Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
J Res Adolesc. 2024 Dec;34(4):1573-1583. doi: 10.1111/jora.13026. Epub 2024 Oct 7.
To resist and cope with oppression, youth of color may use the process of critical consciousness which involves understanding racial injustices (critical reflection), developing motivation to fight these injustices (critical motivation), and taking action to enact sociopolitical change (critical action). However, little is known about how each dimension of critical consciousness affects mental health in adolescents of color. In a sample of 367 ethnically and racially diverse American adolescents of color (age range = 13-17; 68.9% girls, 28.6% boys, and 2.5% gender minority; 84.4% US-born), we conducted multivariate regressions in Mplus to examine the cross-sectional links between each critical consciousness dimension (reflection, motivation, and action) and mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and stress) over and above the impact of everyday discrimination. We also investigated the interaction between critical consciousness and discrimination in predicting mental health outcomes. Controlling for age, gender, nativity, and social class, we found that discrimination and critical action were both positively associated with anxiety, depression, and stress. For our covariates, girls and gender minority adolescents reported worse outcomes. No interactions were significant. Overall, critical action, while necessary to enact societal change, may have a complex relationship with youth's depression, anxiety, and psychological stress symptoms and warrants careful exploration. Future research should focus on understanding the longitudinal mechanisms of critical action and how we can maximize the benefits by protecting youth from those negative effects.
为了抵抗和应对压迫,有色人种青年可能会运用批判性意识过程,这包括理解种族不公正现象(批判性反思)、培养反对这些不公正现象的动机(批判性动机)以及采取行动实施社会政治变革(批判性行动)。然而,对于批判性意识的每个维度如何影响有色人种青少年的心理健康,我们知之甚少。在一项对 367 名种族和民族多样化的美国有色人种青少年(年龄范围为 13-17 岁;68.9%为女孩,28.6%为男孩,2.5%为性别少数群体;84.4%为美国出生)的样本中,我们在 Mplus 中进行了多元回归分析,以检验批判性意识的每个维度(反思、动机和行动)与心理健康结果(焦虑、抑郁和压力)之间的横断面联系,这些联系超过了日常歧视的影响。我们还研究了批判性意识和歧视在预测心理健康结果方面的相互作用。在控制年龄、性别、出生地和社会阶层后,我们发现歧视和批判性行动都与焦虑、抑郁和压力呈正相关。对于我们的协变量,女孩和性别少数群体青少年报告的结果更差。没有交互作用是显著的。总的来说,批判性行动虽然对于实施社会变革是必要的,但它可能与年轻人的抑郁、焦虑和心理压力症状之间存在复杂的关系,值得仔细探讨。未来的研究应该集中于理解批判性行动的纵向机制,以及如何通过保护年轻人免受这些负面影响来最大限度地发挥其益处。