Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology

Dynamic stereotypes of African, Latinx, and White Americans.
Objectives: Two studies examined how young adults from historically advantaged (Study 1) and disadvantaged (Studies 1 and 2) racial groups perceived agentic and communal traits of their group over time. Consistent with previous research on dynamic stereotypes of gender, disadvantaged groups were expected to perceive significant gains in agentic traits from the past to the present. This tendency was expected to increase with ethnic identification. Method: In Study 1, White American (n = 226) and African and Latinx American (n = 60) students at a predominantly White private college in the Midwestern United States participated in an online survey. In Study 2, African American (n = 137) and Latinx American (n = 167) young adults were recruited primarily via an online platform (www.prolific.co) to complete an online survey. Results: In both studies, African and Latinx Americans attributed significantly lower levels of agency to past ingroup members than to present members. Although ethnic identification was not correlated with the difference between present and past agencies, it was more strongly correlated with present agency than with past agency for both groups. These patterns were not observed among White Americans. Conclusions: Similar to women, African and Latinx Americans perceived significant gains in agentic traits of their group members from the past to the present. These perceptions may serve the needs of historically disadvantaged groups for a positive social identity by affirming how far the ingroup has come. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Sowing the seeds: Sociocultural resistance in the psychological sciences.
Objective: This article problematizes the use of resilience as a psychological and developmental indication of well-being. We base our argument on the possibility that resilience theories internalize responsibility for survival within the individual, and that survival is dependent on the ability to assimilate to injustice. Resistance, on the other hand, represents acts of intentional, active, and often collective survival which can expose and oppose social injustice. Method: Bringing together transdisciplinary scholarship on resistance, we propose a conceptual framework of sociocultural resistance. This framework seeks to forward studies of health that acknowledge the complexity of relationships, culture, and power constitutive of the human condition. Results: We provide examples of sociocultural resistance in the psychological and developmental sciences and suggest the use of diverse theory and methods in the study of resistance. Conclusions: Resistance research is a timely, necessary, and critical turning point in the social sciences with the potential to change unjust systems and promote a nuanced view of health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Cultural mechanisms linking mothers’ familism values to externalizing behaviors among Midwest U.S. Latinx adolescents.
Objectives: This study was designed to examine associations among parents’ familism values, adolescents’ cultural resources, and externalizing behavior among Latinx youth in the Midwestern United States. Method: Participants were 267 Latinx adolescents (M age = 15.58 years; SD = 1.28 years; 45% girls; 82.8% Mexican American) and their mothers/mother figures who completed individually administered interviews comprised of standardized measures. Structural equation modeling was used to test several alternative mediational models in which youth ethnic identity and familism values served as potential cultural mechanisms linking parents’ familism values to lower levels of youth externalizing behavior. Results: Results showed that mothers’ familism values were positively associated with youth ethnic identity which was positively associated with youth familism values; in turn, youth familism values were inversely associated with externalizing behavior. The findings did not differ by youth gender or nativity (U.S.-born vs. foreign-born youth). Conclusions: These findings provide support for cultural resilience perspectives by highlighting the protective role of ethnic identity and familism values among U.S. Latinx adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Indirect associations between immigration-related stressors and latine adolescents’ depressive symptoms: The moderating roles of familism, nativity, and gender.
Objectives: This study examined the indirect relationship between immigration-related stressors and depressive symptoms via family conflict and whether familism values moderated this relationship in a sample of U.S. Latine youth. We also explored nativity and gender differences in the predictive model. Method: Participants were 306 Midwestern Latine youth (Mage = 15.50, 46.2% girls, 79.9% Mexican origin) and their primary caregivers who completed measures of study constructs. A series of path models examined the potential mediating role of family conflict and the moderating effects of familism values, gender, and nativity. Results: For the overall sample, parental exposure to immigration-related stressors was related to higher youth depressive symptoms through higher levels of family conflict. However, multigroup models revealed significant differences by nativity and gender. The indirect effect through family conflict was only significant for non-U.S.-born youth with low to average levels of familism-support and average to high levels of familism-obligation; it was not significant for U.S.-born youth. Furthermore, the indirect association was only significant for boys with average to high levels of familism-obligation; no significant indirect effects were found for girls. Conclusions: The results indicate that the indirect pathway linking immigration-related stressors to depressive symptoms via family conflict depends on youth familism values, nativity status, and gender. Findings highlight the distinct effects of familism-support and obligation and the need to consider sociodemographic diversity within Latine communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Role of anti-Asian racism for subjective well-being among people of Asian origin in Germany.
