Does ethnicity affect how older adults deal with stressors at home?

Numerous studies have examined stress in older adults but little research has examined the specific relationship between ethnicity and home stressors. We used a micro-longitudinal eight day daily diary study to examine reactivity to home stressors in older adults. 42 participants reported on 337 days from the Greater Raleigh Area all between the ages of 60 to 96 representing European-Americans and African-Americans. Participants reported their daily home stressor resolution (resolved or unresolved) and daily physical symptoms (e.g., joint pain, fatigue, headache). We found that European-Americans had a significantly higher number of physical symptoms on days with an unresolved home stressor than that of their African-American counterparts. Findings suggest ethnicity differences in the physical effects of home stressor resolution among older adults. Awareness of disparity is an important first step in closing the health gap and ethnicity should be included in future assessments of home stressors in older adults