Woo Bongki, Fan Wen, Tran Thanh V, Takeuchi David T
College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Department of Sociology, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
SSM Popul Health. 2019 Mar 5;7:100378. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100378. eCollection 2019 Apr.
The present study tests whether and how racial/ethnic identity moderates the psychological burden associated with racial discrimination. The theoretical concept of identity-relevant stressors suggests that racial discrimination will be associated with stronger psychological burden for people who put more values on their racial/ethnic backgrounds (i.e., racial/ethnic identity as an exacerbator). Conversely, racial/ethnic identity may be a protective resource to buffer any negative mental health consequences of racial discrimination (i.e., racial/ethnic identity as a buffer). We adjudicate these two competing hypotheses, while also examining whether the moderating effect of racial/ethnic identity varies by race/ethnicity or nativity. The data are from the 2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III. Our findings reveal a race/ethnicity-dependent pattern: High racial/ethnic identity functions as an exacerbator for Whites, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and Latinxs, but moderate racial/ethnic identity functions as a buffer for Asians and Blacks in handling racial discrimination. In addition, the moderating effect of racial/ethnic identity is more pronounced among the U.S.-born than the foreign-born. The present study contributes to the knowledge base by showing that racial/ethnic identity does not universally protect-nor does it universally exacerbate-the psychiatric burden of racial discrimination. Rather, whether it mitigates or intensifies the mental burden of racial discrimination depends on its level and race/ethnicity.
本研究检验了种族/族裔身份是否以及如何调节与种族歧视相关的心理负担。与身份相关的应激源这一理论概念表明，对于那些更看重自己种族/族裔背景的人（即，将种族/族裔身份视为加重因素），种族歧视将与更强烈的心理负担相关。相反，种族/族裔身份可能是一种保护性资源，以缓冲种族歧视对心理健康的任何负面影响（即，将种族/族裔身份视为缓冲因素）。我们对这两种相互竞争的假设进行评判，同时还研究种族/族裔身份的调节作用是否因种族/族裔或出生地而异。数据来自2013年全国酒精及相关状况流行病学调查三期。我们的研究结果揭示了一种依赖于种族/族裔的模式：高种族/族裔身份对白人、美国印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民和拉丁裔起到加重因素的作用，但中等种族/族裔身份在处理种族歧视时对亚裔和黑人起到缓冲作用。此外，种族/族裔身份的调节作用在美国出生的人群中比在外国出生的人群中更为明显。本研究通过表明种族/族裔身份并非普遍具有保护作用——也并非普遍加重——种族歧视的精神负担，为知识库做出了贡献。相反，它是减轻还是加剧种族歧视的精神负担取决于其程度和种族/族裔。
