Goal-Striving Stress and Bodily Pain among Working-Age Black and White Americans

This study tests novel research questions regarding Black-White disparities in bodily pain and goal-striving stress (GSS). A largely overlooked chronic stressor, GSS measures the psychosocial strains of blocked opportunity and dashed aspirations. We address our research questions among a socioeconomically diverse sample of Black and White working-age adults from Nashville, Tennessee (2011-2014; n = 1,252). We find that White adults with low socioeconomic status (SES) report the highest levels of GSS and pain, relative to their Black and high-SES White peers. Moreover, GSS predicts higher pain levels only among low-SES White adults. These patterns hold regardless of other sociodemographic characteristics, occupational hazards, chronic illnesses, stressful life events, and experiences with discrimination. Our findings have critical implications for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers concerned with rising rates of pain and opioid abuse among midlife adults in the United States. We discuss these implications and outline several avenues for future research.