Citation
Weaver, Twan (2022). Environmental-Induced Anxiety and Ethnicity as Predictors of Hypertension Among Black Men.Abstract
Black men in the United States have the highest prevalence rate of hypertensioncompared to men and women of other ethnicities. Despite numerous health promotion
and education programs tailored toward reducing hypertension among Black men, a gap
exists in research regarding how environmental-induced anxiety and ethnicity may be
associated with the occurrence or presence of hypertension among Black men. Using the
reasoned action theory as a theoretical guide, this quantitative cross-sectional study
incorporated four research questions to investigate if there was an association between
environmental-induced anxiety (community violence, low income), ethnicity, and the risk
of hypertension in men when age, education, employment status, and marital status were
considered. Secondary data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to
Adults Health 1994-2018 survey from men ages 33-43 were analyzed using binomial
logistic regression. The findings indicated that environmental anxieties, such as
community violence, low income, and ethnicity, were not associated with hypertension
prevalence among men (n = 1,337). However, the covariate unemployment was
significantly associated with hypertension prevalence among Black men. The findings in
this study have potential implications for positive social change by bringing awareness
about environmental-induced anxieties and the need to change unhealthy behaviors based
on ethnic traditions, which may lower the prevalence rate of hypertension among Black
men.