Objectives: People of Asian origin in Germany are affected by racial–ethnic discrimination, which became even more evident in the context of surging anti-Asian racism (AAR) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiences of discrimination can pose a threat to mental health. This study tested the role of discrimination experiences for subjective well-being in a sample of Asian origin people in Germany. Method: A total of 671 participants (76.5% women) who self-identified as being of Asian origin participated in an online survey in December 2020. Participants completed several measures of racial–ethnic discrimination experiences, some of which were related to the pandemic (e.g., experienced microaggressions and perceived change in discrimination experiences during the pandemic), as well as indicators of subjective well-being (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and subjective health status). Results: In structural equation models, discrimination experiences were associated with lower subjective well-being (b = −.36, SE = .16, p <.05). A follow-up analysis suggested that this relationship was evident for discrimination measures that had a reference to the pandemic as well as measures without this reference. Conclusions: The range of different discrimination experiences among people of Asian origin in Germany is characterized by discrimination in the context of the pandemic and also beyond, and these may have a significant negative impact on the mental health of those affected. The findings of this study have practical implications both for reducing anti-Asian stigmas in society and in the context of psychological counseling of affected individuals, which should target the maintenance or improvement of subjective well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Relationships between global orientations and attitudes toward integration policies: A sequential explanatory mixed methods approach.
Objectives: Based upon a mixed methods follow-up explanation model, the present research examined the relationships between global orientations and the attitudes toward integration policies among both locals (majority group) and South Asians (minority group) in Hong Kong. Methods: In Study 1, quantitative data were collected from a community sample of 1,614 adults comprising 1,007 locals and 607 South Asians in three minority groups (Indians, Nepalese, and Pakistanis). In Study 2, a follow-up explanation phase of qualitative investigation was conducted, with 12 in-depth semistructured focus group discussions among seven locals and 49 South Asians, generating three main themes and six subthemes. Results: Quantitative results showed that the positive link between multicultural acquisition and instrumental integration policies was significantly stronger for South Asians than for locals, and that ethnic protection was negatively associated with a positive attitude toward symbolic integration policies in the majority group but had no effects in the minority group. The three main themes generated from the qualitative results include alleviating minority disadvantage, preserving majority privilege, and embracing diversity for the common good. Conclusions: The combined quantitative and qualitative results suggest that the differential relationships of multicultural acquisition and ethnic protection with support for specific integration policies can be understood with the underlying structural power asymmetry between the majority and minority groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
“Are you a homophobic racist?”: Applying lay theory of generalized prejudice to the discrimination-distress link.
Objectives: The present research aimed to examine, among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ +) people of color, whether experiencing discrimination rooted in one stigmatized identity (e.g., racial/ethnic minority identity) would be positively associated with expecting discrimination rooted in both the same (e.g., racial/ethnic minority identity) and different (e.g., sexual/gender minority identity) stigmatized identities, and whether such expectations would be positively associated with psychological distress. Endorsement of a lay theory of generalized prejudice (LTGP) was expected to moderate the relationship between experience of discrimination in one identity dimension and expectation of it in another. Method: We recruited 246 LGBTQ + people of color (48.4% cisgender women, 24.8% transgender/gender-variant; Mage = 23.84, SD = 4.73) to complete an online survey. Results: As hypothesized, more frequent heterosexism/cisgenderism was associated with greater racial/ethnic discrimination, which was associated with greater psychological distress. Likewise, experience of racism was positively associated with expectation of heterosexism/cisgenderism; however, expecting heterosexism/cisgenderism was not associated with psychological distress. Contrary to the hypothesis, only among people low (but not high) in LTGP was experience of racism or heterosexism/cisgenderism associated with the expectation of discrimination rooted in the other identity. Conclusions: People high in LTGP may habitually expect discrimination regardless of their discriminatory experiences. By demonstrating the different pathways via which discrimination is linked with distress, this study highlights the benefit of intersectional research and underscores the need for systemic change to reduce discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
How discrimination experiences relate to racial/ethnic identity and mental health across first- and second-generation Vietnamese American adolescents.
