Perceived discrimination and quality of life for African American and Caucasian American cancer patients: a coping mediation analysis of subtle and overt microaggressions

ObjectivePerceived discrimination (PD; e.g. racism, agism, sexism, etc.) negatively impacts quality of life (QOL) among cancer patients. Prior research has established that for African American Cancer Patients (AACPs) only disengagement/denial coping mediated the PD-QOL relationship. In contrast, for Caucasian American Cancer Patients (CACPs), both agentic and disengagement/denial coping were mediators of the PD-QOL relationship. However, according to social constraint theory there may be a difference between subtle and overt PD in terms of the utility of certain coping mechanisms in relation to QOL, especially for AACPs.Method217 AACPs and 121 CACPs completed measures of PD, coping (agentic, disengagement/denial, adaptive disengagement) and QOL. PD items were classified as subtle or overt microaggressions. PD was mainly attributed to race/ethnicity by AACPs and to income, age, and physical appearance for CACPs.Results: In both subtle and overt microaggression models with CACPs, agentic coping and disengagement/denial coping were significant mediators of PD-QOL. Like CACPs, for AACPs, agentic and disengagement/denial coping were significant in the context of subtle microaggressions. In contrast, for overt microaggression only disengagement/denial coping was a significant mediator of the PD-QOL relationship for AACPs. Adaptive disengagement was related to QOL only for AACPs.Conclusions: Whereas more research is needed, it appears that overt microaggressions for AACPs, that consist mainly of racial and ethnic maltreatment, constitute a class of social contexts that may raise above the threshold for serious threat and harm, and, as a result, disengagement/constraint may reduce negative consequences. This additional burden for AACPs contributes to disparities in QOL. Future research is needed on the utility of adaptive disengagement for AACPs in relation to PD.