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Published on: July 19, 2017
The influence of internalized racism on the relationship between discrimination and anxiety
Effua E Sosoo1, Donte L Bernard2, Enrique W Neblett1
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Objectives:
This study used 2 waves of data to longitudinally examine whether internalized racism moderated the association between racial discrimination and anxiety symptom distress.
Method:
Participants were 157 Black college students attending a predominantly White institution who completed measures of racial discrimination, internalized racism, and psychological distress.
Results:
Using hierarchical linear regression, results indicated a positive association between racial discrimination and subsequent anxiety symptom distress for individuals with moderate and high levels of internalization of negative stereotypes and hair change.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that experiences of anxiety symptom distress, in the context of racial discrimination, may differ as a function of one's acceptance and internalization of dominant White culture's actions and beliefs toward Black people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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