Racial/Ethnic Contrasts in the Relationships between Physical Disability, Perceived Discrimination, and Depressive Symptoms Quentin K. Kilpatrick 1 & John Taylor 1 Received: 7 November 2017 /Revised: 31 January 2018 /Accepted: 2 February 2018 # W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute 2018 Abstract Introduction The systematic deprivation of equal access to valued opportunities has greatly harmed the disadvantaged. Discrimination, whether it is based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or physical health exacts a high toll. This is especially true with respect to the role of race and equality in the USA today. This paper attempts to evaluate the significance of perceived discrimination among a multiethnic sample of physically disabled and non-disabled study participants. Methods We employ survey data from a community-based multiethnic sample of study participants to assess whether physical disability increases perceptions of discrimination across racial/ethnic groups. Additionally, we assess whether physical disability impacts the relationship between discrimination and depressive symptoms and whether this relationship is consistent across race/ethnicity. Results Descriptive and multivariate analyses indicate that disabled whites and Hispanics report higher levels of discrimination than their non-disabled counterparts. However, this pattern was not observed among black respondents who report high levels of discrimination regardless of their disability status. OLS models indicate that among Hispanics, physical disability moderates the relationship between discrimination and depressive symptoms. Among black and white study participants, physical disability does not moderate this relationship. Conclusion Taken together, the results demonstrate the continuing significance of race as a source of discrimination and a health risk. Keywords Race/ethnicity . Physical disability . Discrimination . Depressive symptoms . Stress Introduction Strong associations have been established between percep- tions of discrimination and physical and mental well-being (for excellent reviews of the literature on this topic, see Krieger 2000 [1]; Krieger 2014 [2]; Paradies 2006 [3]; Gee et al. 2009 [4]; Williams and Mohammed 2009 [5]; Zinzi et al. 2017 [6]; and Mays 2007 [7]). Prior studies have documented that the negative effects of discrimination extend to a wide array of behavioral, mental, and physical health outcomes. Moreover, these associations are robust. They have been ob- served across diverse geographical locations, study popula- tions, and research methodologies. The majority of these prior studies have limited their focus to racial/ethnic discrimination. From this perspective, race and racism have been recognized to be fundamental in defining the nature of one’ s interactions with social environments and institutions [8, 9]. However, some recent studies have extend- ed consideration to other forms of discrimination. Findings from these studies [10–14] demonstrate that unfair treatment based on low socioeconomic status (SES), gender, age, sexual orientation, and other disadvantaged social statuses also in- crease risk for poor health. This more recent body of research underscores the value of employing intersectional frameworks to assess how multiple disadvantaged social statuses amplify the relationship between discrimination and well-being. One social status that is largely absent from this bourgeoning body of work is physical disability [2]. This is surprising given recent demographic trends toward a Bgraying^ US population and a corresponding increase in rates of physical morbidity over time [15]. The present paper attempts to address this gap in the literature. It employs data from a multiethnic community-based study conducted in South Florida to assess the role and significance of discrimi- nation among a sample of physically disabled and non- * John Taylor jrtaylor@fsu.edu 1 Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-018-0470-5