# Chronic Stress, Inflammation, and Resilience: Predictors of Social Integration in Recently Housed Black and White Veterans

> **NIH VA IK2** · VA GREATER LOS ANGELES HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2023 · —

## Abstract

Despite the VA’s considerable success in reducing the number of homeless Veterans through permanent
supportive housing, a fundamental problem remains. Permanent housing is necessary, but not sufficient, for
successful social integration. Many Veterans remain isolated and without adequate social support after being
housed. Black Veterans disproportionately experience homelessness yet remain understudied in psychological
science. A better understanding of racial differences in risk and protective factors of social integration in
recently housed Black and White Veterans could inform the development of novel rehabilitative interventions.
This Career Development Award (CDA-2) proposes to utilize an innovative, multimodal approach to examine
the contributions of stress, inflammation, and resilience to social integration in recently housed Black and
White Veterans. Homelessness is extremely stressful and Black Veterans may experience additional stressors
due to systemic inequities that could impede social integration. Furthermore, psychosocial stress is associated
with an inflammatory response in the body. Inflammation could, in turn, exacerbate problems with social
integration given the increasing evidence of its effect on social behavior. However, previous work finds better
social integration in homeless Black Veterans compared to White Veterans, suggesting the presence of
protective factors that mitigate the effects of stressors on social integration in Black Veterans. Resilience is a
modifiable trait that might help buffer the negative consequences of stress and inflammation on social
integration. The extent to which these factors differentially impact social integration in recently housed Black
and White Veterans is relatively unknown. The overall goal of this longitudinal study is to examine racial
differences in the effects of stress, inflammation, and resilience on social integration in recently housed Black
and White Veterans. First, we will examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of stress,
inflammation, and resilience with social integration. Second, we will examine whether race moderates these
associations. As an exploratory aim, we will examine an integrative longitudinal model of social integration,
including the risk and protective factors listed above and psychiatric symptoms, in recently housed Black and
White Veterans. Findings from this study have the potential to advance our understanding of risk and
protective mechanisms of social integration in recently housed Black and White Veterans and inform innovative
rehabilitative treatments that mitigate the effects of stress and inflammation to improve social integration.
This CDA will provide the applicant, Derek M. Novacek, PhD, with the training in the areas of: (1) social
integration and Veteran homelessness; (2) stress and inflammation, including multiple methods to assess
inflammatory markers; and (3) racial health disparities in Veterans. The applicant’s career goa...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10640731
- **Project number:** 1IK2RX003989-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** VA GREATER LOS ANGELES HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Derek Matthew Novacek
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-05-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10640731

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10640731, Chronic Stress, Inflammation, and Resilience: Predictors of Social Integration in Recently Housed Black and White Veterans (1IK2RX003989-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10640731. Licensed CC0.

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