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Worldwide, racial and ethnic minorities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 with increased risk of infection, its related complications, and death. In the initial phase of population-based vaccination in the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (U.K.), vaccine hesitancy may result in differences in uptake. We performed a cohort study among U.S. and U.K. participants who volunteered to take part in the smartphone-based COVID Symptom Study (March 2020-February 2021) and used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios of vaccine hesitancy and uptake. In the U.S. ( n  = 87,388), compared to white participants, vaccine hesitancy was greater for Black and Hispanic participants and those reporting more than one or other race. In the U.K. ( n  = 1,254,294), racial and ethnic minority participants showed similar levels of vaccine hesitancy to the U.S. However, associations between participant race and ethnicity and levels of vaccine uptake were observed to be different in the U.S. and the U.K. studies. Among U.S. participants, vaccine uptake was significantly lower among Black participants, which persisted among participants that self-reported being vaccine-willing. In contrast, statistically significant racial and ethnic disparities in vaccine uptake were not observed in the U.K sample. In this study of self-reported vaccine hesitancy and uptake, lower levels of vaccine uptake in Black participants in the U.S. during the initial vaccine rollout may be attributable to both hesitancy and disparities in access. The authors show differences in self-reported vaccine hesitancy and uptake among participants from different racial and ethnic groups in the United States and in the United Kingdom during the initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

To identify sources of race/ethnic differences related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we compared trauma exposure, risk for PTSD among those exposed to trauma, and treatment-seeking among Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians in the US general population. Data from structured diagnostic interviews with 34 653 adult respondents to the 2004-2005 wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were analysed. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD was highest among Blacks (8.7%), intermediate among Hispanics and Whites (7.0% and 7.4%) and lowest among Asians (4.0%). Differences in risk for trauma varied by type of event. Whites were more likely than the other groups to have any trauma, to learn of a trauma to someone close, and to learn of an unexpected death, but Blacks and Hispanics had higher risk of child maltreatment, chiefly witnessing domestic violence, and Asians, Black men, and Hispanic women had higher risk of war-related events than Whites. Among those exposed to trauma, PTSD risk was slightly higher among Blacks [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.22] and lower among Asians (aOR 0.67) compared with Whites, after adjustment for characteristics of trauma exposure. All minority groups were less likely to seek treatment for PTSD than Whites (aOR range: 0.39-0.61), and fewer than half of minorities with PTSD sought treatment (range: 32.7-42.0%). When PTSD affects US race/ethnic minorities, it is usually untreated. Large disparities in treatment indicate a need for investment in accessible and culturally sensitive treatment options.

Abstract Study Objectives To identify systematic biases across groups in objectively and subjectively measured sleep duration. Methods We investigated concordance of self-reported habitual sleep duration compared with actigraphy- and single-night in-home polysomnography (PSG) across white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Results Among 1910 adults, self-reported sleep duration, determined by differences between bed and wake times, was overestimated in all racial groups compared with PSG and actigraphy. Compared with whites (ρ = 0.45), correlations were significantly lower only in blacks (ρ = 0.28). Self-reporting bias for total sleep time compared with wrist actigraphy was 66 min (95% confidence interval [CI]: 61–71) for whites, 58 min (95% CI: 48–69) for blacks, 66 min (95% CI: 57–74) for Hispanics, and 60 min (95% CI: 49–70) for Chinese adults. Compared with PSG, self-reporting bias in whites at 73 min (95% CI: 67–79) was higher than in blacks (54 min [95% CI: 42–65]) and Chinese (49 min [95% CI: 37–61]) but not different from Hispanics (67 min [95% CI: 56–78]). Slight agreement/concordance was observed between self-reported and actigraphy-based total sleep time (kw = 0.14 for whites, 0.10 for blacks, 0.17 for Hispanics, and 0.11 for Chinese) and PSG (kw = 0.08 for whites, 0.04 for blacks, 0.05 for Hispanics, and 0.01 for Chinese) across race/ethnicity. Conclusions Self-reported sleep duration overestimated objectively measured sleep across all races, and compared with PSG, overestimation is significantly greater in whites compared with blacks. Larger reporting bias reduces the ability to identify significant associations between sleep duration and health among blacks compared with whites. Sleep measurement property differences should be considered when comparing sleep indices across racial/ethnic groups.

The effects of school-based ethnic diversity on student well-being and race-related views were examined during the first year in middle school. To capture the dynamic nature of ethnic exposure, diversity was assessed both at the school-level (n = 26) and based on academic course enrollments of African American, Asian, Latino, and White students (n = 4,302; M = 11.33 years). Across all four pan-ethnic groups, school-level ethnic diversity was associated with lower sense of vulnerability (i.e., feeling safer, less victimized, and less lonely) as well as perceptions of teachers' fair and equal treatment of ethnic groups and lower out-group distance. Underscoring the role of individual experiences, exposure to diversity in academic classes moderated the association between school-level diversity and the two aforementioned race-related views.

