Racial Identity Matters: The Relationship between Racial Discrimination and Psychological Functioning in African American Adolescents

This study examines the interrelationships among racial discrimination, racial identity, and psychological functioning in a sample of 314 African American adolescents. Racial discrimination was associated with lower levels of psychological functioning as measured by perceived stress, depressive symptomatology, and psychological well‐being. Although individuals who believe that other groups hold more negative attitudes toward African Americans (low public regard) were at greater risk for experiencing racial discrimination, low public regard beliefs also buffered the impact of racial discrimination on psychological functioning. More positive attitudes about African Americans were also associated with more positive psychological functioning. The results further illustrate the utility of a multidimensional framework for understanding the role of racial identity in the relationship between racial discrimination and psychological outcomes among African American adolescents.     

Status inequalities, perceived discrimination, and eudaimonic well-being: do the challenges of minority life hone purpose and growth?

Considerable prior research has investigated links between racial/ethnic status and diverse aspects of mental functioning (e.g. psychological disorders, quality of life, self-esteem), but little work has probed the connections between minority status and eudaimonic well-being. Derived from existential and humanistic perspectives, eudaimonia describes engagement in life challenges and is operationalized with assessments of purpose in life, personal growth, autonomy, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, and positive relations with others. Using Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a national survey of Americans aged 25-74, plus city-specific samples of African Americans in New York City and Mexican Americans in Chicago, minority status was found to be a positive predictor of eudaimonic well-being, underscoring themes of psychological strength in the face of race-related adversity. Perceived discrimination was found to be a negative predictor of eudaimonic well-being, although such effects were gender-specific: it was women, both majority and minority, with high levels of discrimination in their daily lives whose sense of growth, mastery, autonomy, and self-acceptance was compromised.     

Racial identity, racial discrimination, perceived stress, and psychological distress among African American young adults

This study examines the direct and indirect relationships among racial identity, racial discrimination, perceived stress, and psychological distress in a sample of 555 African American young adults. A prospective study design was used to assess the influence of two dimensions of racial identity attitudes (i.e., centrality and public regard) on other study variables to investigate the relationship between racial identity attitudes and psychological distress. The results show some evidence of a direct relationship between racial centrality and psychological distress, as well as evidence of indirect relationships for both centrality and public regard through the impact of racial discrimination and perceived stress. In addition, racial centrality was both a risk factor for experiencing discrimination and a protective factor in buffering the negative impact of discrimination on psychological distress. Results are discussed within the context of identifying multiple pathways to psychological well-being for African American young adults within the context of racial discrimination.     

Asian American Identification with African Americans,Latinos, and Whites: The Roles of Discrimination and Self-Identified Skin Tone

ABSTRACT

Using a sample of up to 1,208 Asian Americans, we examine the effects of skin tone on perceived commonality with African Americans, Latinos, and whites. Overall, we find that Asian Americans are more likely to identify with whites than with African Americans or Latinos. When we account for skin tone, we find that Asian Americans with a medium skin tone experience increased odds of perceiving a commonality with African Americans and Latinos. While we expected the relationship between skin tone and perceived commonality to be mediated by experiences of discrimination, this was not the case. We conclude that Asian Americans occupy a position toward the top of the black-white binary and the oppressive racial hierarchy that exists within the United States. Like previous scholars, we suggest that Asian Americans can use their relative standing to disrupt the oppressive racial hierarchy. However, we recognize that whites, holding a position at the top of the racial hierarchy, must also be responsible for dismantling it.     

Effects of goal-striving stress on the mental health of black Americans

Although many scholars have theorized about how responding to the stress of blocked opportunities can affect the well-being of black Americans, few scholars have empirically examined the relationships between striving efforts, personal goals, and mental health among black Americans. This investigation examines the relationship between goal-striving stress and mental health in a national sample of black Americans. Results indicate that goal-striving stress is significantly related to lower levels of happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and higher levels of psychological distress. We find that poverty status moderates the relationship between goal-striving stress and mental health. Compared to poorer persons, individuals above poverty with high goal-striving stress have significantly lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction. Overall, the findings provide a more complete context for understanding associations among socioeconomic status, goal-striving stress, and adverse mental health outcomes among black Americans.     

