Does Racial Identity Mediate the Relationship between Racial Socialization and Mental Health Among African American College Students?

Adeya Richmond and

Laura D. Pittman

IntroductionAs a result of a growing interest in understanding factors related to mental health among African American young adults, racial identity and racial socialization have increasingly become a focus of research. There is evidence that suggests individuals continue to deal with issues of identity during their transition to adulthood (e.g., Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Current research in this area is beginning to extend the study of racial socialization into later developmental periods.

IntroductionThere is mixed evidence that individuals’ racial identity and caregivers’ racial socialization practices are positively associated with psychological functioning among African American adolescents and young adults (e.g., Sellers, Chavous, & Cooke, 1998; Stevenson, Cameron, Herrero-Taylor, & Davis, 2002). Links between racial identity and racial socialization have been explored and found to be both positively and negatively associated with each other and with psychological functioning (e.g., Miller & MacIntosh, 1999; Neville & Lilly, 2000; Sanders-Thompson, 1994). The current study explored potential mediation relationships among racial identity, racial socialization, and psychological well-being.

MethodParticipants

Participants were 153 African American undergraduates at a Midwestern university who received partial course credit for their participation. There were 114 females in the sample and 77% were freshmen and sophomores. Participants provided self-report data about their racial identity, their caregivers’ racial socialization practices, and their psychological functioning.

MethodMeasures Racial identity was measured by using three subscales

(Nationalist Philosophy, Private Regard, and Public Regard) the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) Nationalist Philosophy is defined as an individual’s racial

ideology that emphasizes the uniqueness of the black experience from the experiences of other groups (alpha = .63).

Private Regard is defined as the extent to which individuals feel positively or negatively towards African Americans and their membership with that group (alpha = .61).

Public Regard is the degree to which individuals feel that others view African Americans positively or negatively (alpha = .76).

MethodMeasures

Racial socialization was measured by using two subscales (Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream and Cultural Alertness to Discrimination) from the Teenage Experiences of Racial Socialization (TERS) Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream is defined by messages

about the relative importance of majority culture institutions and values and the affective and educational benefits that African Americans can receive by being involved in those institutions (alpha = .61).

Cultural Alertness to Discrimination is defined by messages that teach youth to be aware of the barriers of racism in society and the multiple race relation challenges between Blacks and Whites (alpha = .85).

MethodMeasures Psychological functioning was measured by using the Mental Health

Inventory (MHI) This instrument measures psychological well-being and

psychological distress (alpha = .95).

ResultsCorrelation Analysis

Significant partial correlations were found among certain scores on the MHI and two subscales of the TERS (Cultural Alertness to Discrimination (CAD) and Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream (CEM)) and three subscales of the MIBI (Public Regard, Private Regard, and Nationalist Philosophy).

Results – Partial Correlation  1 2 3 4 5 6

1. CEMa 1  .42*** .02 -.20*  -.06  -.25** 

2. CADb   1   .30*** -.09  -.25**  -.21** 

3. Nationalist Philosophy     1 -.01 -.27***  -.22** 

4. Private Regard       1  .20* .28*** 

5. Public Regard         1 .24** 

6. Mental Health           1

Control Variables: Age, Gender, Year in School, and SES.aCEM – Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream bCAD – Cultural Alterness to Discrimination

Results - RegressionRegression Analysis

Two sets of regressions were run to test for mediation between racial socialization and mental health, the first using the CEM and the second set using the CAD. In each step, four background factors of the participants (gender, age, year in school, and SES) were entered in step one along with the racial socialization measure. In each second step, one of the three racial identity dimensions was entered. In the final regression, all three racial identity dimensions were entered simultaneously.

