Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between hopelessness on chronic disease in a national sample of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. The present study examined African American (n=3,570) and Caribbean Black (n=1,438) respondents among the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Bivariate analysis examined associations between hopelessness and chronic disease, discrimination, spirituality, and sociodemographic. A multivariate negative binomial regression examined whether chronic disease is associated with hopelessness, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, 13.14% of the sample reported they were highly hopeless, and 31.5% indicated they were moderately hopeless. About 19% of respondents experienced chronic disease. Bivariate associations showed that those who have ever had chronic disease significantly differed from those who did not in regard to age, gender and spirituality. Multivariate results showed that respondents who ever have had chronic disease reported significantly higher hopelessness scores than those with no chronic disease. The study findings contribute to the current body of literature by supporting findings from smaller studies on Blacks with and hopelessness. Moreover, this study uses a national sample of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks as the main participants as opposed to previous studies that have this population as part of a larger study and not necessarily the primary focus. Last, these associations between chronic disease and hopelessness suggest future avenues for exploring mechanisms associated with how hopelessness manifests among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks with chronic disease, including experiences of racism and spirituality.