A study of the elderly highlights the potential health consequences of positive and negative self-stereotyping for stigmatized groups (Levy et al. 2002). It found that positive self-perceptions of aging, assessed at baseline, were associated with a 7.5 year longer life expectancy in a 23 year follow-up. However, our current understanding is limited regarding the ways in which the acceptance of negative racial stereotypes can adversely affect health. Some evidence indicates that in addition to adversely affecting academic performance, the activation of the stigma of inferiority also leads to increases in blood pressure (Blascovitch et al. 2001). Similarly, Taylor and colleagues have found a positive association between internalized racism and alcohol consumption and psychological distress among African Americans (Taylor et al. 1991; Taylor and Jackson 1990, 1991). Other recent research indicates that high levels of internalized racism are associated with increased risk of overweight or abdominal obesity among black women in the Caribbean (Tull et al. 1999; Chambers et al. 2004; Butler et al. 2002), and with waist circumferences, diastolic blood pressure and fasting glucose among black women but not men
