Overview
Respond to a classmate who was assigned a different article than you by further supporting his or her critique or respectfully offering a differing perspective.
In the study by Kwate and Goodman (2015), the research questions and hypotheses are a direct extension of the study’s purpose, which was examining how racism affects mental health outcomes among African American adults. Two central questions illustrate this alignment clearly: (1) Does reported racism at baseline correlate with psychological distress, depression, and poor mental health days? and (2) Do increases in racism over time predict worsening mental health outcomes? Both are logical extensions of the study’s purpose and stem from the problem of understanding racism as a chronic health-depleting stressor.
The research questions clearly align with the chosen longitudinal design. By measuring variables at baseline, two months, and one year, the design allowed the researchers to address both immediate associations and long-term changes. The questions also align with the data collection method, which involved structured surveys using validated scales for discrimination and mental health, ensuring that the information gathered directly matched the questions posed.
In terms of quantitative rigor, the baseline question is descriptive, seeking to describe responses to major variables such as distress and depression in relation to discrimination. The longitudinal question is inferential, examining whether changes in racism predict changes in outcomes. These inferential questions are firmly grounded in theory, drawing on models of racism as a health-depleting stressor and variables were positioned consistently, with racism as the independent predictor and mental health indicators as dependent outcomes.
The hypotheses directly mirror these questions, predicting that higher levels of discrimination would be associated with greater psychological distress, more depressive symptoms, and an increased number of poor mental health days. Kwate and Goodman (2015) hypothesized that there is no association between reported racism and mental health outcomes such as distress, depression, or number of poor mental health days for the null and that higher levels of racism will predict greater psychological distress, more depressive symptoms, and more poor mental health days for the alternative hypothesis. As such, even when the article did not outrightly state them, their regression analyses and framing of expected outcomes mirrored this predictive structure.
There was clear consistency between questions and hypotheses because questions like “Do increases in racism over time predict worsening mental health outcomes?” matched the theorized outcomes that increases in reported racism would be associated with increases in distress and depressive symptoms and more poor mental health days. These presentations of different aspects of the paper aligned with what Burkholder et al. (2020) described as testable, measurable propositions derived from theory and prior evidence. The authors also had a clear target population and site which was Black residents from Central Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant in New York City.
The article demonstrated strong alignment of different sections because the theoretical lens of racism as a health-depleting stressor supported the problem statement, purpose, and guided both the questions and design approach. Also, ethical considerations appeared addressed because the researchers mentioned that they dealt with a vulnerable population while protecting confidentiality and ensuring participant safety through anonymity and informed consent.
References
Burkholder, G. J., Cox, K. A., Crawford, L. M., & Hitchcock, J. H. (Eds.). (2020). Research designs and methods: An applied guide for the scholar-practitioner. Sage Publications.
Kwate, N. O., & Goodman, M. S. (2015). Cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of racism on mental health among residents of Black neighborhoods in New York City. American Journal of Public Health, 105(4), 711–718. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302243Links to an external site.