Stress, Spirituality and Health Promoting Behaviors Among African American College Students‪.‬

The dismal health status of African Americans compared to the general population has sparked major concerns in research and public health domains. African Americans are habitually over represented in chronic and preventable diseases (Belgrave, Molock, Kelley, & Nana-Sinham, 1991; Feldman & Fulwood, 1999; Ford & Goode, 1994; Reed, 1996; Thompson & Chambers, 2000; Walden, 1994). A flurry of research has proffered explanations that speculate to what causes or exacerbates poor health conditions among African Americans. Subsequently, the literature is replete with rhetoric and surface assessments of the problem. For example, some arguments posit that that African-Americans are biologically more susceptible to certain diseases than their White counterparts (see Reed, 1996). Other researchers (Belgrave, Molock, Kelley, & Nana-Sinham, 1991; Feldman & Fulwood, 1999; Ford & Goode, 1994) suggest that racial/ethnic health disparities are largely attributed to (1) lack of access for medical care, thus, delaying early diagnoses and treatment; (2) differences in dietary behaviors; and (3) lack of exercise. Most investigations attempting to understand or eliminate the racial health disparity gap have largely focused on the universal differences between groups and have undermined the uniqueness within group (Thompson & Chambers, 2000). Improving the health status of African Americans must fundamentally address the intricate relationship between health and culture (Semmes, 1995; Thompson and Chambers, 2000; Wallace and Foreman, 1998). Considerable research has implicated the negative repercussions of stress on health outcomes. Consequently, African Americans have been found to disproportionately suffer from stress related diseases and illnesses compared to their white counterparts (Feldman & Fulwood, 1999). Research on the etiology of stress among African Americans has alluded to the oppressive social, political and economical conditions that African Americans confront on a daily basis (Kirk, 1986). For example, Bennett (1995) reported that the average family income for African Americans was approximately 55% of that for white Americans. Many scholars contend that lowered socioeconomic status among African Americans place this ethnic group at greater risk for stress (Kessler & Neighbors, 1986).