Table 1Summary of Regressions Examining Cultural Alertness to Discrimination and

Racial Identity Predicting Mental Health

Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5

Gender -0.08 -0.05 -0.08 -0.07 -0.05

Age 0.13 0.08 0.09 0.12 0.07

Year in School -0.05 -0.02 0 -0.05 0.01

SESa -0.02 0 0 -0.03 0

CADb -0.21** -0.19* -0.17* -0.16 -0.12

Private Regard   0.27**     0.25**

Public Regard     0.20*   0.12

Nationalist Philosophy       -0.17* -0.14

F-ratio 7.03** 11.50*** 5.62* 4.00** 6.12**

R2 0.06 0.13 0.10 0.09 0.17

R2 Change   0.07 0.04 0.03 0.11

Note: Standardized betas are presented. * p<.05, ** p<.01, *** p<.001 aSES = Socioeconomic statusbCAD = Cultural Alertness to Discrimination

Table 2

Summary of Regressions Examining Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream and Racial Identity Predicting Mental Health

Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5

Gender -0.07 -0.05 -0.07 -0.07 -0.05

Age 0.18 0.14 0.14 0.18 0.11

Year in School -0.12 -0.08 -0.06 -0.11 -0.03

SESa 0 0.01 0.02 -0.01 0.02

CEMb -0.26** -0.21** -0.24** -0.25** -0.20**

Private Regard   .24**     .22**

Public Regard     0.22**   0.14

Nationalist Philosophy       -0.21** -.17*

F-ratio 10.10** 9.32** 7.92** 7.30** 6.75***

R2 0.09 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.20

R2 Change   0.06 0.05 0.04 0.11

Note: Standardized betas are presented. * p<.05, ** p<.01, *** p<.001 aSES = Socioeconomic status bCEM = Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream

DiscussionThese results support previous findings that aspects of racial identity and racial socialization experiences are associated with each other. Also, the results suggest that racial identity may be a mediational process explaining the links between racial socialization and mental health. Specifically, the findings suggest: The relationship between receiving messages related to

discrimination and psychological functioning is partially mediated by an individual’s belief of how others regard his or her race.

The relationship between receiving messages related to discrimination and psychological functioning is fully mediated by an individual’s belief regarding the uniqueness of the African American experience.

DiscussionAlso, CEM was found to be independently related to psychological functioning where CAD was found to be partially and fully mediated by public regard and nationalist philosophy, respectively. This suggests that an individual’s identity may be more important in the relationship between racial socialization messages about discrimination and psychological functioning than messages about mainstream culture and psychological functioning. Further data reporting on how well each of these constructs are related to each other and various outcomes can help inform intervention and prevention programs that target young adults to offer hypotheses on what childhood racial socialization experiences or current identity variables may be impacting their mental health.

DiscussionFuture research studies could: Explore the extent to which certain demographic

characteristics are associated with young adults’ racial identity and the racial socialization they report receiving. It is important to understand the role SES, age, and other factors may have in moderating the relationships among racial identity, racial socialization, and outcomes.

Examine how well racial socialization predicts young adults’ racial identity and other outcomes (e.g., self-esteem, beliefs about equality in school and at the workplace, reports of discrimination). More research is needed in understanding the impact racial socialization messages have on other domains.

ReferencesFischer, A. R., & Shaw, C. M. (1999). African Americans’ mental health perceptions of racist discrimination: The moderating effects of racial socialization experiences and self-esteem. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 395-407.

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Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., & Soenens, B. (2006). A developmental contextual perspective on identity construction in emerging adulthood: Change dynamics in commitment formation and commitment evaluation. Developmental Psychology, 42, 366-380.

ReferencesMiller, D. & MacIntosh, R. (1999). Promoting resilience in urban African American adolescents: Racial socialization and identity as protective factors. Social Work Research, 23, 159-170.

Neville, H. A., & Lilly, R. L. (2000). The relationship between racial identity cluster profiles and psychological distress among African American college students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 28, 194-208.

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Sellers, R. M., Chavous, T. M., & Cooke, D.Y. (1998). Racial ideology and racial centrality as predictors of African American college students’ academic performance. Journal of Black Psychology, 24, 8-27.

ReferencesSellers, R. M., Rowley, S. A., Chavous, T. M., Shelton, J., &

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Stevenson, H. C., Cameron, R., Herrero-Taylor, T., & Davis, G. Y. (2002). Development of the Teenager Experience of Racial Socialization Scale: Correlates of race-related socialization frequency from the perspective of Black youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 28, 84-106.