Exploring racial dis(con)cordance and self-affirmation in physical activity messaging to Black women

Black women are among the least physically active demographic groups in the United States, partly due to sociocultural barriers and medical mistrust. The present research examined whether self-affirmation could help racially discordant physicians enhance Black women's receptivity to a targeted physical activity promotion message.

In a single-session online experiment, Black women participants (N = 370) completed either a self-affirmation or control writing task before reading a targeted health promotion message about increasing physical activity from a Black or White male physician. Participants then rated the physician's trustworthiness, affective responses to the message, perceived discrimination, and message persuasiveness.

Using 2 × 2 univariate analyses of variance, we found that self-affirmation did not significantly influence perceptions of the health message or the physicians (all ds > 0.03; all ps > .094). In contrast, physician race had robust effects. Participants perceived the Black (vs. White) physician as more trustworthy, more persuasive, less discriminatory against their race and gender, and elicited more positive affect and less anger (all ds > -0.54; all ps < .001).

Race concordance, rather than self-affirmation, shaped Black women's responses to a targeted physical activity promotion message. A targeted health promotion message from a Black physician was trusted and well received, whereas the same message from a White physician elicited perceptions of discrimination and anger. These findings suggest that physician racial concordance may outweigh individual-level interventions such as self-affirmation, underscoring the importance of representation and culturally responsive communication in promoting physical activity among Black women. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).