Original articleLarge Arterial Elasticity Varies as a Function of Gender and Racism-Related Vigilance in Black Youth
Section snippets
Study Population
The convenience sample for this study included 153 youth (girls: 48%, n = 74) who were drawn from a pool of 225 black students who are participating in a larger longitudinal study, which examines correlates of biobehavioral functioning in black youth. The larger cohort was recruited from three elementary/middle schools in an urban, Midwestern city. Potential youth participants who were able to give informed assent and parent participants who were able to give informed consent were eligible to
Descriptive and Bivariate Analyses
As shown in Table 1, a t-test analysis indicated that the two primary predictor variables, gender and racism-related vigilance, were not significantly related to one another (p > .25). Also illustrated in Table 1, t-test analyses revealed that with the exception of higher subjective stress and caffeine scores in girls compared with boys (both p < .004), the primary predictor variables were not significantly related to age, body mass index, alcohol drinks/week, family history of hypertension,
Discussion
This study explored the relationship of gender and racism-related vigilance to LAE in a normotensive sample of black youth. Overall, the laboratory task used in this investigation was associated with increased cardiovascular functioning (i.e., blood pressure, pulse rate, and vascular resistance) in both boys and girls. Consistent with Tsai et al [39], who examined hemodynamic and arterial properties associated with mental stress in normotensives and mild hypertensives, this task was also
Acknowledgments
Preparation of this manuscript was supported by grant numbers 1 K01 MH01867 from the National Institute of Mental Health and S P50 ES012395 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The authors are grateful to Lesley Goins, Charles Williams, Karen Freeman, Brian Pitts, Jr., and Abraham Hagos for their assistance with data collection and entry.
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This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Clark, who died unexpectedly in May 2006.