortisol levels than all other groups post-LaX. Conclusions: These results suggest that recent exposure to race-related stress can have a sustained impact on physiological stress responses for African Americans.