Exploring Physical Health of African Americans: A Social Determinant Model

The objective was to examine the relationships between socioeconomic, structural, community, and individual factors and health outcomes of African Americans in the United States using a modified version of the social determinants of health model in a nationally representative sample of 2,926 non-elderly African American adults. This empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between socioeconomic/structural determinants and health outcomes of African Americans. Results show poor housing and low income contribute to poorer health outcomes; therefore, in order to improve the health outcome, programs are needed that provide their residents with adequate and safe housing and employment. Moreover, local, state, and federal governmental entities need to work together to rebuild and revitalize the housing in African American communities.     

The status of race in public sector work: Implications for emotion management and job satisfaction

ABSTRACT

African Americans consistently report lower levels of job satisfaction relative to whites. Using survey data from 1,456 public service employees, we examine whether racial disparities in job satisfaction are related to how African Americans and whites manage their emotions while at work. We contend that race acts as a master status within the workplace that locates African Americans in a subordinate social position to whites and may contribute to greater emotion management effort and greater work-related consequences. The results indicate that, together with traditional indicators of job satisfaction, extensive emotion management efforts of African Americans explain their lower levels of job satisfaction relative to whites.     

Racial Barrier Socialization and the Well‐Being of African American Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Mother–Adolescent Relationship Quality

Racial socialization has been suggested as an important factor in helping African American adolescents cope effectively with racism and discrimination. Although multiple studies have reported a positive link between racial pride socialization and psychological adjustment among African American youth, assessments of the association between adolescent adjustment and another dimension of racial socialization—racial barrier socialization—have yielded inconsistent findings. Using a sample of 190 African American adolescents, the present study focuses on the quality of mother–adolescent relationships as an indicator of affective context, and examines its moderating influence on the association between racial barrier socialization and adolescent adjustment. Regression analyses indicated that the link between racial barrier socialization and adolescent adjustment is moderated by mother–adolescent relationship quality. However, these associations varied by gender.     

Patterns of Racial Socialization and Psychological Adjustment: Can Parental Communications About Race Reduce the Impact of Racial Discrimination?

This study uses two waves of data to examine the relations among racial discrimination experiences, patterns of racial socialization practices, and psychological adjustment in a sample of 361 African American adolescents. Using latent class analyses, we identified four patterns of child‐reported racial socialization experiences: Moderate Positive, High Positive, Low Frequency, and Moderate Negative. Experiencing racial discrimination was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, more perceived stress, and lower levels of well‐being. On average, adolescents who experienced High Positive patterns of racial socialization reported the most positive psychological adjustment outcomes, while adolescents in the Low Frequency and Moderate Negative clusters reported the least favorable outcomes. Results suggest that High Positive racial socialization buffers the negative effects of racial discrimination on adolescents' perceived stress and problem behaviors. Together, the findings suggest that various patterns of racial socialization practices serve as risk, compensatory, and protective factors in African American adolescent psychological adjustment.     

The Determinants of Racial Disparities in Perceived Job Insecurity: A Test of Three Perspectives

Why do African Americans report higher levels of perceived job insecurity than whites? We analyze data from the 1996 and 1998 General Social Survey to test alternative predictions from the compositional, inclusive‐discrimination, and dispositional perspectives concerning the sources of the racial gap in perceived insecurity. Results from ordered probit regressions provide most support for the inclusive‐discrimination perspective, which maintains that employment practices associated with “modern racial prejudice” induce perceived insecurity on a widespread and generalized basis among African Americans. Accordingly, compared to whites, African Americans experience perceived insecurity net of human capital credentials and job/labor market characteristics. Additional analyses provide one qualification to these findings: dynamics associated with the inclusive‐discrimination perspective are more pronounced in the private sector than the public sector.     

