RESUMO
This study examined the influences of racial discrimination and different racial identity attitudes on engaging in violent behavior among 325 African American young adults. The contributions of racial discrimination and racial identity attitudes in explaining violent behavior during the transition into young adulthood while controlling for the influences of prior risk behaviors at ninth grade were examined separately for males and females. In addition, the buffering effects of racial identity attitudes on the relationship between racial discrimination and violent behavior were tested. Results indicated that experience with racial discrimination was a strong predictor of violent behavior, regardless of gender. The centrality of race for males and the meaning others attribute to being Black for both males and females were moderators of the influence of racial discrimination on violent behavior.
Assuntos
Comportamento do Adolescente/etnologia , Negro ou Afro-Americano/psicologia , Preconceito , Identificação Social , Violência/etnologia , Adolescente , Comportamento do Adolescente/psicologia , Adulto , Negro ou Afro-Americano/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Entrevistas como Assunto , Modelos Lineares , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Meio-Oeste dos Estados Unidos/epidemiologia , Fatores de Risco , Fatores Sexuais , Meio Social , Violência/psicologia , Violência/estatística & dados numéricosRESUMO
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.
Assuntos
Negro ou Afro-Americano/psicologia , Preconceito , Identificação Social , Estresse Psicológico/etnologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribuição de Qui-Quadrado , Feminino , Humanos , Entrevistas como Assunto , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Estudos ProspectivosRESUMO
Cortisol levels have consistently been related to socioeconomic status (SES). Possible moderators for this relationship are coping styles that are known to moderate relationships between cardiovascular factors and SES. The authors examined whether coping style moderated a relationship between resting cortisol levels and various measures of SES in a sample of urban, African American young adults. Those scoring low on coping style had high cortisol levels if they were currently students or unemployed. This effect, however, differed for men and women. The authors suggest that coping style may play an adaptive role regarding salivary cortisol measures in young adults when they are students or unemployed. Active coping may help protect against stress among young African American adults.
