Racial Identity, Racial Discrimination, Perceived Stress, and Psychological Distress among African American Young Adults

• Published in: Journal of health and social behavior Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 302 - 317
• Main Authors: Sellers, Robert M., Caldwell, Cleopatra H., Schmeelk-Cone, Karen H., Zimmerman, Marc A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Sociological Association 01-09-2003
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans; African Americans - psychology; Black American people; Chi-Square Distribution; College Students; Ethnic Identity; Female; Humans; Identity; Interviews as Topic; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental disorders; Mental health; Michigan; Perceived Discrimination, Racial Identity, and Ethnic Identity; Perceptions; Prejudice; Prospective Studies; Psychological Distress; Psychological Stress; Psychology; Racial Attitudes; Racial discrimination; Racial Identification; Racial identity; Racism; Risk factors; Social discrimination; Social Identification; Social psychology; Stress; Stress, Psychological - ethnology; Teenagers; USA; Young Adults
• ISSN: 0022-1465; 2150-6000
• DOI: 10.2307/1519781

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.