The role of social support in the psychological well-being of African American girls who experience dating violence victimization

The goals of this study were to test the relationship between dating violence victimization (i.e., verbal, emotional, and physical abuse) and psychological well-being (i.e., depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and body image) among 522 African American girls, and to determine whether social support acted as a buffer of negative effects (moderator) or as an intervening factor (mediator) in the relationship between dating violence victimization and psychological well-being. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that dating violence victimization was associated with negative psychological outcomes. Although social support did not moderate this relationship, it served as a mediator of the relationship between dating violence victimization and psychological well-being. Dating violence programs for African American girls should consider how to incorporate family, church, and other networks in the community to foster support, and allow adolescent girls to discuss their abusive experiences in a nonblaming environment. If programs are able to buoy girls who experience dating violence, then they may be able to ameliorate the associated negative psychological sequelae.     

Social distance and patients' rating of healthcare providers

Racial inequity in the provision of healthcare is widely recognized. In this paper, I assess the role of social distance from healthcare providers in accounting for whites' higher rating of healthcare providers. Using data from the Detroit Area Study, I test whether having higher socioeconomic status, like most healthcare providers, and racial concordance with healthcare provider account for the gap in satisfaction between whites and African Americans. I find that socioeconomic status and racial concordance variables account for a portion of whites' higher rating of the respect shown by their healthcare provider. Racial differences in evaluation of time spent with healthcare provider are accounted for by socioeconomic status, but not racial concordance. As researchers explore the causes of and remedies for the racial disparity in use and evaluation of healthcare, the subtle and indirect effects of race on the patient-healthcare provider relationship must be considered.     

Neighborhoods, Family, and Substance Use: Comparisons of the Relations across Racial and Ethnic Groups

This study examines how substance use among adolescents is related to several risk and protective factors derived from two ecological contexts: the neighborhood and the family. It explicitly investigates how the relationships between substance use and the factors vary across different racial and ethnic groups. Findings suggest many common correlates and processes of substance use for adolescents, regardless of race or ethnicity, including that neighborhood safety is associated with substance use. There are also some racial and ethnic group differences in relationships, including that low attachment to and lack of social opportunities in neighborhoods more strongly predict substance use among whites than among other racial and ethnic groups and that family management decreases the relationship between neighborhood safety and substance use among African Americans. A better understanding of the associations among factors that influence substance use across racial and ethnic subgroups can help effectively target preventive interventions for different groups.     

The influence of gender and ethnicity on judgments of culpability in a domestic violence scenario

Using an experimental analog design, in this study we examined 503 European American, African American, and Latino undergraduate students' responses to a domestic violence scenario in which the ethnicity and gender of the perpetrator were manipulated. Results indicated that participants perceived perpetration of domestic assault significantly more criminal when committed by a man than when committed by a woman. That finding was robust across European Americans, African Americans, and Latinos and was expressed by both genders. Also, European American participants expressed significantly more criticism toward African American perpetrators of assault than they did toward European American and Latino perpetrators of the exact offense, suggestive of racial bias consistent with stereotypes about African Americans being excessively aggressive. Finally, Latino participants expressed significantly more sympathy toward women who assault their husbands than toward assaulting husbands. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Characteristics of Female Students Who Aspire to Science and Engineering or Homemaking Occupations

This study identified predictors that discriminated between nontraditional and traditional career aspirations in a sample composed of 930 eighth-grade female students (52 Asian Americans, 123 Hispanics, 61 African Americans, 669 Whites, and 15 Native Americans). Results indicated that the students who aspired to careers in science or engineering scored significantly higher on educational aspirations; perceived parental expectations; student-reported grade point averages (GPAs); and mathematics, reading, and science test scores than did girls who aspired to homemaking occupations. They also scored higher on measures of self-esteem, internal locus of control, socioeconomic status, and had fewer siblings. Educational aspirations, parental expectations, self-reported GPA, and science proficiency were the best discriminators between the groups. Results also indicated that differences in the distributions of career aspirations across racial-ethnic groups were significant.     

