To be or not to be: How ethnic/racial stereotypes influence ethnic/racial disidentification and psychological mood.

OBJECTIVES

The current study explores disidentification. Ethnic/racial disidentification is defined as psychological distancing from a threatened social identity to preserve a positive sense of self. The first study goal was to explore how daily ethnic/racial stereotype appraisal is related to ethnic/racial disidentification. The second goal was explore the association between disidentification and psychological mood. In both cases, centrality and private regard were considered individual differences that might moderate daily associations.

METHOD

Ethnic/racial minority young adults (Mage = 20.63 years, SD = 1.49; N = 129) completed a 21-day daily diary, including ethnic/racial stereotype appraisal, ethnic/racial disidentification, and mood. At the end of the study, participants completed measures of ethnic/racial centrality and private regard.

RESULTS

The effect of daily stereotype appraisal on disidentification depended on feelings of centrality and private regard. Young adults reporting high centrality and high private regard reported higher disidentification on days on which they reported more stereotype appraisal. These same young adults also reported higher negative mood on days on which they reported disidentification. Young adults reporting high private regard reported less positive mood on days on which they reported disidentification, whereas those reporting low private regard reported more positive mood.

CONCLUSION

This article discusses the role of ethnic/racial disidentification as a normative negotiation of threats to ethnic/racial identity development. For young adults who report high levels of centrality and private regard, daily encounters with ethnic/racial stereotypes are associated with more disidentification, but that disidentification comes at a cost in the form of more negative daily mood.