Objectives: Racial/ethnic discrimination has been linked to behavioral and emotional problems in youth from marginalized groups. However, the psychological experience associated with discrimination may differ between immigrant and nonimmigrant youth. Race-based discrimination may impact an adolescent’s view of their own group (private regard) and/or their sense of how others view their group (public regard). Owing to differences in racialization, immigrant adolescents may be affected differently by experiences of discrimination than their U.S.-born peers. The present study examined whether nativity moderated the paths from racial/ethnic discrimination to private and public regard to mental health problems among Vietnamese American youth. Method: Surveys were completed by 718 Vietnamese American 10th and 11th graders (Mage = 15.54 years, 61.4% female, 38.6% male). In this sample, 21.2% were first-generation (i.e., born outside of the United States) and 78.8% were second-generation (i.e., born in the United States with at least one parent born outside of the United States). Results: Multigroup path analysis tested the direct and indirect effects of racial/ethnic discrimination on behavioral and emotional problems via private and public regard and whether associations differed for first- versus second-generation youth. Racial/ethnic discrimination was associated with lower public regard, but not private regard, for both first- and second-generation Vietnamese American youth. Public regard was negatively associated with behavioral and emotional problems only among second-generation youth. No indirect effects were significant. Conclusions: Findings suggest differences in racialized experiences, as well as opportunities to support second-generation Vietnamese American and other marginalized youth from immigrant families from the mental health impacts of discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The effects of discrimination and psychological distress on U.S. Latino/a young adults’ relational uncertainty and relationship instability.
Objectives: Racial/ethnic discrimination is a common and salient stressor for many individuals. Although discrimination can impair personal and relational well-being, little is known about its influences on the process of considering dissolution (i.e., relationship instability). In two studies of Latino/a young adults, we examined associations among discrimination, psychological distress, relational uncertainty, and relationship instability. Method: Study 1 assessed self-reports of 475 participants aged 18–29 (60.2% female, Mage = 24.8, SD = 3.22). Study 2 examined self-reports of 462 participants aged 18–29 (40.9% female, Mage = 25.9, SD = 2.72). Structural equation models evaluated direct and indirect associations among study variables. Results: Discrimination was associated with relationship instability, both directly and indirectly via its associations with psychological distress and, in Study 1, relational uncertainty. Conclusions: Overall results suggest that racial/ethnic discrimination is associated with romantic relationship instability through its associations with psychological distress and uncertainty about the future of a relationship. Prior research demonstrates the resilience of Latino/a communities, and our findings reinforce the need for policies and clinical resources that reduce discrimination and support mental health and relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Effects of sexual and gender minority stress on depressive symptoms among adolescents of color in the United States.
Objective: There is a need for more research on minority stress theory (MST) with sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents of color, because of their disproportionate risk for depression. Method: We recruited 1,627 SGM adolescents of color in the United States to complete measures assessing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) climate, LGBTQ microaggressions within one’s ethnoracial community, internalized LGBTQ stigma, stress management ability, and depressive symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, a hybrid measurement-structural model was tested, indicating good model fit. Results: Multiple significant indirect pathways linking LGBTQ climate and depressive symptoms emerged. A less positive LGBTQ climate was associated with more microaggression-related stress, more internalized LGBTQ stigma, and worse stress management ability, all of which were associated with greater depressive symptoms. A serial mediation with more microaggression-related stress being associated with greater internalized LGBTQ stigma approached significance. Conclusions: Our findings generally support MST processes in terms of depressive symptoms in SGM adolescents of color, suggesting that psychosocial interventions targeting these processes may have meaningful implications for the mental health of this vulnerable group. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Vicarious racism, ethnic/racial identity, and sleep among Asian Americans.
Objectives: Vicarious racism—witnessing or hearing about other individuals of one’s ethnic/racial group being the target of racism—has been salient among Asian Americans during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. There is emerging evidence that such experiences adversely impact several health-related outcomes, including sleep. The present study examines associations between vicarious racism and subjective sleep duration and quality, and the potential moderating role of ethnic/racial identity (ERI). Method: Multivariable regression models assessed the association between vicarious racism, private regard, and centrality on self-reported sleep disturbance and duration. The sample consisted of an online sample of 600 Asian American adults (Mage = 38.55, SDage = 17.11; 65.17% female; 60% ≥ Bachelor’s degree) recruited from May to June 2020. Results: Vicarious racism was associated with compromised sleep quality and duration, including after adjustment for sociodemographic variables that have been linked to sleep. Private regard toward one’s own ethnic/racial group and centrality of ethnicity/race to self-identity buffered the association between vicarious racism and sleep quality and duration. Adverse effects of high vicarious racism on sleep quality and duration were lessened among respondents reporting high levels of ERI private regard and centrality. Conclusions: Findings from this study extend research on racism and sleep by examining vicarious racism, an understudied facet of racism, and by focusing specifically on Asian Americans and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research and practice should consider expanding research on discrimination to include a broader range of unjust experiences. Vicarious racism contributes to health hazards experienced by Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The psychophysiological salience of past experiences of discrimination.
