Ethnic-Racial Stigma and Physical Health Disparities in the United States of America : From Psychological Theory and Evidence to Public Policy Solutions

Ethnic-racial diversity in the United States is a source of national pride, but it is overshadowed by the reality that stigmatized groups are disproportionately burdened by negative physical health. The social contexts and their activated psychological processes that contribute to ethnic-racial health disparities are not well understood. Moreover, scientists should delineate the implications of their research for public policies that address health disparities. This Journal of Social Issues volume brings together social, developmental, cognitive, and clinical psychological research on health disparities. Furthermore, it discusses how the present research informs public health policy.

Luis M. Rivera is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Principal Investigator of the Rutgers Implicit Social Cognition (RISC) lab at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark.?He earned his Ph.D. (2006) in experimental social psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research focuses on the implicit social cognitive processes that underlie the expression of stereotyped attitudes and how these processes and attitudes affect stigmatized individuals' self-concept, identity, and health.?He has (co)authored articles in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Social Cognition.?His health disparities research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Danielle L. Beatty Moody is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Principal Investigator of the Social Determinants of Health Inequities (SoDHI) lab at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the City University of New York, Graduate Center, in 2007. Her research focuses on individual level social and psychological factors, which contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease risks. She has (co)authored articles in the APA journal Health Psychology, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and Psychosomatic Medicine.