Believing in Justice for Self and Others: Independent and Interactive Effects on Perceived Healthcare Discrimination Among African Americans

Believing in justice can enhance health, especially if one believes the world is personally fair (justice beliefs for self). However, health benefits conferred by believing in justice may be nuanced for racial minorities, whose lived experiences may also reinforce links from health outcomes to beliefs about justice more generally (justice beliefs for others). Across two studies, we consider how the belief in a just world for self and others are related to African Americans’ evaluations of self-reports of discrimination when receiving healthcare – a largely overlooked domain in the justice literature. In study 1, African Americans completed measures of the belief in a just world for self and others, along with measures of perceived healthcare discrimination. In study 2, these measures were re-administered along with measures of perceived personal control over healthcare and trust in the healthcare system. In study 1, the belief in a just world for self was associated with less perceived healthcare discrimination, especially when the belief in justice world for others was low. In study 2, this interactive pattern was replicated. Additionally, believing in justice for self was associated with stronger perceived personal control over healthcare, whereas beliefs about justice for others predicted greater trust in the healthcare system. Justice beliefs may be linked to healthcare experiences in complex ways among African Americans, including through both independent and interactive associations with beliefs about justice for self and others.

Duke Scholars

Author Isaac Marcelo Lipkus School of Nursing