Objectives: This study sought to test whether a discrimination recall task would elicit a significant parasympathetic response in multiracial undergraduate women. The study also investigated whether parasympathetic responsivity to the discrimination recall would be similar or different from that elicited by a widely used stress paradigm—the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and whether responses would differ for Black and White women. Method: Multiracial undergraduate women (n = 67; Mage = 19.4 years; 32% White, 22% Black) completed the TSST and a discrimination recall task. Parasympathetic activity was assessed using high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). Results: Women exhibited significant HF-HRV responsivity to the discrimination recall and showed smaller average decreases in HF-HRV to the discrimination recall than the TSST. However, whereas White women exhibited decreased HF-HRV in response to both tasks, Black women showed increased HF-HRV for the discrimination recall but decreased HF-HRV for the TSST. Conclusions: Findings complement a growing body of research suggestive that experiences of discrimination are psychophysiologically salient. Additionally, discriminatory experiences may elicit distinctive patterns of HF-HRV responsivity compared to generic social stressors. Efforts to elucidate the unique role of discrimination-specific HF-HRV responsivity may be critical for delineating discrimination–health linkages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Being specific: Exploring acculturation in work and private settings.
Objective: Adopting a comprehensive approach, we examined immigrants’ actual and ideal acculturation, as well as host-country nationals’ (HCNs) immigrant acculturation perceptions and preferences in terms of behaviors, values, and identities in work and private settings. We examined any differences within and across settings for each group. Method: Participants included 428 Hispanic immigrants and 662 HCNs in the United States. We used a 2 × 2 × 2 repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to examine whether differences for each group exist within and across work and private settings. Results: Both within and across settings, Hispanic immigrants’ actual and ideal acculturation did not differ. The only exception to this pattern involved heritage practices and identities across settings. In contrast, HCNs perceived and preferred Hispanic immigrants to acculturate differently both within and across work and private settings. The only exception to this pattern involved preferences of adopting U.S. national values and identities across settings. Conclusions: Taking a more comprehensive approach to study acculturation allows a more accurate picture on how immigrants acculturate and HCNs’ perceptions and preferences of such acculturation, which is critical in understanding intercultural relations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Ethnic discrimination, acculturative stress, and sexual risk among Latinx emerging adults: Examining moderation effects of familism support and ethnic identity.
Objectives: Ethnic discrimination and acculturative stress play an important role in sexual risk behaviors for Latinx emerging adults, who are at disproportionate risk for sexually transmitted infections. Factors such as familism support and ethnic identity may be protective, yet research is limited. This study is guided by a culturally adapted stress and coping framework to examine associations of ethnic discrimination and acculturative stress with sexual risk behaviors (i.e., multiple sex partners, alcohol or drug use before sex, and condomless sex with a primary or casual partner), and examine the moderating roles of familism support and ethnic identity among Latinx emerging adults. Method: Participants were recruited from Arizona and Florida and were primarily female (51.3%) with a mean age of 21.48 years (SD = 2.06). Using cross-sectional data from 158 sexually active Latinx emerging adults, this study employed multiple logistic regression and moderation analyses. Results: Higher levels of ethnic discrimination and pressure to acculturate were associated with fewer sex partners, and higher levels of pressure against acculturation were associated with increased condomless sex with a casual partner. The moderation effect of higher levels of familism support on pressure to acculturate was associated with fewer sex partners, and the moderation effect of higher levels of ethnic identity on pressure against acculturation was associated with decreased condomless sex with casual partners. Conclusions: Examining the results within a culturally informed theoretical framework supports that protective factors may help mitigate sexual risk factors among Latinx emerging adults experiencing acculturative stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Psychological outcomes and culturally relevant moderators associated with events of discrimination among Asian American adults.
