Stress Beyond the Individual: The physiological cost of caring with Dr. Tené Lewis

Welcome back to the Stress Puzzle! This is the second of two episodes highlighting winners of the Stress Measurement Network's (SMN) Stress Science Paper Award. Today we'll hear from the lead author of the winning paper in the Human Empirical/Clinical category, Dr. Tené Lewis. We discussed the findings of their paper, which highlights the importance of stress experienced by close loved ones (e.g., family, friends) for African-American women's cardiovascular health. We also chatted about the strength of her team's methodology, how they disseminate the research to women who participated in their study, and the importance of these findings for conversations around self-care, care work (whether formal or informal), and the enormous responsibility that falls to women who end up as the social safety net. 

Dr. Tené Lewis is a Professor in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University where she studies health psychology and psychosocial epidemiology with an emphasis on cardiovascular health in women. Much of her research investigates the psychological and social factors underlying cardiovascular health disparities for African-American women compared to women of other racial or ethnic groups. Dr. Lewis’ research has been honored by the Health Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, as well as the recently renamed Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine. Her work has been featured by NPR, Essence Magazine, and the Washington Post.

SMN Stress Science Paper Award Winner (Human Empirical/Clinical):

• Lewis TT, Parker R, Murden R, Spikes T, Erving C, McKinnon II, Van Dyke ME, Booker B, Quyummi A, Vaccarino V, Moore RH. Network stressors, personal stressors, and ambulatory blood pressure in African-American women - Does Superwoman Schema Play a Role? Health Psychol. 2023 Jul;42(7):485-495. doi: 10.1037/hea0001309.

Topics Discussed:

• Network stressors vs. personal stressors
• Cardiovascular risk
• African American women’s health
• Social networks and social support
• Social safety nets
• Ambulatory blood pressure
• Superwoman Schema
• Dissemination
• Self-care
• Ecological validity

Additional Research Mentioned: 

• Woods-Giscombé CL, Lobel M, Zimmer C, Wiley Cené C, Corbie-Smith G. Whose stress is making me sick? Network-stress and emotional distress in African-American women. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2015;36(9):710-7. doi: 10.3109/01612840.2015.1011759. PMID: 26440874; PMCID: PMC7220100.
• Woods-Giscombé CL. Superwoman schema: African American women's views on stress, strength, and health. Qual Health Res. 2010 May;20(5):668-83. doi: 10.1177/1049732310361892. Epub 2010 Feb 12. PMID: 20154298; PMCID: PMC3072704. 
• Work of Jasmine Abrams (e.g., Abrams JA, Hill A, Maxwell M. Underneath the Mask of the Strong Black Woman Schema: Disentangling Influences of Strength and Self-Silencing on Depressive Symptoms among U.S. Black Women. Sex Roles. 2019 May;80(9-10):517-526. doi: 10.1007/s11199-018-0956-y)
• Holding it Together: How women became America's safety net by Jessica Calcaro

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The Stress Puzzle is hosted by Dr. Ryan L. Brown (https://www.ryanlinnbrown.com/) and supported by the UCSF Stress Measurement Network, an NIH/NIA funded network which aims to better understand the relationship between stress and health by improving the measurement of stress in research studies. Learn more about available resources to support stress research at: www.stressmeasurement.org.

Have burning questions about stress? Email us at [email protected] and we may feature your question in a future episode!