Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2025

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Historic Structural Racism and Perceived Stress in Adolescents
Sarah E Laurent1, Lorraine Halinka Malcoe2, Linnea Laestadius2
1Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Purpose:
This study is the first to examine the impact of structural racism from historic redlining practices on present-day perceived stress in adolescents.
Methods:
Data come from the Study of Adolescent to Adult Neural Development. Adolescents aged 15-17 years (N = 213) completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). Regression models examined associations between redlining scores, a measure of residential security risk, and PSS-14. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the indirect effect of present-day neighborhood inequities.
Results:
After adjusting for covariates, adolescents living in high redlined tracts (52.1%) reported higher PSS-14 values than those living in ungraded tracts (β: 2.47, 95% confidence interval: 0.35, 4.59). Analyses subset to non-Hispanic Black adolescents showed similar results. There was an indirect effect of redlining on perceived stress through neighborhood poverty (p = .043).
Discussion:
Findings indicate that institutional discriminatory lending practices from the early 20th century continue to impact present-day neighborhood poverty, resulting in increased adolescent stress.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Psychological Responses to Stress
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Bullying
Types of Stressors
Catastrophes
Catastrophes refer to large-scale, unpredictable events that create overwhelming stress and a sense of threat. Examples include natural disasters like...

