The Weathering Hypothesis Sample Clauses

The Weathering Hypothesis. Geronimus hypothesizes “that the health of African-American women may begin to deteriorate in early adulthood as a physical consequence of cumulative socioeconomic disadvantage” (1992). Coined as The Weathering Hypothesis, this theory “states that chronic exposure to social and economic disadvantage leads to accelerated decline in physical health outcomes and could partially explain racial disparities in a wide array of health conditions” (Xxxxx, Crookes, Xxxxxx, & Xxxxxx, 2019). The declines in physical health outcomes noted involve premature aging associated strongly with DNA methylation, a chemical mechanism that helps control gene expression in which a methyl group is added to a carbon atom of DNA molecules (Xxxx & Xxxxxx, 2011).

The Weathering Hypothesis. DNA methylation noted in the weathering hypothesis occurs at an accelerated rate when met with chronic stress such as the sociocultural stress many Black people face (Geronimus, 2013). These stressors include social adversity, discrimination, and isolation (Simons et al., 2021). The chronic stress which xxxxxxxx the DNA may have generational impact in “that these phenomena are potentially related to epigenetic inheritance” (the trauma caused by chronic race-related stress people face may be biologically passed down to their children) (Fleur, Xxxxx, & Xxxx, 2016). Systematic reviews of the weathering hypothesis such as that conducted by Xxxxx et al. conclude additional, longitudinal evaluations are needed to examine the weathering hypothesis further across health outcomes (2019). Still, most studies evaluated find evidence in support of the hypothesis and suggest a likely valid link between weathering and poor health (Xxxxx et al., 2019). The presence of “physiological response[s] to the structural barriers, material hardships, and identity threats that comprise the Black experience” suggests that intergenerational trauma is not only a social and institutional phenomenon, but also biological (Simons et al., 2021). These stressors, which are traumas in and of themselves, are also contributors to the genetic wear and tear of Black people in the United States, a physical trauma (Geronimus, 2013). The intergenerational transmission of this trauma is a physical representation of the systemic trauma endured by Black people in the United States from all angles. As a major effect of trauma is a physical susceptibility to stress, not only may the physical ramifications of weathering exacerbate the psychological ramifications of intergenerational trauma, the opposite may also be true. As shown in Figure 3, the connection between intergenerational trauma and weathering may very well be cyclical. Figure 3. The Weathering Hypothesis and Intergenerational Trauma Cycle Xxxxxxxxx’ weathering hypothesis and subsequent studies attempt to explain accelerated aging and presence of chronic stress related comorbidities such as hypertension exhibited disproportionately in Black Americans (Simons et al., 2016). A noted effect of trauma is an individual’s increased physical susceptibility to stress (Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxx, 2017). It is also noted that, when unresolved, the effects of trauma are long-lasting and potentially relationally transmitted. Black people’s traumas, endured either ...