Objectives: Incidents of discrimination against Asian Americans have increased in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aims of this study are to (a) examine the overall psychological impact of incidents of discrimination on Asian Americans adults, (b) identify whether East Asians experience worse psychological outcomes following experiences of discrimination compared to other Asian Americans, and (c) identify culturally relevant factors that moderate the relationship between incidents of discrimination and psychological outcomes. Method: Two hundred eighty-nine participants who identified racially as Asian American (Mage = 33.1 years, ±10.5 SD, 57.1% male, and 54.3% East Asian) completed an online survey including measures of demographics, psychological outcomes, culturally relevant factors (e.g., acculturative stress, collective self-esteem), and racial discrimination. Results: We found that, overall, experiencing increased frequency of discrimination related to more depressive symptoms and alcohol use (ps <.05). When comparing Asian subgroups (East Asian vs. other Asian), there were no significantly different relationships between discrimination frequency and attribution to race on psychological outcomes (ps > .098). Collective self-esteem (p = .041) weakened, while acculturative stress strengthened (p <.001) the relationship between discrimination frequency and alcohol use; collective self-esteem weakened the relationship between attribution to race and social anxiety (p = .021); and internalized racism weakened the relationship between discrimination frequency and depression (p = .038). Conclusions: We identified moderators of the relationship between experiences of discrimination and psychological outcomes in Asian Americans. Because the moderators held for all Asian groups under study, they are strong candidates for points of intervention to mitigate the harmful effects of discrimination for Asian Americans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Discrimination and social isolation among African Americans: The moderating role of skin tone.
Objectives: Discrimination is an urgent public health problem. A number of major cities and counties across the United States has declared racism a public health crisis. While there is a growing body of research on the discrimination-health connection, less is known regarding the social relational consequences of discrimination. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the relationship between discrimination, skin tone, and objective and subjective social isolation using a nationally representative sample of African Americans. Method: This analysis was based upon the African American subsample (N = 3,570) of the National Survey of American Life. Discrimination was assessed with the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Objective and subjective isolation differentiated between respondents who were (a) socially isolated from both family and friends, (b) socially isolated from friends only, (c) socially isolated from family only, and (d) not socially isolated. Skin tone was self-reported. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to test the study hypotheses. Results: The analyses indicated that more frequent discriminatory experiences were associated with increased risk for subjective and objective social isolation. Skin tone moderated the association between discrimination and subjective isolation; the discrimination-isolation relationship was stronger among participants with darker skin tones. Conclusions: These findings shed light on African Americans’ nuanced experiences with discrimination and colorism. Further, the data demonstrate heterogeneity in the vulnerability to the adverse effects of discrimination within the African American population; the relationship between discrimination and subjective isolation was stratified by skin tone. This underscores the well-documented and persistent racialized social stratification system in the United States (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Examining COVID-19 pandemic-related economic and household stress and its association with mental health, alcohol, and substance use in a national sample of Latinx sexual minority and heterosexual adults.
Objective: Sexual minority adults of Latinx descent faced compounded intersectional stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic across socioeconomic and health domains. Latinx people have experienced some of the highest COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality rates in the United States in addition to significant economic challenges. Yet, current data have not observed the unique pandemic-related experiences of sexual minority Latinx (SML) adults. We examined sexual identity differences in economic and household stress, social support, mental health symptomatology (depression, anxiety), alcohol, and substance use among sexual minority and nonsexual minority Latinx adults in the United States. Method: Primary data were collected via the AmeriSpeak panel, a national probability sample of U.S.-based 2,286 Latinx adults [sexual minority = .34% (n = 465)]. Data were collected from November 2020 to January 2021, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: SML adults endorsed higher levels of economic and household stress, mental health symptomatology, and alcohol and substance use than nonsexual minority Latinx adults. Economic stress was associated with increased mental health symptomatology, alcohol, and substance use among SML adults. Social support moderated the association between economic stress and mental health symptomatology and substance use, but not alcohol use. Conclusion: Findings highlighted unique intersectional considerations among SML adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the importance of social support and the negative toll of economic stress on mental health and substance use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Female Chinese transracial adoptees’ racial awakening amid dual racial pandemics.
Objectives: 2020 was marked by two racial pandemics—COVID-19-related attacks against Asians and the police brutality against Blacks that spurred the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement—calling attention to racial privilege and oppression in American society. The present study explores female Chinese transracial adoptees’ unique lived experiences during this racially salient moment. Method: A phenomenological approach captured how 20 female Chinese transracial adoptees navigated and made sense of the dual racial pandemics and the subsequent impact on their racial awareness, identity development, and advocacy. Data were collected using semistructured individual Zoom interviews and coded using phenomenological analysis. Results: Findings suggest the dual pandemics acted as catalysts for female Chinese transracial adoptees’ racial consciousness and reevaluation of their positionality within the racial hierarchy. Three core themes emerged: female transracial adoptees’ new self-understanding as racial beings; their perspective on their place within the White–Black dichotomy; and their role in promoting racial justice. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the complexities of female Chinese transracial adoptees’ racialized selves as children of color who have been raised in White families; their motivations to foster racial justice; and their ability to facilitate race talk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology - Vol 30, Iss 2