Examining the Relationship Between Discrimination and Depressive Symptomatology in African American Men: A Literature Review Utilizing a Metanarrative Approach

BACKGROUND: Depression is a debilitating disease that can significantly affect one’s life. Perceived discrimination has been shown to have an impact on depressive symptoms. The purpose of this review is to examine the relationship between discrimination and depressive symptomatology. AIMS: This literature review provides a synthesis of recent literature that provides valuable information that can be used to recognize depressive symptomatology and to improve health outcomes for African American men experiencing depression. METHODS: This literature review examines the current literature and synthesizes 13 studies that met the inclusion criteria utilizing metanarrative methodology with RAMSES standards. Attention was paid to the six guiding principles characteristic of a metanarrative review. PRISMA guidelines were followed for this review. Articles that focused on specific subsets of the African American male community were excluded. RESULTS: It was noted that perceived discrimination was positively associated with depressive symptomatology in African American men. While similar methods for measuring depression were noted in several of the studies, measurement of discrimination varied. Additional factors that appeared to have an association with the relationship between discrimination and depression in this population included social supports, masculine role norms, and sociodemographic factors such as age. CONCLUSION: This synthesis of the literature also can be used to improve health care providers’ engagement with this population to improve the quality of care and health care outcomes. As a result of this review it was found that a positive relationship exists between discrimination and depressive symptomatology in African American men.