Nizio Pamella, Mayorga Nubia A, Viana Andres G, Derrick Jaye L, Zvolensky Michael J
Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 3695 Cullen Blvd., Room 126, Houston, TX, 77204, USA.
HEALTH Institute, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 Jun 27. doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02532-4.
Hispanic young adults in the United States experience disproportionate mental and physical health disparities, including elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Perceived ethnic discrimination has been identified as a key contributor to these disparities, exacerbating stress-related symptoms and worsening overall well-being. Heart-focused anxiety, or the fear of potential negative consequences of cardiac-related symptoms, may be an additional cognitive-affective amplifier for mental and physical health symptoms. However, the independent and interactive effects of perceived ethnic discrimination and heart-focused anxiety on mental health among Hispanic young adults remain unclear. The current study sought to examine the main and interactive effects of perceived ethnic discrimination and heart-focused anxiety on symptoms of general depression, anxious arousal, and fatigue severity among a sample of Hispanic young adults. Participants included 193 (83.4% female; mean age = 22.81 years, SD = 5.81) Hispanic college students from a single university who completed an online survey for extra credit in any of their psychology courses. Block sequential regression models were utilized to analyze the data. Results indicated that both perceived ethnic discrimination and heart-focused anxiety were statistically significantly associated with greater symptoms of general depression (p < 0.001), anxious arousal (p < 0.001), and fatigue severity (p < 0.001). Additionally, there was a statistically significant interaction effect for anxious arousal, such that perceived ethnic discrimination was associated with greater anxious arousal among individuals with higher levels of heart-focused anxiety (p = 0.018), but not among those with lower levels. The current findings highlight the distinct and interrelated roles of perceived ethnic discrimination and heart-focused anxiety in terms of common and often impairing mental and physical symptoms among Hispanic young adults. Clinically, such could guide the development of future research and of specialized intervention strategies for Hispanic young adults.
美国的西班牙裔年轻成年人面临着不成比例的身心健康差距，包括抑郁症、焦虑症和疲劳发生率较高。种族歧视被认为是造成这些差距的关键因素，加剧了与压力相关的症状，并恶化了整体幸福感。对心脏的焦虑，即对心脏相关症状潜在负面后果的恐惧，可能是身心健康症状的另一个认知情感放大器。然而，西班牙裔年轻成年人中，种族歧视和对心脏的焦虑对心理健康的独立和交互作用仍不明确。本研究旨在探讨种族歧视和对心脏的焦虑对西班牙裔年轻成年人样本中一般抑郁、焦虑唤醒和疲劳严重程度症状的主要和交互作用。参与者包括来自一所大学的193名（83.4%为女性；平均年龄 = 22.81岁，标准差 = 5.81）西班牙裔大学生，他们在任何心理学课程中完成在线调查以获得额外学分。采用逐块顺序回归模型分析数据。结果表明，种族歧视和对心脏的焦虑在统计学上均与更高的一般抑郁症状（p < 0.001）、焦虑唤醒（p < 0.001）和疲劳严重程度（p < 0.001）显著相关。此外，焦虑唤醒存在统计学上的显著交互作用，即种族歧视与心脏焦虑水平较高的个体中更高的焦虑唤醒相关（p = 0.018），但与心脏焦虑水平较低的个体无关。目前的研究结果突出了种族歧视和对心脏的焦虑在西班牙裔年轻成年人常见且往往会造成损害的身心健康症状方面的独特和相互关联的作用。在临床上，这可以指导未来针对西班牙裔年轻成年人的研究和专门干预策略的制定。
