Despite these limitations, our findings suggest that greater attention to the role of stress is warranted in future research and policy on racial health disparities. Our paper highlights the value of including a broad range of stressors to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the role of stressors in lives of social groups. In future research, longitudinal studies that examine racial variation in stressful experiences at different stages of the life course could add further insight into the role of stress in contributing to health disparities. From a policy perspective, prevention efforts to reduce racial health disparities should focus on strategies to decrease exposure to stressors and increase resources to cope with stressors for vulnerable populations. Policies and interventions that address the macrolevel structural contexts that shape exposure to a broad range of stressors may offer the most promising avenue toward achieving this aim.
