Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley.
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2024 Jan;30(1):61-71. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000526. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
Perceived racial discrimination has been associated with elevated anxiety symptoms. Less is known about the mental health implications of another race-related stressor, model minority stereotyping, which is a salient experience for Chinese-heritage youth. In addition, despite theoretical considerations and indirect empirical evidence suggesting that greater autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity may index sensitivity to race-related stressors, ANS reactivity has not been examined as a moderator of links between race-related stressors and mental health. The present study investigated cross-sectional associations between self-reports of two salient race-related stressors (perceived discrimination and model minority stereotyping) and anxiety symptoms in Chinese-heritage youth, as well as whether ANS reactivity moderates these relationships.
Chinese-heritage U.S. college students ( = 198, 55.6% female, 18-25 years, = 20.0 years) self-reported experiences with race-related stressors. ANS reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA] and pre-ejection period [PEP]) to a video depicting discrimination was collected on a subsample of participants ( = 103).
Although both race-related stressors were positively correlated with anxiety symptoms, only perceived discrimination was uniquely associated with anxiety symptoms. Further, RSA (but not PEP) reactivity moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and anxiety symptoms, such that associations were stronger for participants with greater RSA withdrawal.
Our results replicate findings on the discrimination-anxiety link in Chinese-heritage college students, and show that model minority stereotyping is correlated with greater anxiety symptoms. Findings suggest that individuals with heightened RSA reactivity may be especially vulnerable to the adverse effect of discrimination. These findings have implications for mental health services for Chinese-heritage U.S. college students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
感知到的种族歧视与焦虑症状的升高有关。对于另一种与种族相关的压力源——模范少数族裔刻板印象，人们对其对心理健康的影响知之甚少，而这种刻板印象是华裔青年的一个突出经历。此外，尽管有理论考虑和间接的实证证据表明，更强的自主神经系统（ANS）反应可能表明对与种族相关的压力源的敏感性，但尚未检查 ANS 反应作为与种族相关的压力源和心理健康之间关系的调节因素。本研究调查了华裔美国大学生中两种突出的与种族相关的压力源（感知歧视和模范少数族裔刻板印象）与焦虑症状之间的横断面关联，以及 ANS 反应是否调节这些关系。
华裔美国大学生（n=198，女性占 55.6%，18-25 岁，平均年龄 20.0 岁）自我报告与种族相关的压力源经历。在一个子样本参与者中（n=103）采集了对描述歧视的视频的 ANS 反应（呼吸窦性心律失常[RSA]和射前间期[PEP]）。
尽管两种与种族相关的压力源都与焦虑症状呈正相关，但只有感知到的歧视与焦虑症状具有独特的相关性。进一步的，RSA（而非 PEP）反应调节了感知歧视与焦虑症状之间的关系，对于 RSA 抑制程度较高的参与者，这种关联更强。
我们的研究结果复制了华裔大学生中歧视与焦虑之间的联系，表明模范少数族裔刻板印象与更高的焦虑症状相关。研究结果表明，RSA 反应增强的个体可能特别容易受到歧视的不利影响。这些发现对为华裔美国大学生提供心理健康服务具有启示意义。