Understanding and minimizing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccine hesitancy is critical to population health and minimizing health inequities, which continue to be brought into stark relief by the pandemic. We investigate questions regarding vaccine hesitancy in a sample (n = 1205) of Arkansas adults surveyed online in July/August of 2020. We examine relationships among sociodemographics, COVID‐19 health literacy, fear of COVID‐19 infection, general trust in vaccines, and COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy using bivariate analysis and a full information maximum likelihood (FIML) logistic regression model. One in five people (21,21.86%) reported hesitancy to take a COVID‐19 vaccine. Prevalence of COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy was highest among Black/African Americans (50.00%), respondents with household income less than $25K (30.68%), some college (32.17%), little to no fear of infection from COVID‐19 (62.50%), and low trust in vaccines in general (55.84%). Odds of COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy were 2.42 greater for Black/African American respondents compared to White respondents (p < 0.001), 1.67 greater for respondents with some college/technical degree compared to respondents with a 4‐year degree (p < 0.05), 5.48 greater for respondents with no fear of COVID‐19 infection compared to those who fear infection to a great extent (p < 0.001), and 11.32 greater for respondents with low trust in vaccines (p < 0.001). Sociodemographic differences in COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy raise concerns about the potential of vaccine implementation to widen existing health disparities in COVID‐19 related infections, particularly among Black/African Americans. Fear of infection and general mistrust in vaccines are significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy.

This meta-analysis summarizes 113 research reports worldwide (121 cross-sectional and 7 longitudinal studies) on age differences in ethnic, racial, or national prejudice among children and adolescents. Overall, results indicated a peak in prejudice in middle childhood (5-7 years) followed by a slight decrease until late childhood (8-10 years). In addition to differences for the various operationalizations of prejudice, detailed findings revealed different age-related changes in prejudice toward higher versus lower status out-groups and positive effects of contact opportunities with the out-group on prejudice development. Results confirm that prejudice changes systematically with age during childhood but that no developmental trend is found in adolescence, indicating the stronger influence of the social context on prejudice with increasing age.

The Black-White achievement gap in children's reading and mathematics school performance from 4½ years of age through fifth grade was examined in a sample of 314 lower income American youth followed from birth. Differences in family, child care, and schooling experiences largely explained Black-White differences in achievement, and instructional quality was a stronger predictor for Black than White children. In addition, the achievement gap was detected as young as 3 years of age. Taken together, the findings suggest that reducing the Black-White achievement gap may require early intervention to reduce race gaps in home and school experiences during the infant and toddler years as well as during the preschool and school years.

In a predominantly low-income population-based longitudinal sample of 1,292 children followed from birth, higher level of salivary cortisol assessed at ages 7, 15, and 24 months was uniquely associated with lower executive function ability and to a lesser extent IQ at age 3 years. Measures of positive and negative aspects of parenting and household risk were also uniquely related to both executive functions and IQ. The effect of positive parenting on executive functions was partially mediated through cortisol. Typical or resting level of cortisol was increased in African American relative to White participants. In combination with positive and negative parenting and household risk, cortisol mediated effects of income-to-need, maternal education, and African American ethnicity on child cognitive ability.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective biomedical HIV prevention method. PrEP uptake has been persistently low among US women, particularly Black women, who account for 61% of new HIV diagnoses among women. Further understanding of barriers to Black women accessing PrEP is needed. This 2017 cross-sectional survey study explored race-based differences in PrEP interest and intention among women and the indirect association between race and comfort discussing PrEP with a healthcare provider through medical mistrust. The sample consisted of 501 adult women (241 Black; 260 White) who were HIV-negative, PrEP-inexperienced, and heterosexually active. Black women reported greater PrEP interest and intention than White women. However, Black women expressed higher levels of medical mistrust, which, in turn, was associated with lower comfort discussing PrEP with a provider. Medical mistrust may operate as a unique barrier to PrEP access among Black women who are interested in and could benefit from PrEP.

It is unclear whether risk for major depression during the menopausal transition or immediately thereafter is increased relative to pre-menopause. We aimed to examine whether the odds of experiencing major depression were greater when women were peri- or post-menopausal compared to when they were pre-menopausal, independent of a history of major depression at study entry and annual measures of vasomotor symptoms (VMS), serum levels of, or changes in, estradiol (E2), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) or testosterone (T) and relevant confounders. Participants included the 221 African American and Caucasian women, aged 42-52 years, who were pre-menopausal at entry into the Pittsburgh site of a community-based study of menopause, the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). We conducted the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) to assess diagnoses of lifetime, annual and current major depression at baseline and at annual follow-ups. Psychosocial and health factors, and blood samples for assay of reproductive hormones, were obtained annually. Women were two to four times more likely to experience a major depressive episode (MDE) when they were peri-menopausal or early post-menopausal. Repeated-measures logistic regression analyses showed that the effect of menopausal status was independent of history of major depression and annually measured upsetting life events, psychotropic medication use, VMS and serum levels of or changes in reproductive hormones. History of major depression was a strong predictor of major depression throughout the study. The risk of major depression is greater for women during and immediately after the menopausal transition than when they are pre-menopausal.