Tao Xiangyu, Fisher Celia B
Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers Addiction Research Center, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 671 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Department of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Dealy Hall, Bronx, NY, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2025 May;54(5):1281-1300. doi: 10.1007/s10964-024-02130-3. Epub 2025 Jan 2.
Young women of color frequently face discrimination, reflecting the intersecting societal influences of sexism and racism. Although friendships play a significant role in women's lives, there is a lack of research on the role of friendships in navigating exposure to gendered racial discrimination (in-person and social media) and associated mental health. This study investigated the extent to which the content of friendship conversations (i.e., co-rumination against gendered racism, socializing messages related to gendered racial pride and empowerment and oppression awareness) and perceived friendship intimacy and support mediated or moderated the positive association between exposure to gendered racism and mental health. Co-rumination was tested as a mediator, while the other variables were examined as moderators. Online survey data were collected from 339 cisgender women aged 18-24 (M age = 20.90, SD = 1.96; 32.74% Asian, 33.92% Black, and 33.33% Hispanic or Latina; 68.14% identified as straight or heterosexual). Participants described friendship communications and perceived intimacy and support with a same gender and race close friend. Exposure to gendered racial discrimination was significantly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms and substance use as a coping mechanism. Co-rumination about gendered racism was positively correlated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conversely, pride and empowerment socialization was negatively associated with substance use for coping, while oppression awareness socialization was positively correlated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Structural Equation Modeling Analyses indicated that co-rumination partially mediated the relationship between gendered racism exposure and anxiety symptoms, with other friendship indices not moderating these associations. These findings highlight co-rumination about gendered racism as a risk factor for young women of color and underscore the importance of exploring how the multifaceted nature of friendships is associated with exposure to gendered racism and mental health.
有色人种年轻女性经常面临歧视，这反映了性别歧视和种族主义在社会层面的相互交织。尽管友谊在女性生活中起着重要作用，但关于友谊在应对性别化种族歧视（现实生活中和社交媒体上）及其相关心理健康方面所起作用的研究却很匮乏。本研究调查了友谊对话的内容（即共同反刍性别化种族主义、与性别化种族自豪感、赋权及压迫意识相关的社交信息）以及感知到的友谊亲密度和支持在调节或缓和性别化种族歧视暴露与心理健康之间的正向关联中所起作用的程度。共同反刍被作为中介变量进行检验，而其他变量则作为调节变量进行考察。通过在线调查收集了339名18至24岁的顺性别女性的数据（年龄均值M = 20.90，标准差SD = 1.96；32.74%为亚裔，33.92%为黑人，33.33%为西班牙裔或拉丁裔；68.14%被认定为异性恋）。参与者描述了与同性别、同种族亲密朋友的友谊交流以及感知到的亲密度和支持。接触性别化种族歧视与抑郁、焦虑症状以及作为应对机制的物质使用显著相关。关于性别化种族主义的共同反刍与抑郁和焦虑症状呈正相关。相反，自豪感和赋权社交与用于应对的物质使用呈负相关，而压迫意识社交与抑郁和焦虑症状呈正相关。结构方程模型分析表明，共同反刍部分中介了性别化种族歧视暴露与焦虑症状之间的关系，其他友谊指标并未调节这些关联。这些发现凸显了关于性别化种族主义的共同反刍是有色人种年轻女性的一个风险因素，并强调了探索友谊的多面性如何与性别化种族歧视暴露及心理健康相关联的重要性。