A Comparison of Sanctions in African American and White TANF Leavers

In this study the authors explore racial disparities in the uses of sanctions and the different impact of sanctions on the economic well-being of African American and White TANF leavers. The study analyzed 907 African American and 1,336 White welfare leavers from the 1999 and 2002 data of the NSAF. Chi-square results show that sanctions are more significantly imposed to African Americans than Whites. On the other hand, regression results show that the impact of sanctions on the employment and family income of African Americans and Whites are comparable. Implications suggest that states need to have an appropriate sanction process, training programs for caseworkers, or other policy changes to reduce the racial disparities.     

RACIAL PREJUDICE AMONG KOREAN MERCHANTS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS

Many Korean immigrants in the United States have established small retail businesses in black communities. Relations between these merchants and neighborhood residents and customers have been problematic in a number of cities. Using in-depth interview data on a sample of Korean merchants in Washington, D.C., this article examines merchants' racial attitudes and reported interactions with African Americans. Drawing on middleman minority theory, I show how Koreans' middleman role and immigrant status condition their daily experiences with and attitudes toward African Americans and how constructions of group differences are used to advance middleman interests.     

Stereotyping Online? Internet News,Social Media,and the Racial Typification of Crime

A substantial body of research indicates that television news consumption is associated with criminal stereotyping. However, less is known about how online media, such as Internet news and social media news consumption, is associated with such attitudes. Using a multisite sample of mostly young adults, the current study examines the relationships between multiple types of online news consumption and crime news engagement on racially typifying African Americans as violent, property, and drug offenders. Findings reveal that Internet news consumption is negatively related, but social media news consumption is positively related, to racially typifying African Americans as criminals. Beyond consumption, social media crime news engagement is negatively related to racial typification. Last, there is some evidence that the association between online media consumption and engagement varies by race and political ideology. Findings and direction for future research is discussed.     

Does an Immigrant Background Ameliorate Racial Disadvantage? The Socioeconomic Attainments of Second‐Generation African Americans1

Although there is a growing literature on the socioeconomic circumstances of the second generation, this issue has not been systematically considered for African Americans. To help fill this research gap, we investigate the extent to which the socioeconomic attainments of second‐generation African Americans differ from mainstream (i.e., third and higher generation) African Americans. Using data from the Current Population Survey and the 2000 Census, our results indicate that the schooling and wages of second‐generation African Americans consistently exceed those of third‐ and higher generation African Americans. Our findings also reveal that second‐generation African Americans do at least as well as whites in terms of years of schooling, but wage differentials differ significantly by gender. Second‐generation African‐American women earn wages that are at least as high as comparable white women, but second‐generation African‐American men earn wages that are, on average, about 16% less than measurably comparable white men. While no one theoretical perspective can account for all these results, they nonetheless indicate the continuing significance of racial disadvantage for African‐American men, including those with an immigrant background.     

The Impact of Intersecting Dimensions of Inequality and Identity on the Racial Status of Eastern African Immigrants1

In this article, we examine how immigrants from eastern Africa to the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area understand and navigate the U.S. color line and its implications for nonwhites. Although these immigrants are subject to constraints based on their racial status as black, they mobilize other intersecting aspects of their identities to manipulate racial classifications in the hopes of attaining upward mobility in the United States, even when doing so creates other social costs for them. Eastern African immigrants draw on their ethnicity and, among Muslim immigrants, their religion to differentiate themselves from African Americans, who occupy the lowest position in the U.S. racial hierarchy. In challenging their categorization as racially black and seeking to move up the racial hierarchy, Eastern African immigrants refine the color line to distinguish between African‐American blacks and non‐African‐American blacks.