Race/ethnicity, psychological distress, and fruit/vegetable consumption. The nature of the distress-behavior relation differs by race/ethnicity

Objective: We explored how the relation between psychological distress and fruit/vegetable consumption differed as a function of race/ethnicity. Method: Data from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed. Participants reported current psychological distress, race/ethnicity, and current fruit and vegetable consumption. Linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between race/ethnicity, distress, and their interaction and fruit and vegetable consumption. Results: There was a significant interaction between race/ethnicity and psychological distress in predicting fruit and vegetable consumption. Follow-up analyses indicated that distress was related to fruit and vegetable consumption for White and Hispanic but not for African American respondents. Conclusion: The association between psychological distress and fruit/vegetable consumption differs as a function of race/ethnicity. The findings have implications for understanding the role of distress in eating behavior regulation and for developing interventions to address fruit/vegetable consumption targeted to members of different race/ethnic groups.