Stress and coping: the influence of racism on the cognitive appraisal processing of African Americans

Individuals who experience repeated stressful events are at risk for developing physical and psychological illnesses. African Americans are an ethnic group that is exposed to a range of stressors over time, including racism which leads to discrimination. African Americans also suffer disproportionately from hypertension, cardiac disease, obesity, and drug and alcohol abuse--all illnesses that have been linked to stress. This paper describes a model to guide nursing practice, research, and education about the influence of racism on the cognitive appraisal, stress, and coping of African Americans. Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) phenomenological approach to cognitive appraisal, stress, and coping is the theoretical framework on which the model is based.