Goal-striving stress, social economic status, and the mental health of black Americans.

Goal-striving stress refers to the discrepancy between aspirations and achievements, hard work and accomplishment, options and opportunities, and perhaps provides a pathway linking social structure and mental health. Although a number of scholars have speculated about the relationship between blocked opportunities and psychopathology, few studies have empirically examined associations between striving efforts and mental health among black Americans. 1–5 In addition, existing studies have often used community samples, considered a single aspect of mental health, or were unable to operationalize goal-striving stress in a more nuanced fashion. 2,4 This study examines the influence of goal-striving stress on the mental health of a national sample of black Americans.