Longitudinal effects of perceived discrimination on depressive symptoms and illness behaviors: Does socioeconomic status matter

The cross-sectional association between perceived discrimination and adverse health outcomes is well-established; however, longitudinal studies are necessary to more definitively determine the direction of this effect. Additionally, socioeconomic status (SES) has been thoroughly researched in the general stress-health literature but has been largely absent from studies on discrimination-specific stress. In general, lower-SES individuals experience higher levels of stress, are more vulnerable to the effects of stress, and use less effective coping strategies for stress management than higher-SES individuals. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether perceived discrimination is associated with depressive symptoms and illness behaviors longitudinally and whether SES moderates the discrimination-health associations in a manner consistent with the larger literature on more general stressors. Data for the current study was acquired from a larger investigation of gay and bisexual men (N = 564) who completed self-administered questionnaires at baseline and 6 months later. Perceived discrimination was unrelated to depressive symptoms and illness behaviors longitudinally (in either direction) when each outcome was controlled at baseline. Lower-SES participants reported more frequent experiences of discrimination than higher-SES participants. However, no SES differences were found in the strength of the discrimination-health associations, coping strategies commonly utilized in response to discrimination, or effectiveness of those coping strategies. Possible explanations for the null study findings are discussed. Despite limitations, this study was the first to test longitudinally whether perceived discrimination at the individual level is associated with health among a general sample of gay and bisexual men.