Family support buffers the physiological effects of racial discrimination

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/afps-fsb022916.php

Public Release: 1-Mar-2016
Family support buffers the physiological effects of racial discrimination
Association for Psychological Science

African American adolescents who experience high levels of racial discrimination show cellular wear and tear, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research indicated that a supportive family environment may protect against these negative physiological effects.

"These findings are novel because they show that racial discrimination predicts the premature aging of cell and tissues," says lead researcher Gene Brody of the University of Georgia. "But the findings also show that families can play a protective role, serving as a shield that keeps racial discrimination from changing children's bodies by 'getting under the skin.'"

Research has shown that stressful experiences build over time, producing a cumulative effect that "weathers" physiological systems, including the premature aging of cells.

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