Discrimination and depressive symptoms: the role of psychological resilience across racial and ethnic groups

This study aimed to identify distinct typologies of discrimination experiences and their association with depressive symptoms among older adults across racial/ethnic groups and the potential moderating role of psychological resilience across racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Data from 11,832 respondents (65% non-Hispanic White, 18% non-Hispanic Black, 13% Hispanic, and 4% Other) in the 2016/2018 Health and Retirement Study Psychosocial Leave-Behind Questionnaire were analyzed. Six discrimination types (e.g., disrespect, poor service in restaurants, perceived as unintelligent) and a 12-item resilience index covering domains such as perseverance despite major setbacks, adaptability to change, and recognition of inner strengths were assessed.

Latent class analysis identified three distinct typologies of discrimination experiences: (C1) Low discrimination-low across all experiences, (C2) Microaggressions-elevated probabilities of disrespect, poor service at restaurants, and being perceived as unintelligent, and (C3) Pervasive/threatening discrimination-high across all experiences, including being feared and harassed. Regression models showed that for non-Hispanic Whites, both C2 and C3 were associated with higher depressive symptoms; for non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals, only C2 was linked with more depressive symptoms; for the Other category, only C3 was related to more depressive symptoms. Higher resilience was associated with fewer depressive symptoms across all groups but moderated the effects of C2 and C3 for non-Hispanic Whites and only C2 for Hispanic individuals.

Findings highlight discrimination as a mental health risk factor for older Americans and suggest that psychological resilience may mitigate its impact, contingent on experience type and racial/ethnic background. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.