Social Stress Among Minority Groups

and social problems impacted the data generated. Thus, Rys demonstrated that exposure to unpleasant living conditions does negatively affect one’s life.

During the university/college years, students face stress in many aspects of their life. Students feel an immense stress in first year where the settling process occurs and a high need for good, and quick adjustment. Therefore, coping with stress is vital in this period and as Çivitci (2015) suggested, social support is an important coping strategy to utilise. Social support, whether perceived or actual, has a vital role in coping with stress, physical and psychological well-being, and adjustment to the circumstance (Yasin and Dzulkifli, 2010).

Studies have demonstrated that these feelings of frustration and anger as a result of experiencing racial microagressions are common among students of colors who attend colleges with a majority population that is white. The research suggests that Black college students experience race-related stress differently than general daily hassles associated with college. As a result Black students typically report higher levels of life events stress, like racial discrimination and financial stress,

Vertical stressors on the other hand are direct causes of societal “isms”. They create marginalized populations due to race, class, creed, and gender identity. These stressors are oppressed upon families and are not preventable as they divert the family’s power away from the family robbing them of self- actualization. Vertical stressors, unlike horizontal stressors, lack the availability for families to

This week article deals with keeping race in place with macroaggression’s and campus racial climate. Macroaggression can cause unnecessary stress to people of color. This article was written in 2002 were many people were still being affected by race and the way people perceive them to be like. The article states “We know that it causes stress, which has a great impact on the day to day lives of these students.” College is already stressful to the average college student therefore African Americans have twice the amount of stress on them to succeed.

Racial/ethnic minority college students are often faced with unique stressors, such as minority status stress (Cokley, McClain, Enciso, & Martinez (2013).

In today’s television (TV) landscape, the representation of the sexual minority community is noteworthy. Contemporary programs such as Orange is the New Black and Grey’s Anatomy present a cast of characters that defy heterosexual convention. With the continued portrayals of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community, as well as the increase in media attention that these programs receive, researchers and clinicians alike must examine the meaning that these shows have for the very individuals they aim to represent. To capture such meaning, realities among the LGB community must continue to be understood. A common experience for many sexual minority people is that of minority stress, defined as chronic stress rooted in discrimination and stigma (Meyer, 2003). Minority stress factors include prejudice events, expectations of rejection, internalized heterosexism, and concealment of one’s sexual orientation, and are related to a variety of adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Many studies have explored the myriad predictors and outcomes related to these minority stressors, yet no current literature has explored the ways in which minority stressors may affect media consumption behaviors.

Although most people do not acknowledge that a student’s gender has an impact on academic pressure, gender is an important cause of stress, more in women. In the article “37 Causes of High School Stress” by the College Planning Group, they note many causes like grades, friends, bullying, clubs, and parents but fail to mention gender as a cause. However, gender is a significant cause of academic pressure. In the article “Academic Stress Among College Students: Comparison of American and International Students” by Ranjita Misra and Linda G. Castillo, assert that, “In general, irrespective of their American or international status, women perceived greater reactions to stressors than men.” Misra and Castillo note that women do end up having more

What is/are the research question(s) addressed in this study and what is the purpose (5 points)?

Racial/ ethnic minorities and female students are more likely to face ambient stressors than those faced by all students. They have always been classified as the lower status, lowest socioeconomic status group among any other race. Females, especially at universities are most likely to face stressful life events than any other students but they are stereotyped in a way that have to be this and be that based on the outlooks of societies rather than being what they want to be or who they want to be.

Role stress has been defined throughout sociological literature as occurring due to the expectations placed on an individual. The requirements and expectations of performing a role

Minority stress theory posits that those with one or more marginalized social identity experience social stressors, such as prejudice, which is deleterious to mental and physical health (Meyer, 2003). Though sexual orientation can be a non-salient identity, for some their sexual orientation may be categorized based on observable stereotypical characteristics such as clothing style, mannerisms, and vocal inflections (Mize, 2016), and will experience heterosexism as a result.. Health status impacts labor market outcomes as it influences an individuals’ opportunity for employment and employee productivity (human capital), and has an adverse effect on earnings. Mize (2016) conducted two studies examining wage inequality among sexual minorities (analysis did not include racial differences). The authors found that bisexual women report lower wages compared to their lesbian and heterosexual counterparts, even when human capital (equivalent education level, profession, age) were accounted for. The authors suggest that prejudicial treatment of bisexual women negatively affects human capital and hence, wealth accumulation.

Through the lens of an information-processing theorist, memory is one domain in which children continuously grow in their cognitive development. Kimberly Noble explores the way in which the socioeconomic status (SES) of the family, specifically focusing on educational attainment and income, affects this cognitive development in children ages two and younger (Noble et al., 2015). Several research studies have shown connections between low SES and lower academic achievement; one notable study by Judith Bowey shows academic differences in preschoolers. Bowey looked at 238 preschoolers from varying socioeconomic backgrounds and found that high SES preschoolers scored higher in IQ, vocabulary, grammar, and number problems (Bowey, 1995). Both Noble and Bowey are particularly focused on the early point in development in which these differences can be observed.

Like many of the questionnaires utilized for research in the articles used for this literature review, it was anonymous, and administered and collected during class. This form of data collection provided high turn in rates allowing researchers to have a wide study scale. According to Hicks, T., & Heastie, S., contrasting levels of stress and coping mechanisms were present in these students. It was noted that traditional college students experience more psychological stress than their nontraditional student counterparts. In addition, during the first year of college, the amount of stress experienced by students is the highest in comparison to stress in the remainder of the years. These results are especially important because it stresses the need for a strong health and wellness center within colleges and universities.

Earlier in the quarter we were asked to make a list about things that stresses out. I have always considered myself the type of person that rarely stresses over anything, so it was difficult to write some down. After keeping track of stressors in my life for 10 days, I realized that I do stress about issues more than I ever considered. Before this class, stress was not something I took into great consideration. To my understanding, if you were suffering from stress that meant that you had serious conditions like insomnia, weight gain, depressions or others things of that nature. This class has taught me otherwise and now I am more conscious about my interactions with stressors. In this paper, I will discuss my experience with stressors, how I managed to cope with stressors, and what I learned as a result of this class so far.